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Women in Advertising and Communications (Wacl) has launched a talent competition aimed at improving gender equality in the industry.

Launched yesterday (15 September), the Wacl Talent Award is set to award grants of up to £3,000 to 30 women, which can be used by winners to fund the training course of their choice.

The award was previously called the Future Leaders Award, but has been changed to better align with Wacl's goal of accelerating gender equality in the marketing industry.

Women from all levels of the industry are eligible to apply, including freelancers, workers currently on furlough and those who have been made redundant.

“With training budgets decimated, this year, more than ever, we need to be investing in the next generation of female leaders in our industry,” Claire Hilton, global brand and people experience director at Virgin, and member of the Wacl executive committee, said.

“We at Wacl are proud to be launching the Talent Awards, supporting 100% of training bursaries up to £3,000, and encourage women across our industry to apply for the opportunity.”

Each winner will receive a membership to the Futures networking group – created and run by Wacl Future Leaders Award-winning alumni – as well as a 12-month membership to the Chartered Management Institute, which focuses on management and leadership excellence via training and qualifications.

Winners will also be given access to a digital workshop hosted by career development company Amazing If; while the winner of the Patricia Mann award, which champions change and challenge to support other women, will receive an annual membership to business women networking platform, AllBright.

Michaela Williams, associate director at Generation Media and winner of last year’s Patricia Mann award, said: “One thing 2020 and winning the FLA have in common is that they have taught me that life can be unexpectedly surprising and how important it is to wholeheartedly open up and throw yourself into things (without imposter syndrome) because you have no idea how well it can turn out. 

“Winning an FLA and the Patricia Mann [award] has been a whirlwind; it's opened experiences for me, re-energised my purpose and goals, provided me a network of other amazing women and turned such a doomy year into one of my best and most exciting yet," she said.