On this International Women’s Day, IPWS is proud to announce the nominations for the 15th Women Leadership Awards officially open!

We can’t think of a more perfect time to bring positivity and recognition to the women and men who are driving change and making a positive impact in our community and beyond.

This year marks the 15th year of the Women Leadership Awards (WLA) — the longest running international award in China for women leaders, and the only such award for over a decade.

The winners of the 2021 WLA will be announced and celebrated at the Women Leadership Awards Ceremony, to be held on May 29th in Shanghai. More details and tickets to the event will be available soon!

What are the Women Leadership Awards?

The WLA recognizes leadership in women (and men) from all nationalities and across all industries who have made an impact here in China.

As leaders, these inspiring women – and since 2016, men supporting women – have made a marked difference in our community and have forged paths for others to follow. All nominees are people nominated by their peers or themselves, anyone is invited to participate in the nomination process!

Nominations are currently open and will close on March 28 at 10 PM. To access the nomination form please scroll to the end of this article and click ‘read more.’

  How are the winners selected?

The WLA finalists and award winners are selected through a comprehensive review process, led by a fully independent jury consisting of 6 jury members.

Every year, jury members are selected from a broad cross-section of industries and positions to ensure a well-rounded representation of professionals in the judging panel. Winners will be announced at the Women Leadership Awards Ceremony in Shanghai, on May 29th 2021.

  How do I nominate?

There are 7 categories for the 2021 Women Leadership Awards, you can nominate a deserving friend, colleague or boss, or better yet, YOURSELF!

We highly encourage women to reflect on their own achievements, and use this as an opportunity to inspire others. By recognizing our own accomplishments we can encourage those around us to also reach higher.

What are the categories and nomination requirements? Business Leader of the Year Nomination Requirements:

• At least 15 years of Professional Experience
• Executive level position (VP and above)
• Documented contribution to the company, job function and/or industry, as outlined in the WLA Criteria Guidelines
• Implements an inclusive company culture
• Recognized by others as an exceptional leader and mentor
• Demonstrates leadership competencies outlined in the WLA Criteria Guidelines

Innovator of the Year Nomination Requirements:

• At least 3 years of Professional Experience in Corporate, Start Up or Non-Profit
• Leads innovation in response to changes and challenges faced by company, business unit or enterprise
• Displays strategic vision, and inspires others through her actions
• Has likely demonstrated implementation of a disruptive business model/business practices
• Demonstrates leadership competencies outlined in the WLA Criteria Guidelines, including having actively shaped the nature and success of creative efforts within her profession, company or cause through Innovation Leadership

Young Business Leader of the Year Nomination Requirements:

• At least 5 years of Professional Experience, and is age 35 or under
• Managerial Position (managing people, products, services, or projects)
• Documented contribution to the company/employer, job function and/or industry, as outlined in the WLA Criteria Guidelines
• Recognized by others as an exceptional young leader
• Demonstrates leadership competencies outlined in the WLA Criteria Guidelines
• Implements an inclusive company culture

Social Contributor of the Year Nomination Requirements:

• Has achieved a measurable and sustained contribution to the community or a social cause in China, and displays a disruptive approach in making a positive social impact
• Possesses broad vision and challenges status quo to achieve meaningful results
• Demonstrates leadership competencies outlined in the WLA Criteria Guidelines

Entrepreneur of the Year Nomination Requirements:

• A Founder or Co-Founder of a company in which she is currently engaged in an active role
• The Company should have sustainable growth, provide sole income, and do some business in China. A company registration document and some company statistics will be required during application.
• Has demonstrated resilience in developing her business
• Implements an inclusive company culture
• Demonstrates leadership competencies outlined in the WLA Criteria Guidelines

HeforShe Man of the Year Nomination Requirements:

• A male leader that is a demonstrated ‘‘gender champion”
• Has achieved a measurable and sustained contribution to the advancement of women and minorities in his organization, industry or community
• Displays a set of behaviors in overcoming gender challenges and implements key strategies for overcoming such challenges
• Demonstrates leadership competencies outlined in the WLA Criteria Guidelines

