A day after International Women’s Day 2026, Anti Copying In Design (ACID) is celebrating the recognition of its co-founder and chairman, Dids Macdonald OBE – also a past master of The Furniture Makers' Company – who was nominated and included in the 2026 Women in Trade Association Powerlist.
The Powerlist is a collaboration between the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the Trade Association Forum (TAF), created to celebrate and recognise inspirational women working within the association sector. This year’s list was compiled from more than 200 nominations, with a panel from TAF, FSB, CBI undertaking the task of selecting the 100 women who make up the final Powerlist.
Nicola Bates, chair of the selection panel and CEO of WineGB, says: “We are at a unique point in UK history – just 20 years ago the make-up of such a list would not be as powerful, and if we reflect back to our parents’ generation there would barely be a cohort to celebrate. We are now at the happy period where the curation of a powerlist of women in trade associations is difficult, not because it is hard to fill, but to filter to 100 women."
ACID’s CEO Laura Newbold Breen comments: “On International Women’s Day 2026, though it is absolutely no surprise to see Dids named on a list of inspirational women, it is fantastic that this accolade has been attributed to her in recognition of Dids’ unending contribution to the ACID team and the UK designer sector. The recent design consultation is a testament to Dids’ tireless commitment to campaigning on behalf of designers everywhere to ensure the IP landscape is improved and the best it can be for our UK creative industries. Congratulations from all of us at ACID!"
