Niri Arambepola, Claire Gott and Athena Livesey from WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff; Marina Parry from Cancer Research UK, University of Manchester; and Mary Akangbe from the NHS have been named among 100 new Rising Stars created by WeAreTheCity for 2017.

The five are proud winners in the Science and Engineering category, sponsored by 3M, and will join a further 95 category winners representing areas such as banking, construction, education and academia, sport and technology, at a special presentation event to be held at NewsUK’s headquarters in London on 12 July.

3M corporate communications manager, John Klee, met some of the shortlisted candidates at a celebration evening held in Bloomberg, London, on 8 June.

Speaking about the celebration event, Athena Livesey said: “It is such an honour to be shortlisted for the Science and Engineering category. Although this is a competition, the feeling in the room was infectiously positive. I had so many lightbulb moments from listening to the speakers and also speaking to my peers. Every woman there was an inspiration and every time I meet someone new I was blown away.”

For the competition, more than 1,250 entries were assessed by a panel of 33 independent judges including Baroness Goudie; Lara Morgan, serial entrepreneur and investor; and Eleanor Mills, editorial director of the Sunday Times. During the month of May, more than 35,000 public votes were cast from 110 countries for the 200 shortlisted nominees.

WeAreTheCity is an online forum that provides free careers advice and launched the prestigious Rising Star awards in 2015 to showcase the pipeline of female talent in the UK and create role models across 22 different industries and professions.

The Times and The Sunday Times are the headline sponsors of the 2017 awards, which are supported by leading organisations including 3M, Aon, Barclays, Bloomberg, Cancer Research UK, LinkedIn, Lloyd’s, Morgan Stanley and Oliver Wyman.

Find out more about 3M