WeAreTheCity India recently announced that it is launching a new Awards Recognition Programme to highlight the achievements of the female talent pipeline across India. Nominations open on 01 August 2016. 

50 women in non-managerial positions from a range of industries will be chosen as a Rising Stars in recognition of their achievements.

By highlighting the accolades of inspirational female talent, WeAreTheCity hopes to encourage organisations and business leaders to invest in and recognise women as leaders of tomorrow and individual contributors within their respective industries. Recognising that careers for women may follow different timescales, the Top 50 Rising Star India awards will not have any age restrictions included within the criteria. WeAreTheCity feels it has a responsibility to ensure that female talent, regardless of age and background, receives the necessary support and skills to transition into key decision-making roles within our organisations.

Vanessa Vallely, Founder and CEO of WeAreTheCity, said: “I am delighted to bring our Rising Star awards to India. I have watched WeAreTheCity India grow over the last two years under the direction of local, professional women and have met some truly talented and inspirational women. I hope that by raising the profile of our members and other women across India that we are able to highlight just how important the female talent pipeline is to Indian businesses and the Indian economy as a whole.”

Jo Gaglani, Chair of WeAreTheCity India said: “WeAreTheCity India has come a long way since its launch in 2013. We have had some unique events for our members supported by our sponsors and have grown organically. The Rising Star awards is a natural next step for WeAreTheCity India to highlight and celebrate upcoming female talent across India.”

The Nominations

Sponsored by Barclays, the Rising Stars nomination process will open on 01 August 2016.

Nominations will take place online via WeAreTheCity.in. A shortlist of 100 women from a range of industries will be chosen in September by an esteemed panel of judges. The shortlist will then be open to a public vote.

The top 50 Rising Stars will be announced late October and all winners, sponsors and supporters will be invited to attend a prestigious evening reception at the start of November in Mumbai to celebrate and collect their awards.

We would like to receive Rising Star nominations from the following industries and professions:
Banking Health & Wellbeing Media & Journalism
Consulting Retail Law
Insurance Entrepreneurial / Small Business Owners Sport
Technology Charity / NGO Sales, Marketing & Public Relations
Hospitality Public Sector HR, Recruitment & Diversity
Arts & Culture Personal Assistant / Executive Assistant Education & Academia

There will also be a category for Rising Star Champions. This category will support the efforts of senior male or female leaders who are actively supporting gender either within or outside their organisations.


Mark Mclane-Image“We are delighted to be the lead sponsor of the Rising Star Awards which recognises the achievements of talented women on their way to the top; the contributions they make to their organisations and society in general.” Mark McLane, Managing Director, Head of Global Diversity and Inclusion at Barclays PLC

Criteria for Entries
  • Open to all women regardless of age
  • Nominees must be below senior/middle management
  • Nominees must be working in India and be an Indian national
  • Anyone can nominate a woman for an award – managers, employees, family members, friends
  • Individuals can nominate themselves
How we Define a Rising Star
  • Someone who is making a difference in their industry
  • Someone who strives to achieve success and results
  • Someone who demonstrates passion and drive
  • Someone who gives back or inspires others
  • Someone who is recognised by others as having the potential to become a future leader in their industry
  • Someone who is a champion of women in their business or sector
The Timeline
  • 01 Aug: Nominations open
  • 31 Aug: Nominations close
  • 26 Sep: Top 100 shortlist announced and public voting opens for all shortlisted nominees
  • 14 Oct: Public voting closes for all shortlisted nominees
  • 24 Oct: Top 50 Rising Stars announced
  • 09 Nov: Top 50 Rising Star reception and awards ceremony for winners, guests and sponsors
WeAreTheCity India

Established in 2014, WeAreTheCity India has helped thousands of women enhance their careers and businesses through dedicated events, networking groups and its own platform WeAreTheCity.in. Now in its third year, WeAreTheCity India is more committed than ever to highlighting the achievements of the female talent pipeline across the country.

In 2015, WeAreTheCity set a strategic objective of promoting the achievements and supporting the careers of 500 women over the next five years, both in the UK and India. Through WeAreTheCity’s Rising Star awards, and with the support of a number of key organisations, WeAreTheCity plans to add to the list of 150 UK winners by recognising the efforts of an additional 50 women in India.

Rising Stars in the UK

WeAreTheCity launched Rising Stars in the UK in 2015 and since then has recognised the achievements of 150 women. The first awards in 2015 awarded 50 women from 10 different industries as Rising Stars. In 2016, due to the success of the 2015 awards, Rising Stars was expanded to recognise 100 women from 20 industry sectors.

The social media interest in Rising Stars for the 2016 awards has been phenomenal:

  • 5,000 tweets received during the process
  • Our campaign twitter handle #watctop100 trended number one during the UK short list event
  • 850 nominations received
  • 110 countries reached
  • 28,000 votes received during the public vote

 To see profiles and images of our 2016 Rising Star Awards, click here.

If you are interested in sponsoring the Rising Star Awards in India, please email info@wearethecity.com for more details.

female talent in India