A woman from St Albans has been shortlisted for the Outstanding Mother of the Year Award as part of the 2015 Women4africa Awards.

Women4africa is a UK registered organisation focused on celebrating and empowering Africa and its women. Its popular Women4africa Awards is one of the many ways the organisation celebrates and honours these powerful women.

Funke Abimbola, 41, who has been shortlisted for the award, is a single mother of Nigerian descent and juggles looking after her 12-year-old son and working as the most senior black lawyer in the UK pharmaceutical industry.

Ms Abimbola is an award-winning solicitor leading the UK & Ireland legal team of the world's largest biotech company and has made it her missions to promote diversity within the legal profession.

She has received widespread recognition for her legal work with a number of recent award wins and nominations, including being the only woman solicitor nominated for the Most Innovative European in-house lawyer award at the 2014 Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards.

Ms Abimbola said: "This came as a real surprise to me but I am absolutely delighted because this provides another venue to publicise and really push the legal diversity agenda even further."

If she is selected as a winner, she will be presented with her award at an awards ceremony in London in May.