Everything You Need to Know Before You Nominate
We want every potential nominee to feel fully informed and confident before submitting a nomination for the Golden Women Awards. This comprehensive FAQ page covers the most common questions we receive from nominees across 50+ countries — covering the programme itself, the nomination process, our judging methodology, winner benefits, and country-specific eligibility.
If you have a question that is not covered here, please contact our team directly — we respond to all enquiries within one business day. You can also explore our detailed nomination guide, our judging criteria page, and our award categories overview for additional information.
About the Golden Women Awards
The Golden Women Awards is a prestigious global recognition programme that honours outstanding women leaders, entrepreneurs, CEOs, founders, innovators, and professionals across 50+ countries and 25+ industries. Established to address the global need for dedicated recognition of women's contributions across business, technology, entrepreneurship, and leadership, it has become the world's most comprehensive international women awards platform. Each year, thousands of nominations are received from around the world, and winners are celebrated at a prestigious annual gala ceremony in Dubai.
The Golden Women Awards is organised and managed by Golden Tree Events LLC, headquartered at The Binary by Omniyat, Business Bay, Dubai, UAE. Golden Tree Events is a specialist awards and events organisation with more than a decade of experience producing international recognition programmes across business, leadership, innovation, and excellence. You can reach the team at awards@goldentreeawards.com or via WhatsApp.
The annual Golden Women Awards gala ceremony is held in Dubai, UAE — a global hub for international business, innovation, and world-class events. Dubai's central geographic location makes it readily accessible to nominees and guests arriving from all 50+ eligible countries across the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Americas, and beyond. The 2026 gala is scheduled for October 15, 2026.
The Golden Women Awards has been celebrating women's excellence for several successful cycles, growing each year in terms of participating countries, category depth, and the quality of its independent judging process. The 2026 cycle is our most ambitious programme to date, with participation from more countries and more diverse industries than in any previous year. More than 5,000 women have been honoured across the lifetime of the programme.
The Golden Women Awards currently accepts nominations from 50+ countries worldwide. This includes dedicated country award programmes for the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, France, Germany, South Africa, and many more. Visit our country awards page for the complete list of eligible nations.
Nominations
Visit the official nomination portal at goldenwomenawards.com/award-nomination and complete the secure online nomination form. You will need to provide the nominee's professional details, a comprehensive account of key achievements, and the specific award category for which they are being put forward. Supporting documents may be uploaded to strengthen the submission. Our detailed nomination guide walks you through every step of the process.
Yes. Self-nominations are fully accepted and warmly welcomed. Many of our past winners submitted self-nominations. We actively encourage every exceptional woman who believes in the significance of her achievements to put herself forward — recognising your own excellence and advocating for your own story is itself a powerful act of leadership. Third-party nominations from colleagues, mentors, clients, or business partners are equally welcome.
Nominations for the Golden Women Awards 2026 cycle are currently open and close in July 2026. We strongly recommend submitting your nomination well before the deadline — early submissions receive priority secretariat review and have more time to address any supplementary information requests. Visit the nomination portal for the exact current deadline date.
There is a nomination processing fee associated with submitting an entry for the Golden Women Awards. This fee covers the cost of professional independent evaluation, award production, gala ceremony hosting, and winner benefits including press release distribution and media coverage. Current pricing and package options are available on the official nomination portal. The investment represents exceptional value relative to the commercial and reputational return delivered to winners.
A strong nomination includes: the nominee's full name, professional title, and contact information; a detailed account of key achievements with quantified outcomes; the specific award category selected; supporting documents such as company profiles, media coverage, or recommendation letters; and a personal statement of up to 500 words explaining why the nominee deserves recognition. Our comprehensive nomination guide provides a full checklist and guidance on structuring each section for maximum impact.
Judging
Nominations are evaluated by an independent panel of global experts including senior business leaders, academics, women's rights advocates, entrepreneurs, and industry specialists drawn from 20+ countries. All judges sign conflict-of-interest declarations before reviewing nominations, and the entire process is overseen by an independent auditor. Learn more on our dedicated judging process page and judging criteria page.
Nominations are scored across six criteria: Leadership Impact, Business Excellence, Innovation and Creativity, Community Contribution, Global Influence, and Inspirational Quotient. Each criterion is weighted according to the specific award category. Full scoring details, weighting breakdowns, and guidance on how to address each criterion in your nomination are available on our judging criteria page.
