Westpac Outstanding Women Award

The **Westpac Outstanding Women Award** (**WOW Award**) rewards women in Papua New Guinea whose work significantly improves life in the country. The women who win this award are leaders in the country. 2012 WOW Award Winner, Susil Nelson-Kongoi, said: "Despite being one of the most resource rich nations on earth, Papua New Guinea still ranks as one of the world’s poorest in terms of economic capacity." Like many other countries, women do not have equality in Papua New Guinea. This award encourages higher status for women. The women who win improve the economy of Papua New Guinea. It rewards specific women who have done a lot of hard work to change the status of women. The award is for women in many different kinds of work. The winners inspire girls to know what jobs they can do.

The women who win a WOW gets money for their education. They get help from experienced workers in their profession. They get to meet other women with similar at an Australian Executive Women's Leadership meeting. They also win a cash prize.

## Prize history

The WOW Award started in 2006. It was called the Westpac Women in Business Award. The award got a new name in 2013: Westpac Outstanding Women Award. It was sponsored by Westpac PNG.

### Categories

- Public Sector Award
- Entrepreneurship Award
- Private Sector Award
- Community Responsibility Award
- Young Achiever
- Sports Award
- Not for Profit Award

- Westpac Outsanding Woman Award (one top winner, chosen from the winners of the other categories)

### Selection

Anyone can nominate a woman for a WOW Award. A group of business people and community members pick the winners. They interview the women who were nominated to find the women who are the best leaders and who are the most inspirational. They check that the women do honest and high-quality work. They check if the women have lots of achievements related to the award. They select award recipients.

## Award winners

|Year|Award|Recipient||
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|**2007-2008**|Young Achievers|Samantha Maria Andreas||
|rowspan="6"|**2009**|Overall Westpac Women in Business Award|Betty Higgins|
|PricewaterhouseCoopers Private Sector Award|Mary Handen|||
|Daltron Entrepreneur Award winner|Betty Higgins|||
|Cardno Acil Public Sector Award|Dr. Rona Nebita Nadile|||
|Trukai Community Responsibility Award|Tessie Soi|||
|IBBM Young Achievers’ Award|Monica Pomat|||
|rowspan="6"|**2011**|Overall Westpac Women in Business Award|Sarah Haoda Todd|
|SP Brewery Entrepreneur Award|Sarah Haoda Todd|||
|PricewaterHouseCoopers Private and Corporate Sector Award|Monica Toisenegila|||
|Mineral Resource Development Co (MRDC) Public Sector Award|Naomi Faik-Simet|||
|Young Achiever's Award|Sylvia Pascoe|||
|Trukai Community Responsibility Award|Rosemary Vartuam Sovek|||
|rowspan="6"|**2012**|Overall Westpac Women in Business Award|Susil Nelson|
|Steamship Public Sector Award|Eleina Butuna|||
|SP Brewery Entrepreneur Award|Helam Koaik|||
|IBBM Young Achiever's Award|Naime Tom|||
|Trukai Community Responsibility Award|Mary Pohei|||
|PricewaterhouseCoopers Private and Corporate Sector Awards|Florence Lou Willie|||
|rowspan="6"|**2013**|Overall Westpac Outstanding Women Award|Maria Linibi|
|Steamship Public Sector Award|Dr Mobumo Kiromat|||
|SP Brewery Entrepreneur Award|Sarah Shelley|||
|IBBM Young Achiever's Award|Dorish Cheryl Mondo Mulas|||
|Trukai Community Responsibility Award|Maria Linibi|||
|PricewaterhouseCoopers Private and Corporate Sector Awards|Anthonia Apurel|||
|rowspan="6"|**2014**|Overall Westpac Outstanding Women Award|Lesieli Taviri|
|Steamship Public Sector Award|Esther Roibete Apuahe|||
|SP Brewery Entrepreneur Award|Christina Josephine Cragnolini|||
|IBBM Young Achiever's Award|Mazzella Maniwavie|||
|Trukai Community Responsibility Award|Penny Sage-embo|||
|PricewaterhouseCoopers Private and Corporate Sector Awards|Lesieli Taviri|||
|rowspan="8"|**2015**|Overall Westpac Outstanding Women Award|Janet Sape|
|Steamship Public Sector Award|Janet Sios|||
|SP Brewery Entrepreneur Award|Joyce Kiage|||
|IBBM Young Achiever's Award|Michelle Boyama|||
|Trukai Community Responsibility Award|Beverly Pambali-Piawu|||
|PricewaterhouseCoopers Private and Corporate Sector Awards|Janet Sape|||
|Pacific Assurance Group Public Sector Award|Dr. Evelyn Lavu|||
|Moore Printing Sport Award|Veitu Diro|||
|**2016**|Overall Westpac Outstanding Women Award|Bosa Togs||
||Steamship Public Sector Award|Dorothy Lamin Koch-Waluta||
||SP Brewery Entrepreneur Award|Rita Jaima Paru||
||IBBM Young Achiever's Award|Jacqueline Joseph||
||Trukai Community Responsibility Award|Annastascia Wanasawo||
||PricewaterhouseCoopers Private and Corporate Sector Awards|Bosa Togs||
||Pacific Assurance Group Public Sector Award|Dr Lutty Amos||
||Moore Printing Sport Award|Julienne Leka-Maliaki||
|rowspan="8"|**2017-2018**|Overall Westpac Outstanding Women Award|Ruth Jewels Kissam|
|Precinct Public Sector Award|Mollina Mercy Kapal|||
|SP Brewery Entrepreneur Award|Dorothy Luana|||
|IBBM Young Achiever's Award|Crystal Kewe|||
|Trukai Community Responsibility Award|Ruth Kissam|||
|Steamships Not For Profit Award|Priscilla Kevin|||
|PricewaterhouseCoopers Private and Corporate Sector Awards|Karo Lelai|||
|Moore Printing Sport Award|Cybele Druma|||
|rowspan="8"|**2019**|Overall Westpac Outstanding Women Award|Raylance Mesa|
|ExxonMobil PNGLNG Public Sector Award|Betty Jacobs|||
|SP Brewery Entrepreneur Award|Vani Nades|||
|IBBM Young Achiever's Award|Raylance Mesa|||
|Trukai Community Responsibility Award|Freda Yakio|||
|PricewaterhouseCoopers Private and Corporate Sector Awards|Hillary Turnamur|||
|Moore Printing Sport Award|Margaret Aka|||
|Steamships Not For Profit Award|Petra Arfeae|||