Who can be entered?
This Award is open to individual women only. Please note Winners of any category are excluded from nominations for any Women in Defence UK Awards for 2 years.
What will the judges be looking for?
The judges will be looking for nominees who have gone over and above the expectations of their role to deliver an exceptional contribution to the output or mission of an organisation. This might be the nominee’s employer or a client they have worked for, but the organisation should be working in defence of the UK. They may have demonstrated more than one example of going above and beyond at different times during their career – the nomination can relate to single or multiple contributions at any stage of the individual’s career. There is no minimum experience needed for this award.
See also
The Outstanding Contribution Award shares similarities with the Inspirational Award as both categories relate to individuals who have exceeded all expectations. The key element of the Outstanding Contribution Award is an exceptional contribution to the output or mission of their organisation. The key element of the Inspirational Award is the role model aspect – inspiring others. For early career professionals, also consider the Emerging Talent Award, which is for women in the first five years of their career after formal education who consistently demonstrate exceptionally high performance in their role.
The Outstanding Contribution Award also shares similarities with the Unsung Heroines Award. The key difference is that the Unsung Heroines Award improves the ‘morale’ of people working in defence of the nation, whereas the effect of the work under the Outstanding Contribution Award is to improve the output of organisations, as they work to meet their vision or mission in support of the defence of the nation.
Finalists from earlier years
Last year’s Finalists were from the Royal Navy, RBSL and the MoD. The Winner was recognised for her crucial, mission critical support to every aspect of HMS Lancaster’s recent operations. The other Finalists were nominated for: their commitment to the continued evolution and development of armoured capability for the British Army; and for their work leveraging the Science and Tech enterprise as a principal scientist attached to CMC(A).
How do I nominate?
Nominating someone is simple, just go to the Women in Defence UK 2025 Awards Nominations Proforma, but we advise that you read this first!
To nominate, follow these easy steps:
- Provide the contact details of the woman you are nominating, please note the need to confirm that you have her agreement to share her details.
- Tell us briefly why you think she deserves to be nominated (the citation part of the nomination form).
- Provide your own contact details.
The citation part of the nomination form is broken down into three elements:
- An overview of why you are nominating this woman (maximum of 200 words).
- An explanation of how she has demonstrated the criteria for this Award category (maximum of 200 words).
- Examples of the results she has achieved as supporting evidence (maximum of 200 words).
Please note
The citation must reflect a true and accurate account of the attributes, achievements and impact of the actions of the individual. Women in Defence UK requires all nominators to verify that the citations are factually correct.
AI can be used to create all or part of the citation. If used, it is the nominator’s personal responsibility to ensure that all company or organisational security, privacy and information management protocols have been followed. We ask for transparency if any AI tool has been used – you will see a question as part of the nomination procedure.
You should only include information that is up to the classification of ‘Official’. Information that is ‘Official Sensitive’ or higher must not be included.
A nomination using essentially the same narrative or evidence should not be entered in more than one Award by a single nominator. A nominee may be entered more than once in one or more categories by different nominators, providing the narrative in the citation does not duplicate, or near word for word resemble, the citations of other nominators.
Entries will not be accepted from the partner, spouse or other close family member of a nominee.
There is a word limit of 200 words per section. Even if the form allows you to enter more, the citation sent for judging will be shortened if it exceeds this limit, which could mean that it ends mid-sentence.
Hints and tips
The judges refer to the category criteria when judging submissions. They look to see how the activity/behaviour/impact meets the criteria for each category. So put yourself in the judges’ shoes. They read lots of citations so capture their attention early, be concise and provide context. It may be obvious to you why an achievement is so worthy of recognition, but our judges may not have the same background or experience so please explain the significance.
Providing context to the citation (i.e. sphere of work, day to day tasks, key challenges, etc.), and tangible evidence of the outcome or effect that this had on others will strengthen the nomination hugely. Our judges may not be familiar with all parts of the defence enterprise so avoid, or at the very least explain, acronyms.