2022 Standard Bank Top Women Awards
20 Judges
800 Attendees
24 Award Categories
Are you ready to showcase your gender empowerment?
Celebrating top women and the companies behind them. These annual awards honour and applaud outstanding leadership, inspiration, vision and innovation, in organisations that play a role in advancing women to the forefront of the economy. Covering all major economic sectors, and awarding business from SMME- to national-level.
Don’t miss out
Reasons to Enter
Winning a Top Women Award entitles you to a range of digital collateral to help you promote your gender-empowered status.


Winners will receive PR and multi-channel marketing exposure, promoting their winning status on our website and to our email subscribers.


Participating in the awards is a great way to honour your employees and build your brand by measuring your performance against South Africa’s most gender-empowered companies.


A nomination will differentiate your business from competitors’ and raise your profile to attract investors and key industry stakeholders.


You will get the opportunity to network with other business people who are passionate about gender empowerment.
Standard bank top women
Top Women 2021 Winners
- BUSINESSWOMAN OF THE YEAR
- TOP WOMAN YOUNG ACHIEVER
- DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE
- SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
- TOP WOMAN IN PUBLC SECTOR LEADER
Leila Fourie
Johannesburg Stock Exchange
Charmagne Mavudzi
Volvo SA
SPONSORED BY STANDARD BANK
Unilever
SPONSORED BY SERVEST
The Skills Development Corporation
SPONSORED BY EKURHULENI WEST TVET COLLEGE
Chantelle Martin Strauss
Department of Small Business Development
SPONSORED BY MOTHEO TVET COLLEGE
Priya Thakoor
Vodacom
Mogaleadi Seabela
Anglo American
Vodacom
Institute of Directors in South Africa
- CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP
- FAST GROWTH WOMEN-OWNED SMME
- RESOURCES, CONSTRUCTION & INFRASTRUCTURE
- TOP WOMAN IN PROPERTY
- YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
Adcock Ingram
Torque Solutions
Turner & Townsend
SPONSORED BY TEG GROUP
Lettie Mashau
Motheo Construction Group
Unilever
National Agricultural Marketing Council
Adcock Ingram
Triplo4 Sustainable Solutions
SPONSORED BY SANBI
Standard bank top women
Top Women Past Winners
- Top Woman in Finance
- Top Woman in Property
- Top Woman in Science
- Top Women Young Achiever
- Top Woman Entrepreneur
Rivasha Maharaj
Group Chief Financial Officer
Afgri Group Holdings
Highly Commended
Emma Mashilwane
Chief Executive Officer
MASA Risk Advisory Services
Yael Geffen
CEO
Sotheby’s International Realty
Simphiwe Mamvura
Managing Director
Maponya 911 EMS
Charné Karaolis
Managing Director
MSHEQ Health & Safety Consultants
Celeste Margo Le Roux
CEO
React24
- Top Woman Aviation
- Top Woman Public Sector Leader
- Top Woman in Tech
- Top Gender empowered Individual: Male driving empowerment
Santhri Naidu
Managing Director
Blue Falcon Aviation
Rashmee Ragaven
Director : Advanced Manufacturing
Department of Trade, Industry and Competition
Mushfiqoh Samodien
Business Director
Aspire Solutions Pty Ltd
Velaphi Ratshefola
Coca – Cola Beverages
- Businesswoman of the Year
- Business of the year
- Public Sector
- Diversity in the workplace
- Youth Development
- Corporate Citizenship
Natasha Parmanand
FedEx Express
Highly Commended
Dr Snowy Khoza
Bigen Africa
Johannesburg Stock Exchange
Road Accident Fund
Highly Commended
Johannesburg City Parks & Zoo
Unilever
Good Work Foundation
Tata Consultancy Services
Turner & Townsend
Chillisoft
Boniswa Corporate Solutions
Gautrain Management Agency
- Biodiversity, Conservation & Environmental Management
- Health & Pharmaceutical
- Resources, Construction & Infrastructure Development
- Tourism
Nsovo Environmental Consulting
Adcock Ingram
Pentafloor Group of Companies
Limpopo Tourism Agency
Highly Commended
Zimasa Travel
2021
Awards Categories
Organisational Awards
award: Top Gender-empowered Organisation
Resources
Open to all mining, oil, gas and alternative energy companies that have a significant and growing number of women succeeding at all levels of management within the company.
Retail & E-Commerce
This award recognises the companies of retail and e-commerce brands, e-commerce platforms and retail publications to make the world a better place. Initiatives may include sustainable business practices, raising awareness or funds for a cause, launching social good marketing campaigns or promoting volunteer programs both internally and externally. Annual revenue must be above R35 Million per Annum.
Tourism
Independent hotels, hotel chains, gaming and leisure resorts, exhibition and conference facilities, restaurant and pub holding companies, airlines, and on- and offline agents where women are driving growth and expansion will be considered for this award.
Health & Pharmaceutical
Hospitals, medical suppliers, pharmaceutical firms, biotechnology firms, spas and alternative healthcare companies that can demonstrate a healthy level of gender empowerment at all levels are invited to enter this category.
Transport
This category is open to airlines and airports; rail, road and freight operations; shipping and ports managers; import and export businesses; as well as alternative transport and logistics companies that have displayed an improvement in gender empowerment.
Energy & Utilities
This category is open to organisations creating energyinnovative or -alternative products, process-throughdesign improvements, source reduction, or energy or emissions reduction products that result in a reduced environmental impact while also empowering women.
Construction & Infrastructure Development
