Inspiring Women In Business Awards - 2025 - Winner!

We’re Now an Award Winning Business! 

We’re thrilled to share that E3Design Ltd has officially become an award winning business, having been named Most Inspirational Employer – Small Businesses at the Inspiring Women in Business Awards 2025, hosted by the North East Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Sage. 

The NECC put on an amazing event. The room was beautiful, the food was fantastic, and we loved sharing the space with so many other brilliant North East businesses. It was a night to remember and we were especially proud when Sage repeated our own words back to us during the ceremony. 

Recognition and Thanks 

A huge congratulations to our fellow nominees, BJM Group and Week2Week. Being recognised alongside such inspiring businesses made the evening even more meaningful. 

We also want to thank our directors Richard, Peter, and Marc for the vision and support that have shaped E3Design into the company it is today. We also want to thank Katie, one of our previous interns for joining us on the and her contribution to this award. 

Why This Award Matters 

You only need to look at the statistics. In the North East, women make up only 22% of the manufacturing workforce and just 11% of the engineering workforce, despite representing 49% of the UK’s overall workforce. 

We didn’t set out to recruit women “on purpose.” Instead, by creating a fair, inclusive and merit based recruitment process, we naturally built a diverse team. Diversity isn’t a quota, it’s the result of giving everyone the chance to shine. 

Our Initiatives 

Here’s how we support and inspire talent: 

• Wellbeing first: Every team member has access to private healthcare, mental health support, and complementary therapies. 

• Career growth: Lizzie is on her way to becoming a Chartered Engineer and Beth is developing her leadership skills with our full backing. Hannah has worked her way up from intern to full time member of staff too! 

• Biasfree recruitment: We hire on merit, ensuring the best talent rises regardless of gender. 

• Outreach: From internships and university talks to school career days, we show young people, including women that engineering and design are industries where they belong. 

• Networks: As members of multiple networks such as the Women in Engineering Network, we share best practice and fuel sector wide change. 

“No Place to Hide” 

The moment that really stood out at the awards was when Sage quoted our submission back to us: 

“As the company prepares for upcoming leadership changes, we are committed to bringing our staff along on that journey, creating opportunities for them to step up, grow and rise through the ranks. There is no place to hide at E3Design, the ambition to grow and develop is imperative.” 

We were genuinely surprised to hear those words echoed on stage. That phrase sums up our culture perfectly. Everyone here is encouraged to step forward, grow and make their mark. 

Looking Ahead 

We’ll keep building on this foundation: 

• Supporting our people as they grow into leaders. 

• Driving upward sales growth to expand our team. 

• Strengthening outreach to schools, colleges and universities to inspire the next generation of women in STEM. 

Closing 

We’re grateful to the North East Chamber of Commerce and Sage for this recognition, to our fellow nominees for their inspiring contributions and to our incredible team for their passion and dedication. 

This award isn’t just a win, it’s a reminder of the responsibility we carry to keep inspiring, supporting and empowering women in business across the North East and beyond. 

Take a look at some of the glamorous photos from the evening. We think they capture the joy and pride of the night beautifully.  

We had in incredible day, thank you to everyone that came along and made it special. The sore heads the next day were worth it!