Eligibility of Submissions

What Makes a Woman of Distinction?

A Woman of Distinction creates meaningful impact through her leadership, achievements and commitment to building a more equitable community. Her contributions inspire others, challenge barriers and help create opportunities for women, girls and gender-diverse people.

She may have:

• Demonstrated exceptional leadership and inspired others through her example
• Created meaningful and lasting impact in her profession, field or community
• Broken barriers, challenged inequities or created new opportunities for others
• Advanced gender equity through her work, leadership, advocacy or community involvement
• Demonstrated innovation, creativity or courage in responding to challenges
• Mentored, empowered or opened doors for women, girls and gender-diverse people
• Used her expertise, influence or platform to strengthen her community
• Achieved excellence while helping others learn, lead and succeed
• Championed positive change that has contributed to a more inclusive and equitable future

Women of Distinction demonstrate impact in many different ways. Nominees are evaluated according to the specific criteria established for their award category.

Nominee Eligibility

To be eligible to receive a YWCA Hamilton Woman of Distinction Award nominees must:

All nominees must confirm the following as part of accepting their nomination.

1. Demonstrate meaningful impact in Hamilton or Halton. Nominees must have created meaningful impact benefiting individuals or communities within the City of Hamilton or Halton Region, including the City of Burlington and the towns of Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills.
2. Meet the applicable award criteria. Nominee
3. Demonstrate meaningful impact in Hamilton or Halton. Nominees must have created meaningful impact benefiting individuals or communities within the City of Hamilton or Halton Region, including the City of Burlington and the towns of Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills.
4. Meet the applicable award criteria. Nominees must fulfill all established eligibility and selection criteria for their respective award category.
5. Meet YWCA Hamilton's gender eligibility criteria. Nominees must identify as a woman, girl, non-binary and/or gender-diverse person, subject to any additional age or eligibility requirements established for individual award categories.
6. Not currently serve YWCA Hamilton as an employee or Board member. Current YWCA Hamilton employees and members of the Board of Directors are not eligible for nomination.
7. Not have previously received a Women of Distinction Award, with the exception that previous award recipients may subsequently be considered for the Lifetime Achievement Award provided they meet its eligibility and selection criteria. Previous Lifetime Achievement recipients are not eligible to receive the award again.
8. Commit to YWCA Hamilton's values. As a condition of accepting their nomination, nominees must confirm that they strive to conduct themselves, publicly and professionally, in a manner consistent with YWCA Hamilton's values of Partnerships, Belonging, People Centred, Intersectional Feminism and Responsibility. Additional information about YWCA Hamilton's values is available on our website.

All nominees confirm the following as part of accepting their nomination.

By accepting my nomination, I confirm that I have reviewed YWCA Hamilton's mission and values and strive to conduct myself, publicly and professionally, in a manner consistent with the values of Partnerships, Belonging, People Centred, Intersectional Feminism and Responsibility. I understand that accepting a Women of Distinction nomination means agreeing to represent these values throughout my participation in the Awards.

Posthumous nominations are not eligible.

Nomination Requirements

To be considered complete and eligible for nomination review:

• Nominations must be submitted by a third party. Self-nominations will not be accepted.
• The nominee must consent to the nomination and participation in the Women of Distinction Awards process by the established deadline.
• The nominee must review the nomination and confirm, to the best of their knowledge, that the information submitted by their nominator is accurate and complete.
• All required nomination materials and nominee confirmations must be received by the established deadlines. Late or incomplete nominations may be deemed ineligible.
• YWCA Hamilton may request clarification, corrections or additional information from the nominee or nominator to verify eligibility or information contained within the nomination.
• Materially false, misleading or unverifiable information may result in the nomination being deemed ineligible.
• Former YWCA Hamilton employees and Board members may be nominated; however, accomplishments arising directly from their paid employment or governance responsibilities with YWCA Hamilton will not be considered as part of the adjudication process and should not be included in the nomination package.
• Nominees must not be engaged in an active legal proceeding, formal legal claim, or unresolved legal dispute involving YWCA Hamilton. Where such a matter arises or becomes known during the Awards process, the nomination will be deemed ineligible. This restriction applies only while the matter remains active or unresolved.

YWCA Hamilton Administration & Discretion

To support a fair, consistent and effective review process:

• Category determination: YWCA Hamilton reserves the right to determine the most appropriate award category for a nomination based on the nominee's demonstrated impact and the published category criteria. Where appropriate, YWCA Hamilton may recommend or make a category reassignment prior to adjudication. Final category determinations rest with YWCA Hamilton.
• Nomination materials: YWCA Hamilton may request that nominators revise or remove information that is outside the scope of the award criteria, including accomplishments arising directly from a nominee's paid employment or governance responsibilities with YWCA Hamilton. Nominations by or Letters of support from current YWCA Hamilton staff or members of the Board of Directors are not eligible.
• Eligibility verification: YWCA Hamilton reserves the right to verify information contained within a nomination and request additional information reasonably required to determine eligibility.
• Incomplete or inaccurate nominations: YWCA Hamilton may deem a nomination ineligible where required information or nominee confirmation is not received by established deadlines, or where materially false, misleading or unverifiable information has been submitted.
• Eligibility throughout the process: Nominees must continue to meet the eligibility requirements through the completion of the Women of Distinction Awards process. YWCA Hamilton reserves the right to withdraw a nomination where eligibility requirements are subsequently found not to have been met.
• Final decisions: Decisions regarding nominee eligibility, category placement and interpretation of the eligibility and nomination requirements are final.

As a Nominator, you must consent to the Statement of Understanding below.

• Nominations will be evaluated only on the merit of the submissions received
• As a nominator, it is your responsibility to reflect the achievements of the nominee to the selection committee, to draw out their exceptional contributions
• The nomination package for each nominee will be reviewed for completeness and accuracy and scored accordingly by an independent reviewer panel
• Nominators may be contacted for clarification or for consultation
• Late and/or incomplete submissions will not be accepted unless an accommodation has been approved
• Once submitted, you will receive an acknowledgment email confirming receipt within 2 business days. Please, retain this email as proof the nomination was received by the deadline
• Completed nomination packages will be forwarded to an independent reviewer panel for scoring based on a weighted evaluation matrix.
• The decisions of the reviewer panel are final and will remain confidential until the evening of the Awards Gala. Results are audited by Independent Auditors to confirm scoring and award recipients
• I have also read the criteria and confirm the eligibility of this nominee.

Upon submission, nominee approval is required.

A Nominee must be made aware of their nomination before submission.
By continuing with an application, you are confirming that the nominee is aware of the nomination and consents to YWCA Hamilton contacting them to further consent to the contents of your application.

To confirm, their nomination Nominees will agree to the following: