Meghan Markle's British Vogue issue has won a diversity award a year after it was criticized for not including enough white people on the cover

• The "Forces for Change" issue that Meghan Markle guest-edited for British Vogue has won The Diversity Initiative of the Year PPA Award.
• "Creating 'Forces for Change' with Edward [Enninful, Editor-in-Chief] was an opportunity to have the September Issue of Vogue reflect the world as we see it — beautiful and strong in its diversity," Markle said in a statement.
• The issue, which showcased 15 inspirational women on the cover, was criticized at the time of its publication last year for not including any white men on the cover.
• "If I was pale, male and stale, I'd be feeling pretty discriminated against right now," Camilla Tominey wrote in The Telegraph in July 2019.
• The Telegraph did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

British Vogue's "Forces for Change" issue guest-edited by the Duchess of Sussex, has won a diversity award after it was criticized for not including any white men on the cover.

The magazine was awarded The Diversity Initiative of the Year PPA Award for its September Issue, which showcased 15 inspirational women.

The women, including "The Good Place" star and activist Jameela Jamil and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, were handpicked by Markle for "raising the bar for equality, kindness, justice, and open mindedness."

"I'm honored to have this very special issue recognized," the Duchess of Sussex said in a statement.

"Creating 'Forces for Change' with Edward [Enninful, Editior-in-Chief] was an opportunity to have the September Issue of Vogue reflect the world as we see it — beautiful and strong in its diversity.

"Huge congratulations to Edward who helped bring this to light, and for his additional honor of being awarded 'best editor' by PPA," she added.

The issue faced criticism at the time of its publication last summer. Camilla Tominey, a royal correspondent and Associate Editor at The Telegraph, said it wasn't fair that Markle didn't include any white men — and only five white women — on the cover.

"People often mistake me for a royalist when actually I'm a realist," Tominey wrote in The Telegraph.

"So in the interests of 'keeping it real', may I make the following remarks without being accused of racism (either consciously or unconsciously?) Probably not, as far as the Twittersphere is concerned, but I'm going to make them anyway.

"First of all, I wonder whether Meghan was conscious of the bias she showed in choosing 15 'forces for change' for the Vogue cover, all of whom were women, of which only five were white?" she added.

"If I was pale, male and stale, I'd be feeling pretty discriminated against right now."

She went on: "I don't think I have ever seen a more misguided or patronizing outpouring from a pair of royals since I first started covering the beat in 2005."

In a statement made ahead of the issue's publication, the duchess said she made a point in choosing a "diverse selection of women from all walks of life."

"For the cover, The Duchess chose a diverse selection of women from all walks of life, each driving impact and raising the bar for equality, kindness, justice and open mindedness," a spokesperson for the duchess wrote on Instagram.

"The sixteenth space on the cover, a mirror, was included so that when you hold the issue in your hands, you see yourself as part of this collective."

The Telegraph did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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