The awards ceremony was hosted by BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour presenter Dame Jenni Murray with the Secretary of State for Defense, The Rt Hon Gavin Williamson MP announcing the winners.

Northrop Grumman was among the 30 finalists and had nominations in three categories; the Promotion of Gender Balance, Inclusive Teamwork and Unsung Heroines awards. This was the highest number of finalists by any company. In addition, Northrop Grumman sponsored the STEM in Defense category for the second consecutive year.

Northrop Grumman receptionist, Maggie O’Connell-Western, won the Unsung Heroines award in recognition of her unstinting loyalty to the company and tireless contribution in providing encouragement and support to others. Lieutenant Colonel Deborah Taylor, Army, won the STEM in Defense award category for her outstanding work in masterminding the first STEM careers showcase for secondary school girls hosted at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

“Two areas that we are passionate about and which are vitally important for our future success are diversity in the workplace and inspiring future generations through STEM outreach,” said Ben Palmer, director, European strategy and business development, Northrop Grumman. “Creating a workforce and a workplace that values diversity and fosters inclusion is pivotal to promoting innovation and helping maintain leadership in technology. We are immensely proud of our finalists’ achievements and we offer our congratulations to Maggie O’Connell -Western and Lt Col Deborah Taylor on being inspiring ambassadors for the work that women do in defense. We look forward to the Women in Defense Awards in 2019.”

Now in its third year, the Women in Defense UK Awards had more than 300 nominations from across the defense community, including the Armed Forces, Civil Service, defense industry and the defense third sector organizations.

Women in Defense UK was founded in 2011 to recognize the contribution made by women across defense and to provide a platform for networking, discussion and the exchange of ideas and experiences for women working at all levels in both public sector and industry in UK defense.

Northrop Grumman is committed to expanding and enhancing the pipeline of diverse, talented STEM students globally and to providing funding for sustainable STEM programs for schools and universities. Our primary STEM programs in the UK are CyberCenturion and the Summer Time Advanced Aerospace Residency (STAAR) summer camp.

For more information, visit news.northropgrumman.com.