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Inclusive Teamwork Award 2025 

This Award is to recognise where a team has demonstrated inclusive working, where all team members have had a voice and been able to contribute, leading to a successful outcome with a tangible positive impact for the organisation. 

Who can be entered?

This Award is open to teams only. Please note Winners of any category are excluded from nominations for any Women in Defence UK Awards for 2 years.

What will the judges be looking for?

Margaret Heffernan, author of Wilful Blindness says: “An inclusive culture is one in which difference such as background, education, thinking styles and cultural orientation are seen as an asset not a problem.” This is precisely what our judges will be looking for; teams where individuals feel that their voice is heard without them having to shout. Inclusive teams are where members don’t have to hide who they are or change to fit in with ‘the norm’. 

The judges will not just be looking for diverse teams. Whilst diversity and inclusion are often grouped together, they are not the same. You can have a diverse workforce without being inclusive. Inclusion is about fostering an environment that values the individuals in a diverse workforce and brings them together. 

See also

The Inclusive Teamwork Award shares similarities with the Most Collaborative Award. The key difference is that the Most Collaborative Award is for individuals and focuses on the benefits realised through collaborative working, whilst the Inclusive Teamwork Award is for teams and focuses on the creation of an inclusive teamwork approach where everyone’s opinion is valued. 

Finalists from earlier years

Last year’s Finalists were from Babcock, the MoD and Rolls Royce. The Winners were recognised for their hard work in leading a grassroots campaign to reinvigorate Bristol’s gender diversity network and STEM outreach activities, which have really helped in the recruitment of women and support of current women in the workforce. The other Finalists were nominated for: their work on the Land Equipment Support extension lead contract, driving an inclusive and collaborative environment; and for writing, implementing and advising on policy that has the most positive impact on families of service personnel.

How do I nominate?

Nominating someone is simple, just go to the Women in Defence UK 2025 Awards Nominations Proforma, but we advise that you read this first! 

To nominate, follow these easy steps: 

  1. Provide the contact details of the team you are nominating, please note the need to confirm that you have their agreement to share their details. 
  2. Tell us briefly why you think they deserve to be nominated (the citation part of the nomination form). 
  3. Provide your own contact details. 

The citation part of the nomination form is broken down into three elements:

  1. An overview of why you are nominating this team (maximum of 200 words). 
  2. An explanation of how they have demonstrated the criteria for this Award category (maximum of 200 words). 
  3. Examples of the results they have achieved as supporting evidence (maximum of 200 words). 

Please note

The citation must reflect a true and accurate account of the attributes, achievements and impact of the actions of the team. Women in Defence UK requires all nominators to verify that the citations are factually correct.

AI can be used to create all or part of the citation. If used, it is the nominator’s personal responsibility to ensure that all company or organisational security, privacy and information management protocols have been followed. We ask for transparency if any AI tool has been used – you will see a question as part of the nomination procedure.

You should only include information that is up to the classification of ‘Official’. Information that is ‘Official Sensitive’ or higher must not be included.

A nomination using essentially the same narrative or evidence should not be entered in more than one Award by a single nominator. A nominee may be entered more than once in one or more categories by different nominators, providing the narrative in the citation does not duplicate, or near word for word resemble, the citations of other nominators. 

Entries will not be accepted from the partner, spouse or other close family member of a nominee.

There is a word limit of 200 words per section. Even if the form allows you to enter more, the citation sent for judging will be shortened if it exceeds this limit, which could mean that it ends mid-sentence.

Hints and tips

The judges refer to the category criteria when judging submissions. They look to see how the activity/behaviour/impact meets the criteria for each category. So put yourself in the judges’ shoes. They read lots of citations so capture their attention early, be concise and provide context. It may be obvious to you why an achievement is so worthy of recognition, but our judges may not have the same background or experience so please explain the significance. 

Providing context to the citation (i.e. sphere of work, day to day tasks, key challenges, etc.), and tangible evidence of the outcome or effect that this had on others will strengthen the nomination hugely. Our judges may not be familiar with all parts of the defence enterprise so avoid, or at the very least explain, acronyms. 

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