Marketing teams sit at the heart of many successful channel businesses. The winner of this award will have demonstrated excellence in a marketing role.

Role Model of the Year 

The maxim goes, ‘You can’t be what you can’t see.’ With the IT channel desperately short of women workers, especially at more senior levels, role models are essential.

This award will go to the woman who most inspires her colleagues and leads by example.

Executive Mentor of the Year

This category will be open to all - regardless of gender. CRN wants to recognise that the drive towards better representation in our industry is not something that happens in isolation; that everyone is working towards this goal.

The Executive Mentor of the Year Award will celebrate those who are proactively helping women to rise through to senior leadership positions.

Outstanding Returner Award

There's no ‘perfect time' to return to work after starting - or expanding - a family, being a carer, or having to take time out for health reasons. The returning process can represent obstacles in a career path.

For this category, the judges will be looking for a returner who can provide an inspirational example of returning successfully to a career, highlighting both personal commitment and drive as well as dedication and support by the organisation.

Rising Star Award

The Rising Star Award is for 2024's most trailblazing young woman in the channel.

This may be a graduate scheme employee who has made an exceptionally strong impact in a short time, or a young manager or executive who is making waves through the business.

Graduate/Apprentice of the Year 

The skills shortage has prompted many resellers and MSPs to pursue a ‘grow your own' model by building out their graduate training and apprenticeship programmes. Many channel leaders have told us that talent, and retention are more essential to business survival than ever.

This award will go to a graduate or apprentice that has made an immediate impact in their role, whether that be sales, technical, or another area of the business.

Diversity Champion of the Year

This category is open to all individuals.

CRN wants to recognise individuals that is passionate about diversity and personally highlights diversity issues and opportunities.

They champion and celebrate diversity in the workplace and lead the way for future generations.

Sales Employee of the Year 

Sales has always been the bedrock of the channel. This award will go to an outstanding saleswoman who consistently tops the sales leader boards at a vendor, distributor or reseller.

Manager of the Year 

This winner of this award will be a strong team leader and mentor to staff around them.

The judges will look for evidence of someone who goes above and beyond to help members of their team and who is known for being dependable and supportive.

A strong manager can not only help drive sales growth but help create a work culture that enables people within her team to thrive. Has this individual done this?

Mental Health Champion of the Year

This category is open to all individuals. With employees often citing a positive work culture as a pull factor in recruitment and retention, how is this individual helping to champion support for mental health in the workplace?

This category aims to recognise an advocate of mental health in the workplace, who supports colleagues and seeks to create a positive change in mental wellbeing in the company.

Unsung Hero 

The winner of this category will be someone whose colleagues regard as indispensable to the business, but whose hard work often goes unnoticed.

Note: this could be in a non-customer facing role that isn't encompassed by the other categories, such as finance or operations.

Technical Employee of the Year

CRN would like to shine a spotlight on the women of our market who are excelling in a technical, pre-sales or support role at a vendor, distributor or reseller.

For this category, the judges will be looking for someone who can demonstrate that their technical expertise has helped their business. Please be specific and testimonials are advised.

Entrepreneur of the Year

Entrepreneur in this sense isn't necessarily a business founder, it could mean someone who has created a new business unit or other group within a larger organisation, spearheaded a key business initiative or otherwise been at the helm of significant change.

This award will be given to the woman who best demonstrates the success, both current and potential, of her idea.

CRN Woman of the Year 2024

This prestigious industry award will go to the person most deserving of recognition for her achievements in the IT channel this year. Their successes won't necessarily fit neatly into any of the other categories and could even span several of them. 

The successful person will be inspiring to others and will have brought about significant success and change in their organisation. 

Mental wellbeing is now widely as a legitimate health concern that tangibly affects both home and work lives. This award will recognise organisations in the channel that have the put the health and wellbeing of their staff at the forefront.

Best Diversity Recruitment Initiative of the Year

The scarcity of the tech talent pipeline is now one of the most significant blockers to growth in the UK economy. This award is in recognition of the feedback from the market to CRN that attention to this issue is more critical than ever.

This award is to celebrate the best examples of employers who not only welcome diversity but manage the process of inclusion in their recruitment processes.

Cultural Inclusion Company of the Year

The Cultural Inclusion Award is for the employer that has shown outstanding commitment in creating a workplace environment and culture that makes all employees from all backgrounds feel valued and appreciated.

** NEW ** Championing Diversity Award

The tech channel, like many other industries, has always had a strong representation of men. This award will go to an organisation with a strong track record  of uplifting and driving more women representation within their organisation. The winner will demonstrate either that they have a relatively high percentage of females both across their business, and in executive positions, or that they are making strong headway in this area.

LGBTQIA+ Champion Award

Within the tech sector great work is being done to attract, retain and nurture the best LGBTQIA+ talent.

According to the charity Stonewall, one in eight LGBTQIA+ people don't feel able to disclose their identity to colleagues. Employers who are committed to LGBTQIA+ inclusion can help transform the working lives of their staff through creating a culture that helps staff feel able to be honest about their identity. 

How has your company created an inclusive culture for LGBTQIA+ employees? How have you put LGBTQIA+ at heart of your HR policies and recruitment processes?