Women of the Year Awards 2023: Read the full list of winners as Baroness Hale and Merope Mills honoured

The winners of the 2023 Women of the Year Awards have finally been revealed, with tributes paid to women across the UK who have achieved extraordinary things over the past twelve months.

Hosted by Mel Giedroyc, the ceremony's presenters included the likes of Felicity Jones, Rachel Riley, Clara Amfo, and Susanna Reid, while amongst those honoured were Baroness Hale - the first female Justice of the UK Supreme Court - and Merope Mills, who tirelessly campaigned for a patient's right to an urgent second medical opinion after her daughter's death was deemed preventable.

The annual event, held at the Royal Lancaster in London, was attended by more than 400 women who had come together to celebrate women's successes in every walk of life. Tory MP Penny Mordaunt was one of the guests present, joined by ex-Strictly Come Dancing Judge Arlene Phillips, as well as a variety of celebrity presenters - such as Emma Bunton and Lorraine Kelly.

Lady Louise Vaughan, chair of Women of the Year, said after the winners had been announced: “I'm once again full of admiration to be in a room among these extraordinary women, and to celebrate their varied and many awe-inspiring achievements. The innovation, tenacity, and courage exemplified by these women, and their incredible work which has changed the lives of those it touches for the better, is something that is deeply important to recognise and honour.”

Here is a full list of winners, details on who presented the awards, and some photos from the ceremony.

Campaign of the Year Award

• Winner: Merope Mills
• Presented by: Susanna Reid

Merope has campaigned for a patient's right to an urgent second opinion after her daughter Martha tragically died from sepsis two years ago, following failures in her medical treatment at King's College Hospital. Coroners concluded following an inquest into Martha's death that she could have survived if her care had been better. 'Martha's Rule' has been backed by Health Secretary Steve Barclay, who said he was committed to introducing the scheme as quickly as possible.

Merope said: "I feel honoured to receive the award for Campaign of the Year. In telling Martha's story, I wanted to highlight preventable deaths in our healthcare system. Martha's Rule is essential in empowering patients to speak up on hospital wards. Ultimately, it will enable patients themselves to trigger a critical care review - effectively a second opinion - if they feel their care is going wrong, their concerns are being ignored, or their voice isn't being heard. I'd like to dedicate this award to my wonderful daughter. Martha was bright, brave and brilliant in every way. She is deeply loved and deeply missed."

Gamechanger Award

• Winner: Lisa Woodcock
• Presented by: Lorraine Kelly

Lisa has tirelessly campaigned to raise awareness about organ donation, after she herself underwent a life-saving liver transplant. She has said she would not be alive today if she had not had the surgery.

Innovation Award

• Winner: Dr Alicja Dzieciol
• Presented by: Emma Bunton

Dr Dzieciol is the co-founder of environmental company SilviBio, which creates products to increase tree seed germination and seedling survival, minimising the harmful effects of water scarcity. Upon receiving her award, she said: “I am deeply humbled to be recognised by Vodafone for the 2023 Woman of Innovation Award. If you had told me where I’d end up when I originally founded SilviBio four years ago, I would never in a million years have believed you!

"And not because I didn’t believe in my company’s mission of helping foresters grow more trees, more sustainably. But because I was one woman alone, and now I’m not. I’m surrounded by my wonderful team who share our company’s vision and lend their talents and skills towards making that vision a reality. What we’ve achieved so far is only the beginning."

Community Champion Award

• Winner: Raksha Pattni 
• Presented by: Rachel Riley

Raksha was awarded for her work with education charity SHINE, through which she has focused on helping teachers tackle north-south disadvantage gaps across the UK.

She said: "I passionately believe that everyone should get a fair chance of success in life, regardless of where you live and whether your parents are rich or poor. Sadly, this is not the case everywhere in the country, particularly in the north of England. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds don’t do as well as their more affluent peers and by the time they leave school they are already behind by nearly 18 months.

"This has an inevitable impact on their future success. I’m grateful to the Women of the Year awards for highlighting the issues that I am passionate about. I hope this honour inspires others to become change-makers and champions of social mobility and make sure no child or young person is left behind because of their background.”

Founder of the Year

• Winner: Samantha Payne
• Presented by: Kath Tregenna 

Samantha is the co-founder and COO of Open Bionics, a UK-based company that develops bionic limbs via low-cost, 3D printing. Kath, a teacher, received bionic arms and legs from Open Bionics, after suffering sepsis. She was awarded Woman of Courage Award in 2022.

Samantha said: “At Open Bionics we are on a mission to develop assistive technologies that enhance the human body. I’m honoured to be recognised as Linklaters founder of the year, and grateful for our community, engineering, clinical, production, and support teams, who make this magic happen. Watch this space – there’s more innovation to come!”

Campaigner for Health Equity Award

• Winner: Professor Bola Owolabi
• Presented by: Clara Amfo

Bola is a GP and director of the NHS Health Inequalities and Improvement Team. She is working to reduce disparities in access and outcome for medical treatment.

She said: “It’s both an honour and a privilege to be a recipient of the Gilead Woman of the Year Award. Tackling health inequalities is complex work and requires a super-matrix way of working involving action across multiple organisations and sectors.

"The NHS England National Healthcare Inequalities team which I have the privilege of leading have provided clarity of vision, ambition, and direction in this space, which has in turn galvanised whole system energy and momentum to drive change. I dedicate this Award wholeheartedly to my team.”

Lifetime Achievement Award

• Winner: Baroness Hale
• Presented by: Felicity Jones

Brenda Marjorie Hale, Lady Hale of Richmond, has had a lifetime of firsts during her career in law. First, after graduating from the male-dominated University of Cambridge in 1966, Baroness Hale taught at Manchester University, and also qualified as a barrister. From there, she specialised in Family and Social Welfare law, was founding editor of the Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, and authored a pioneering case book on ‘The Family, Law, and Society’.

In 1984, Baroness Hale made history as the first woman to be appointed to the Law Commission, where she helped bring in important legislation such as the Children Act 1989, the Family Law Act 1996, and the Mental Capacity Act 2005. In 1994, she became a High Court judge, and in 1999, she was the second woman to be promoted to the Court of Appeal. After becoming the UK’s first woman Lord of Appeal in Ordinary in January 2004, she became the first woman Justice of the Supreme Court in October 2009.

Baroness Hale said: “What a delight to be among so many wonderful women to celebrate their achievements! It’s an honour to be among them.”