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Nominations are now open for the 2024 Dianne Bevelander Prize which honours an individual who has delivered a significant contribution to the advancement of women during 2023.

Created in honour of the life and work of the founder of Erasmus Centre for Women and Organisations (ECWO), Prof. Dianne Bevelander, the prize is now in its third year. The previous winners are Karen de Sousa Pesse (2023), Senior Executive at Salesforce, and Geke Rosier (2022), founder of RightBrains.

The prize is open to individuals located anywhere in the world who have made an impact with regards to the following criteria:

  • A substantial contribution to strengthening the advancement of women in their organisation or in society during 2023
  • A role model who inspires women to advance their careers and create change.
  • An individual who has demonstrated a tangible effort to create systemic change in their organisation and/or society, for the benefit of gender equality.

“I believe that we should all do what we can to make the world a better place, but I feel like we have taken quite a few steps backwards in recent times, which requires us to really play our role,” says de Sousa Pesse. You can read more about the inspirational journey of our 2023 winner in this recently published interview.

“We are thrilled to be presenting this important prize for the third year in 2024,” comments ECWO’s Executive Director, Prof. Hanneke Takkenberg.

“It is particularly meaningful because this year we are celebrating ECWO’s 10th anniversary and will be honouring the exceptional work that Dianne did in furthering gender equality in organisations and the impact she had on the leadership journeys of individual women. It is also a year in which we are expanding out of ECWO’s founding mission to one that is centred on creating inclusive organisations for everyone. Against this background, we are really looking forward to seeing who is nominated this year.”

The Dianne Bevelander Award honours the life and work of ECWO’s founder who died in August 2021. It is part of the Dianne Bevelander Fund which aims to both empower women and highlight and honour those who have made a significant contribution to the advancement of women.

Adjudicated by a jury headed by Prof. Takkenberg, the winner receives a € 1,500 grant to be used for a project that amplifies gender equality, in an area of society of their choosing.  The 2024 winner will be announced on June 17th in honour of Prof. Bevelander’s birthday and the prize will be handed over during ECWO’s annual conference which this year will take place in October.

Please note that nominations close at midnight (CET) on May 15th 2024.

You can find the form for your nomination here.

More information

About Professor Dianne Bevelander

A true pioneer of gender equality in organisations, in 2011, in her role as Associate Dean for MBA Programmes, Prof. Bevelander established the first all women leadership elective as part of Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University’s MBA programme. In 2014 she founded  ECWO as a centre of teaching, research, advisory and advocacy, focusing on redressing the gender imbalance in organisations and empowering women to reach their full potential, create communities and drive change in society. Prof. Bevelander died on August 29th 2021 after a nearly two decade career at RSM

About ECWO

Erasmus Centre for Women and Organisations (ECWO) is committed to fostering inclusion. Our founding purpose in 2014 was to empower women and to create a level playing field by building communities for organisational change. Today, ECWO has expanded its perspective to embrace a wider vision of a world of inclusive prosperity. Our new mission is to create a sense of belonging for everyone within organisations through diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), anchored in social safety. We strive for settings where everyone feels valued, respected and supported. We conduct research and produce evidence-led educational programmes, events, coaching, advocacy, and advisory services. We stay true to our roots, and we have evolved to recognise that achieving true inclusion and equity requires encompassing all, regardless of gender or identity.

Type
EC for women and organisations