Whatever your views of Awards Ceremonies- the feeling of pride and happiness when you win an award is real.  For me , sharing that moment last week with several of the brilliant women who work tirelessly to make WUN what it is, made the moment all the more special.

The announcement itself was a huge high- but actually the real pride comes from the fact that the judges recognise the power of the movement that WUN has become. This was totally reinforced with what happened after the presentation and photos.

First- two of our table, both mothers of girls newly entered in the workplace, had congratulatory messages from their daughters within seconds of sitting down. The power of role models should never be underestimated.

One of the table openly shared that she would not have got through the last year without the support of the WUN network and particularly fellow advocates and supporters. Balancing the challenges of life and motherhood, whilst building a career, is really tough.

Several commented, that the real power of WUN comes from the stories from hundreds of mentees that we are seeing progressing in their careers thanks to the support of WUN mentors. The power of personal mentorship and allyship is so important in helping boost individuals up their career paths.

We shared the reflection of the buzz in the room at all our events and how inspiring our speakers are. We love seeing new members come to events, often feeling nervous and slightly intimidated, before leaving on a total high with new contacts in the sector on whom they can draw support throughout their careers.

WUN continues to develop due to the passion and talent of women involved- it was brilliant to hear of the individual pride of one of the team who is leading the #speakup campaign, and another who is driving our development programme development. We were all also looking forward to our own Women In Utility Awards in June, another brilliant initiative driven by individuals in the team.

Perhaps, however, what sums up the real heart and soul of WUN, was the very jolly walk back to hotels at the end of the event- shared laughter, shared purpose, shared passion and the immortal phrase ‘Less talking, more doing’ . The network is all about supporting women become the best they can in their careers in the sector- and getting on and doing is what we do best!

Jo Butlin, WUN Co-Founder & Director