ABOUT THE BATON AWARDS
Shining a spotlight on women from a diverse racial group,
The Baton Awards: Celebrating women from a diverse racial group from the Past, Present and Future, were founded by Dr Diahanne Rhiney BCAe, in honour of her late mother Caroline Rhiney to encourage women from a diverse racial group to overcome barriers to success in industries and professions where women from a diverse racial group struggle to be recognised.
A young inspirational speaker who recovered from a coma, a children’s coordinator for the musical The Lion King, a British Bangladeshi former boxer, a BBC London News correspondent – those were just a few of the winner’s stories from The Baton Awards inaugural ceremony, which was held at the Houses of Parliament in London in November 2018.
Our 2025 nominations will open in March 2025 and can be submitted in 14 categories, including Entrepreneur of the Year, Third Sector of the Year, Thought Leader of the Year, and STEM Trailblazer. Winners in each of the categories will receive their Baton Award 2025 from inspiring leaders, role models and pioneering predecessors (torchbearers) in the field they are making waves in.
“Racism remains a widespread issue in everyday working life for women from a diverse racial group in the UK and the world over as we continue to be served a ‘double disadvantage’ in education and industry. The Last year, I was humbled to see that our females from diverse racial groups are achieving so much in spite of such adversity, barriers and inequality. This marks the seventh annual Baton Awards event and we look forward to celebrating the contributions make by remarkable women across all the categories.
”We have to stand together from every corner of the planet and empower one another’s efforts in a bid to show the world what we are made of.
Diahanne Rhiney, Founder
The Baton Awards will acknowledge the U.K’s females from diverse racial group achievers whilst honouring the role models who have made their achievements possible by paving the way. These awards will celebrate progress and recognise women from diverse racial groups in the U.K who demonstrate outstanding achievements. The evening will raise funds for children’s charity, Strength With In Me Foundation (S.W.I.M); the children’s Domestic Abuse charity that works toward building a generation of empowered females by educating them about healthy and toxic relationships.
‘Campaigns such as #MeToo have shown us that change is possible…. But it’s a slow process. Unfortunately, as women from diverse racial groups and protests such as #blacklivesmatter, shows that process is even slower. As a collective, we have to constantly push it and move it forward. ‘We have to stand together from every corner of the planet and empower one another’s efforts in a bid to show the world what we are made of.’ Founder, Dr Diahanne Rhiney BCAe.
2018 was hailed ‘The Year of The Woman’ and this is the circle of progress upon which The Baton Awards is based.
OUR CHOSEN CHARITY
Strength With In Me Foundation (S.W.I.M)
Why S.W.I.M?
Domestic Abuse registered children’s charity Strength With In Me Foundation (S.W.I.M) 1165152 is a pioneering approach to addressing domestic abuse. The charity raises awareness and promotes healthy relationships by equipping young people with the emotional tools to avoid, combat and leave toxic relationships.
The government finally published updated guidelines for councils, created in partnership with experts to ensure the U.K response to domestic meets the needs of victims from diverse racial groups who are unheard, misunderstood, marginalised and disproportionately affected by Domestic Abuse. S.W.I.M provides comprehensive intervention in response to the prevalence of Domestic Abuse among young girls and women, shining a spotlight on the 15% of victims from diverse racial groups affected by Domestic Abuse.
Find out more about SWIM