We’re looking for women working in the field of innovation who are defining and designing better futures for us all.

Our awards are for leaders, rising stars, and any women taking big strides in innovation as well as the general innovations or startups that are inventive, disruptive of the industry, and pushes the boundaries of the industry.

For our 2023 Program, we have multiple awards across our two categories, Innovators and Innovations. You can view the Innovators application here and the Innovations application here.

If you’re nominating an innovator, you’ll complete the Innovators application. If you’re nominating an innovation, you’ll complete the Innovations application. Both applications are displayed in a card-by-card format, so we advise you to review the Awards & Eligibility requirements and prepare a document of responses accordingly before beginning your application. Once you are ready to begin the application, it should not take more than 5-10 minutes to complete.

Applicants will fill in the necessary information for the award category they'd like to apply for by the dates outlined below.

Applicants will then be asked a series of questions and can review their application (as well as save it) at the end.

Applicants will then be sent to our payment platform (powered by Stripe) to process the payment. The application is not submitted until payment is processed. The applicants will then receive an email confirmation and will be added to our awards update emails to be notified when finalists will come out!

Some key dates to note below:

Early Bird Applications open on May 8th, 2023.

General Applications open on May 24th, 2023.

All applications must be submitted by the deadline of July 15th, 2023.

Our panel of judges will review every application, with the Shortlist announced in August/September 2023.

Our Shortlisted applicants will be able to join us for our Awards Gala, where the winners of each award will be revealed. Awards Gala will be in Fall 2023 with final date and place to be determined.

There is a $295 application fee for each submission. Applications are completed once payment is received via our payment platform, Stripe. If you need help affording a submission, reach out to our team at awards@womenininnovation.co to inquire about subsidized submissions.

New Categories

We will continue to have similar categories each year with slight refinements. This year, we’ve introduced a new ‘Movers & Makers of the Year’ category, which will be a list of the top 10 Movers and Makers of the Year.

We’ve also introduced industries underneath ‘General Innovations,’ and introduced a new ‘Startup’ category.

Demo Day

Startups who apply for the startups category will have the option to participate in a Demo Day on the day of the gala. More information will be updated here as it is available.

The Demo Day will be an in-person demo day that will feature presentations from 6 finalists. The presentations will be 15 minute sessions for presenting and Q&A.

Participants are notified at least 4 weeks in advance and are provided with either travel sponsorship or a hybrid option. VIP hour tickets are provided to winners, and demo day participants are also given access to the general admission portion of the event.

Demo day winners will be announced at the WIN Gala along with WIN Awards announcement. Demo day winners receive exposure across the WIN ecosystem: Podcast interview, Newsletter Features and Non-equity funding awards of $5,000-$10,000.

Absolutely! We accept applications completed on behalf of nominees.

RECOGNITION: be acknowledged alongside other winners by colleagues, peers and future employers. Join the WIN community at our prestigious awards gala to celebrate your success.

OPPORTUNITY: Be featured on our leading WIN / WIN podcast and highlight how you have carved out your career in a historically male-dominated innovation space.

PLATFORM: Tell your story to the world; highlight the success of your team, or yourself with our custom assets.

VISIBILITY: have your product or individual experience be acknowledged and recognized by a cadre of notable experts spanning corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and creatives.

COMMUNITY: Become part of a strong network of connected and diverse women and champions that you can lean on for support to amplify your impact and access across the industry.

Our Shortlisted applicants will also be able to join us for our virtual Awards Gala, where the winners of each award will be revealed. Awards Gala date TBD.

Our selection of notable experts spanning corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and creatives will meticulously review each application and consider a variety of factors, including: funding, revenue, inventiveness, and results.

Finalist shortlists are shared with category specific subject matter experts, who select the winners in their assigned categories. Regardless of final status, all finalists will receive an event invitation and details to join the WIN community at our prestigious Awards Gala and celebrate with us. Details to follow.

Our Shortlist will be announced in August-September 2023. The Innovators Award winners will be announced at our prestigious Awards Gala virtually and in person. Sign up for our newsletter here to receive all the juicy details!

Absolutely! Once you start an application, you will have the opportunity to save your responses on the form and return to complete later using a unique link. Once you’ve paid you will not be able to edit your application.

Interested in organizing your thoughts prior to starting an application? That works too! On our Awards Eligibility page, we have listed out an overview of applicant requirements and a thorough overview of what to expect from the application for each category.

Yes! You will receive an email shortly after submission to confirm your payment and application has been received.

No. Any sensitive information included in your application will not be shared beyond the judges. Finalists will have the chance to approve facts that are shared ahead of any public announcements.

For application-related questions, please reach out to awards@womenininnovation.co. Please note, we are a fully volunteer-run organization, so we urge you to use this inbox for critical questions only. We will do our best to get back to you within 48 hours.

You can visit our 2022 Gala Recap page to see the livestream of last year’s program, along with all winners and speakers.