The complete judging cycle runs from nomination closing through to the gala ceremony, spanning approximately 10 to 12 weeks. The secretariat eligibility review takes up to five working days per submission. The independent panel evaluation phase runs for approximately four weeks, followed by moderation sessions, shortlist finalisation, and final winner selection. The full judging process timeline is published on our website.
Shortlisted nominees are contacted directly by the awards secretariat via the email address provided in the nomination form. Shortlisted nominees are also publicly acknowledged on the Golden Women Awards website and across our social media channels. The 2026 shortlist announcement is expected in November 2026. Shortlisted nominees receive an official digital certificate and badge recognising their shortlist status — a prestigious achievement in its own right.
Winners & Benefits
Winners receive a premium handcrafted trophy, an official certificate of excellence, a dedicated winner profile page on our global platform, a professional press release distributed to international media networks, a dedicated social media campaign, a digital winner badge and logo licence, priority invitations to women leadership speaking opportunities, and potential inclusion in our annual Women of Excellence digital magazine. See our full winners page to understand the calibre of recognition involved.
Beyond the physical awards, winning delivers measurable commercial outcomes. Past winners report increased brand search volume, improved client conversion rates, expanded partnership pipelines, enhanced investor interest, accelerated talent recruitment, and amplified media coverage across our global platform reaching millions of professionals. Many winners credit the award with directly facilitating significant revenue growth and new market entry within 12 months of winning.
We strongly encourage all winners and shortlisted nominees to attend the prestigious gala ceremony — it is an extraordinary evening of celebration, networking, and inspiration attended by global business leaders, media representatives, and VIP guests. However, we understand that international travel is not always feasible. Awards can be accepted by an authorised representative, or shipped to winners who are unable to attend in person. Please contact our team at our contact page for individual arrangements well in advance of the event.
Yes. All Golden Women Award winners receive a high-resolution digital winner badge and are granted an explicit licence to use the official winner logo on their website, email signature, social media profiles, business cards, press releases, pitch decks, and other professional communications for 12 months from the awards ceremony date. Shortlisted nominees may similarly use the 'Shortlisted — Golden Women Awards 2026' designation. Detailed brand guidelines are provided with your winner pack.
Country & Regional Eligibility
The Golden Women Awards currently accepts nominations from 50+ countries globally, spanning the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Oceania. We have dedicated country recognition programmes for the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, France, Germany, South Africa, and many more. Visit our country awards page for the complete list, or contact us if you are unsure about your country's eligibility.
Yes. The UAE is one of our most active and celebrated nomination markets. UAE-based women in business, entrepreneurship, technology, leadership, innovation, healthcare, education, real estate, hospitality, and professional services are all eligible across multiple categories. The UAE is home to some of the most dynamic women business leaders in the world, and we are proud to recognise their extraordinary achievements. Visit our UAE Women Awards page for specific information.
Absolutely. Women leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan, and all Gulf Cooperation Council countries are warmly welcomed to submit nominations. The Middle East is one of the fastest-growing markets for the Golden Women Awards, reflecting the extraordinary and often underreported contributions of women leaders across the Gulf's business, technology, healthcare, education, and government sectors. Dedicated country pages are available for Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The Golden Women Awards Experience
Still Have Questions?
Our team is available to answer any specific questions about eligibility, categories, the nomination process, or anything else you need to know before submitting. We respond to all enquiries within one business day.
Explore More Resources
Nomination Guide
Step-by-step instructions for completing a compelling nomination, including what to include and how to present your achievements for maximum impact.
Read Guide →Judging Criteria
Understand exactly how nominations are scored across six criteria and what our expert judges are looking for in a winning entry.
View Criteria →Contact Us
Speak directly with our team for personalised guidance on eligibility, categories, and the nomination process for Golden Women Awards 2026.
Get In Touch →Award Categories
Browse all 25+ award categories to find the perfect fit for your achievements and maximise the impact of your nomination submission.
View Categories →What Our Winners Say
Don't just take our word for it — hear directly from recognised award winners worldwide.
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Ready to Submit Your Nomination?
You have the answers — now take the next step. The Golden Women Awards 2026 nomination portal is open. Join thousands of exceptional women who have already submitted and take your place on the world's premier platform for women's excellence.