Lifetime Achievement Nomination Requirements:

• At least 25 years of Professional Experience in Corporate, as Entrepreneur, and/or Non-
• ProfitActor of significant changes at both micro and macro levels within one industry or sector —or many
• Has demonstrated lasting and measurable impact through her professional accomplishments
• Has gained notoriety from peers of her level nationwide or industry/sector wide
• Demonstrates leadership competencies outlined in the WLA Criteria Guidelines, including having actively shaped followers, mentees and people part of her team in the past and the present from her outstanding and sustained leadership capacities
• Can be given as posthumous to descendants.
• Can be accepted by spouse/partner

The WLA Process

Six independent Jury members using the established WLA Criteria Guidelines for each award category will review all nominations.

The Jury will participate throughout the entire selection process. Following the review of all nominations, the Jury will select two finalists for each WLA category, except for Lifetime Achievement. These finalists will be notified on or before May 11th.

The finalists in each category (except for Lifetime Achievement) will be required to represent themselves in front of the Jury for a 30-minute in-person session held in Shanghai, date TBC. The Jury will score and select the recipient of each award category based on the nominees’ presentations, and their recognized accomplishments submitted beforehand through the nomination process. The winners will be announced and recognized at the Women Leadership Awards Ceremony on May 29th, in Shanghai.

  Representative Organizations

In this year 2021, IPWS is proud to be partnering with 7 representatives for each award category. These representative organizations and in several cases, individuals, have been chosen to represent a particular category based on their deep experience and connection with the award category.

These representatives have reviewed the respective award criteria and have worked together with IPWS to ensure the criteria and nomination requirements are suitable for each award. These supporting organizations and individuals will have the distinct honor to present the award to the winner at the Women Leadership Award Ceremony on May 29th, 2021 in Shanghai.

The supporting organizations are as follows:

• CEIBS – Business Leader of the Year
• EO – Entrepreneur of the Year
• She Loves Tech – Innovator of the Year
• Diane E. Long – Lifetime Achievement
• Stepping Stones – Social Contributor of the Year
• LeWagon – HeforShe Man of Year
• Young China Watchers – Young Business Leader of the Year

 

Previous WLA Winners

If you’re curious about previous award recipients, you can click here to see the 7 award winners from 2020.

  IPWS recommends you read over the nomination requirements, full Criteria Guidelines, Frequently Asked Questions, and the Do’s and Don’t for nominations before nominating. We look forward to receiving your WLA nomination!

It’s an exciting time for us at IPWS, and we are so proud to present the Women Leadership Awards again this year. Stay tuned for more information about the WLA through our newsletter, website, and social media accounts.

If you have any questions about the nomination process or selection criteria, please contact us at wla@ipwsconnect.com

 

2021 WLA Representative Organizations

 

WLA Nominations Sponsor

For the fourth year in a row IT Consultis is the exclusive sponsor of the WLA Nominations.

We are delighted to work with the IT Consultis (ITC) team who has gone above and beyond to ensure a smooth experience for all applicants. IT Consultis will manage the technical side of the entire nomination process, right up until the announcement of the winners at the WLA Ceremony, on June 5th.

IT Consultis is a leading independent digital production company, empowering the most ambitious brands on their digital transformation in China and across other Asian markets. With a team of 80 experts in three countries, ITC leverages martech, e-commerce and omnichannel solutions to maximize client’s ROI.

IT Consultis was established in 2011 and in only 8 years, it has rapidly expanded to 3 offices in Shanghai, Singapore, and Ho Chi Minh City, while working with some of the largest brands in the world including GAP, Zara, Porsche, Decathlon, Swatch, Leica and many more. The company serves both B2B and B2C clients.

ITC invests every year into selected NGOs to help them make a difference and was proud to help IPWS during the nomination process for the Women Leadership Awards in 2017, 2018, 2019 and is delighted to support IPWS again in 2020.

Visit it-consultis.com to learn more about the IT Consultis team and their services or contact Aurelien the Co-Founder at aurelien.rigart@it-consultis.com or aurelien-r on WeChat.