Cartier Unveils the Dazzling Champions of the 2023 Cartier Women’s Initiative

Cartier Crowns the Leading Ladies of Innovation in the 2023 Cartier Women’s Initiative.

Cartier announces the awardees of the 2023 edition of the Cartier Women’s Initiative

Meet the awardees of the Cartier Women’s Initiative, women changemakers using entrepreneurship as a force of positive change. Following a series of talks from speakers including Amal Clooney, Yara Shahidi, Nadine Labaki and Mélanie Laurent, the annual prizes were awarded to 32 new fellows. Under the theme of Forces for Good, projects ranged from creating app-based communities for women suffering gender-based violence to developing fossil fuel replacements.

The Cartier Women’s Initiative is an annual international entrepreneurship program that aims to drive change by empowering women impact entrepreneurs. Founded in 2006, the program is open to women-run and women-owned businesses from any country and sector that aim to have a strong and sustainable social and/or environmental impact.

Hosted by broadcaster, writer and women’s activist Sandi Toksvig, the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards Ceremony brought together a diverse community of global thinkers and doers, encompassing prominent leaders, entrepreneurs, public personalities and changemakers, all addressing women’s empowerment from their unique perspectives and pooling their efforts to deliver change, for good.

The celebration began with an opening remark from the co-founder of the Clooney Foundation for Justice and leading barrister in international law, Amal Clooney, who shed light on her legal fight for gender parity for a thriving world. Her powerful speech was then followed by welcome remarks from CEO and President of Cartier International Cyrille Vigneron.

The ceremony then moved on to lightning talks and a video “What Impact Entrepreneurs Need From You”, featuring the 32 fellows, as well as speeches and conversations involving Wingee Sampaio, Cartier Women’s Initiative Global Program Director, Nadine Labaki, Actress, Director and Activist, Yara Shahidi, Actress, Producer and Change Agent, and Mélanie Laurent, French Actress, Director, and Environmental Activist. They discussed how each individual can gather its strength to amplify a global solidarity movement and inspire everyone to become an agent of change. Drawing on Cartier’s role in supporting artistic expression, the ceremony also included a stunning artistic performance, reflecting the theme of this year’s edition “Forces for Good”, led by dancer, choreographer, and designer Sadeck Waff.

The celebration was then concluded by the announcement of the first-place, second-place and third-place awardees selected for each of the 11 awards, comprising the nine regional awards, including Oceania and Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa launched this year and the two thematic awards, the Science and Technology Pioneer Award launched in 2021 and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award, created this year.