Open to organisations in construction, infrastructure, manufacturing, engineering and other manufacturing concerns, this category recognises gender-strong organisations involved in the innovative, sustainable and efficient development that promotes business operations & economic growth.
Biodiversity, Conservation & Environmental Management
This category is open to women-led organisations that provide a product, service or programme that supports the growth of the Green Economy in South Africa b facilitating access to biodiversity data, and coordinating and interpreting such knowledge and evidence to support biodiversity policies and decisions. Organisations supporting the conservation of biodiversity in South Africa’s national parks and botanical gardens will also be considered.
Information & Communications Technology
Organisations involved in information technology hardware, software, fintech and computing service industries that are able to show women making strides through tech-based application and innovation may enter this category.
Public Sector
Reserved for parastatals, state-owned enterprises, government departments and municipalities, this category recognises the body with the highest level of gender empowerment, from staff to suppliers, through their programmes and policies. High levels of service delivery to the people of South Africa is a supporting factor.
Fast-growth Women-owned SMME
Small, medium or micro-sized enterprises operating only in South Africa with an annual turnover of R5- to R35-million are eligible to enter this category. These companies must demonstrate success in empowering women in the workplace and must have seen significant growth over a three-year period.
Diversity in the Workplace
Multicultural and notably gender-empowered organisations demonstrating preferential recruitment policies and skills development programmes that have championed female representation in the workplace will be considered for this award category.
Youth Development
Focusing on intensive learnership and skills development programmes that increase the capability of and opportunities for women, this category assesses how entrants are broadening women’s career prospects.
Corporate Citizenship
Organisations demonstrating the greatest positive impact on quality of life and economic prosperity for South African women and girls may enter this category. The impact these efforts have had on building a gender-empowered culture within the organisation will also be assessed.
Skills Development
Focusing on intensive learnership and skills development programmes that increase the capability of and opportunities for women, this category assesses how entrants are broadening women’s career prospects.
Business of the Year
This most prestigious award is conferred upon the organisation that demonstrates exceptional practices, primarily in the HR or transformation divisions of the company. Those in contention must demonstrate processes, policies and procedures that ensure the employment of women, increase their skills development, provide a clear path for their advancement, and position themselves as a powerhouse at the forefront of gender empowerment.
Individual Awards
Top Woman in Aviation
Women providing networking, education, mentoring and scholarship opportunities for females striving to establish fulfilling careers in the challenging aviation and aerospace industries are eligible to enter this category.
Top Women in Property
Female residential and commercial property executives operating in all sectors of the property and real estate industry who have demonstrated the ability to steer their business through turbulent times and apply their business acumen to keep the organisation afloat.
Top Women in Science
Top female executives who have demonstrated admirable leadership, business acumen and strategic foresight that has driven exceptional performance in health and science may be nominated in this category. Women from the medical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, engineering, chemistry and other scientific fields may enter.
Top Women in ICT
Women using technology to enable development and innovation, create employment, uplift other women and equip society at large with the skills necessary to function in the Fourth Industrial Revolution are invited to enter this category.
Top Women Public Sector Leader
This category is open to women working in the public sector who have demonstrated excellence in performance and delivery; and who have raised the visibility of women in government.
Top Gender-empowered Individual: Male Driving Gender Empowerment
Reserved for the male executive, leader or CEO who has been implementing and achieving gender empowerment initiatives, policies and programmes, and who can demonstrate the growth and success generated by his vision.
Top Woman Young Achiever
Candidates in this category will be recognised for their contribution to the economy and growing employment in their enterprises. These women under 40 have contributed to their organisation’s positive success and performance through innovative strategies and solutions.
Top Woman Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurs at the helm of companies with a turnover of R5- to R35-million who embody excellence, ingenuity and integrity are eligible to enter this category.
Businesswoman of the Year
Senior women executives who have shown exceptional performance, astute leadership, business acumen and strategic foresight in gender empowerment are invited to enter this category.
2021 Table Sponsors
Standard Bank Top Women
Testimonials


Celebrating visionary organisations that prioritise gender empowerment as integral to their strategy for growth and success.
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