'My younger self would be proud' - Girls on the Go founder crowned youngest Merseyside Woman of the Year

Stephanie Barney, CEO & Co-Founder of rapidly expanding social enterprise, Girls On The Go (GOTG), has been named the overall Merseyside Woman of the Year 2025 – the youngest ever winner of the top accolade in the awards’ history.

Driven by her own experiences with isolation, Stephanie, 23, co-founded GOTG to create the safe, supportive communities she wished she'd had.

Under her leadership, GOTG has grown organically across Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham, fostering over 10,000 friendships through hundreds of accessible wellness and social events and raising £65k+ for women's and children's charities.

The ‘Woman of the Year’ award was presented to Stephanie by headline sponsors, FPC, at a glittering ceremony at the Crowne Plaza in Liverpool City Centre on Friday (June 27) – the 15th birthday edition of the prestigious awards.

The 15th birthday event also marked Pauline Daniels’ final year presenting the awards, with the renowned comedienne, singer and actress retiring from her longstanding role as MWOTY commère, who was celebrated by MWOTY founding director, Ellie, during the event.

Attendees also heard from guest speaker, Nicola Carragher, who is currently completing a challenge to run all seven Abbott World Marathon Majors consecutively within 12 months, to raise as much money as possible for Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.

Receiving the top award Stephanie said: “Winning this award is one of the biggest honours of my life, it’s absolutely amazing and I am so proud of myself and my co-founders Caitlin and Martin.

“I also think my younger self would be really, really proud of me right now. What we’ve created with Girls On The Go (GOTG) is what she needed when she was feeling really isolated.

“Winning Merseyside Woman of the Year will allow us to grow GOTG, make sure no one ever feels as lonely as I did and help as many women as we can.

“I also want to congratulate the other winners and finalists, who are all doing incredible things to help and support women. It’s an honour to share this stage with you all.”

Merseyside Women of the Year 2025 winners

• Merseyside Woman of the Year - Stephanie Barney
• The Community Leader award - Racheal Jones, CEO of One Knowsley
• The Entrepreneur award - Katie Bowater, founder of the Young Entrepreneurs Club
• The Community Champion - ASDA Community Champion, Sharon Gregory-Wareing
• The Inspirational Women award - Andrea Newton
• The Women of Courage award - Mel Kelly, Motivating Minds,
• The Business Leader award - Gillian Ashcroft, founder of Exceptional Care and Think Tank Academy
• The Social Impact award - Gemma Gosling, founder of Iconic NW CIC
• The Women Making a Difference Award - Dr Rebecca Dobson, Consultant Cardiologist and Cancer Lead at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospita
• The 2025 MWOTY Fellowship - Cynthia Cartwright, commercial director at Wongs Jewellers