Inspirational Women Awards New Zealand

The Inspirational Women Awards is an awards ceremony and gala celebrating the female leaders and change-makers of New Zealand while raising awareness of domestic violence.

All funds raised through this event go to the family violence charities of New Zealand.


We proudly introduce our finalists and medalists for the 2024 Inspirational Women Awards.

Meet our Inspirational Women Awards national finalists 2024

Meet our Inspirational Women Awards Otago finalists 2024

The Gala event will be held at The Rydges Queenstown on Saturday, November 30th, 2024

This event is about empowering and celebrating our wāhine whilst raising awareness around family violence in New Zealand.

We hope that these awards will empower our female leaders in business and the community while raising funds for family violence charities.

All funds raised at every event will be going to the family violence charities of New Zealand.

Let’s make a difference

Vote for the Impact100 People’s Choice Award

With our judges responsible for determining our four category winners, this is your chance to choose the Impact100 People’s Choice Award winner.

Vote for which of our national and Otago finalists you would like to see awarded the Impact100 People’s Choice Award below.

Voting closes Tuesday, 1st October, 2024.

Who will be the Woman of the Year New Zealand?

Meet our finalists and medalists for the Inspirational Women Awards New Zealand 2024. 
These are all women who are bringing about positive change and making New Zealand’s future brighter. 

Together, we can empower

In the news

Meet your 2024 National finalists

Thank you to everyone who nominated an inspirational wāhine for the Inspirational Women Awards 2024.  These are the wāhine who are making our community and country brighter.

Mee your 2024 Otago finalists

Thank you to everyone who nominated an inspirational wāhine for the Inspirational Women Awards 2024.  These are the wāhine who are making our community brighter.

Women inspiring women

Listen to the stories of female leaders and change-makers who are making the world a better place in a podcast designed to empower and inspire women. 
The podcast features inspirational, entrepreneurial, and women who are striving to make positive change with an emphasis on giving a voice to survivors and those making a difference in this sector.

“Annual fundraising events such as this gala will help with ongoing support in the community for women and children that are experiencing domestic violence."

— The Women’s Refuge.

Let’s make a difference

Our 2024 partners

 FAQs

  • The Inspirational Women Awards is an awards and gala celebrating the female leaders and change-makers of New Zealand whilst raising awareness around domestic violence. All funds raised through ticket sales for this event go to the family violence charities of New Zealand.

  • The Inspirational Women Awards is open to all New Zealand citizens or permanent residents who identify as female for entry. The 2024 Inspirational Woman Awards will be held on November 30th at The Rydges. Nominations open on March 8th, 2024.

  • The Inspirational Women Awards New Zealand initiative was created to celebrate and elevate women whilst raising awareness around domestic violence.

    The Otago Inspirational Women Awards has been created in partnership with the family violence charities of Otago and the Central-Lakes region.

    These are: The Women's Refuge & Central Lakes Family Services.

    All of the proceeds will be going to the Women's Refuge Lower-South, specifically the branches Gore & Clutha Women's Refuge Te Whare Piringa O Marua Wai (Affiliated) and Te Whare Pounamu Dunedin Women's Refuge (Affiliated) and Central-Lakes Family Services.

    The national event will also be in partnership with The Women’s Refuge National office.

  • All of the proceeds will be going to the Women's Refuge Lower-South, specifically the branches Gore & Clutha Women's Refuge Te Whare Piringa O Marua Wai (Affiliated) and Te Whare Pounamu Dunedin Women's Refuge (Affiliated) and Central-Lakes Family Services.

  • TERMS & CONDITIONS 2023

    You acknowledge and agree that these terms and conditions apply by purchasing tickets to attend this event.

    Unless COVID-19-related circumstances are detailed in point. Three occur, no refund or exchange on tickets will be given unless refunded 30 days before the event or unless required by law or at the discretion of the event managers. Humanitix fees are nonrefundable.

    Should the Inspirational Women Gala for Women's Refuge Services be cancelled due to government-enforced restrictions due to COVID-19, we will attempt to move the event in the first instance. Still, we will refund participants in full on request, excluding Humanitix fees. Should the event be cancelled entirely due to COVID-19, we will fully refund participants on request, excluding Humanitix fees.

    When you are at the event venue, The Rydges Lakeland Resort, you must adhere to all instructions from The Rydges staff.

    By attending, you consent to Inspirational Women Gala for Women's Refuge Services carrying out filming, sound recording, and/or photography at the event, and you consent to the use by Inspirational Women Gala for Women's Refuge Services of any such recording or photography for promotional, marketing, and other purposes.

    The Rydges Lakeland Resort Staff reserve the right to remove guests who do not follow their instructions or behave disorderly.

    Entry may be refused if tickets are damaged or defaced in any way or are not purchased from the official Humanitix page.

    NOMINATION TERMS & CONDITIONS

    Submission of a nomination or consent to be nominated constitutes acceptance of the following terms and conditions.

    Candidates must be female or identify as female.

    Candidates must be living in New Zealand, and either New Zealand citizens or permanent New Zealand residents.

    Candidates must not be judges of the awards

    Candidates must be aged 18 years or over

    ​A candidate may nominate themselves or be nominated by a third party.

    If nominated by a third party, the nomination must obtain the consent of the person they are nominating before submitting the entry form.

    Employees of category sponsors may only enter the category in which their employer is not the sponsor.

    Nominations open on Friday, 8th March 2024 (International Women's Day), and close at 11:59 pm on Saturday, 8th June 2024.

    The judging panel and the event staff reserve the right to verify nominations in each category, for example, by requesting further information or contacting referees.

    Finalists for each category will be announced on July 8th, 2024.

    The winners of each category will be announced at the awards.

    The judging panel reserves the right to make a new award outside the original categories where they see necessary.

    The judging panel reserves the right not to select an award winner in a category.

    The judging panel's decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

    The event organisers accept no responsibility for late or incomplete entries.

    The entry, judging, and award process are managed by the organisers of the Inspirational Women Gala for Women's Refuge Services.

    For enquiries about eligibility or other questions relating to the awards, please contact hello@galaforwomensrefugequeenstown.co.nz.

  • The Queenstown Women’s Refuge Gala and the Inspirational Women Awards are the same event, we changed the name to Inspirational Women Awards & Gala for Women’s Refuge Services so as the encompass all the family violence charities supporting our country.

  • Nominations have now closed for the Woman of the Year Award New Zealand 2024. The finalists will be announced on Thursday July 11th and the award winner will be announced on Saturday November 30th at the gala event.