By Jack Brittle, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
On March 5, the YWCA of Hamilton will host their 49th annual Women of Distinction (WOD) awards ceremony, where women from both Halton and Hamilton will be recognized for their achievements and commitment to their community.
Of the 51 women nominated, eight are from Halton. The nominees are separated into eight different categories: Education and Training; Innovation in Business; Public Service; Community Champion; STEM and Trades; Health and Wellness; Young Trailblazer; and Lifetime Achievement. An Honourary Women of Distinction award will also be given out. Among the eight Halton nominees are Carolyn Rankin-Boutin, executive director of the Centre for Diverse Learners; Lita Barrie, CEO of Burlington Public Library; Julianne Trotman, for her public service, which includes her role as board president of the Women’s Centre of Halton; and Evangeline Chima, founder of Black Mentorship Inc.
The tradition began with the “Woman of the Year” award in the 1970s, organized by a volunteer committee called the House of Women. Since then, the YWCA has taken over and decided to honour multiple women each year.
Medora Uppal, the CEO of YWCA Hamilton, spoke about the potential the group saw in the award.
“We knew that we could make it something much bigger, that could allow a greater profile for the women who were being nominated and the recipients of the award,” Uppal said.
Uppal said that too often women are not recognized for their role in the community and that the WOD awards are a way to remedy that.
“This was a way of showcasing women’s leadership, work, and volunteerism, but also demonstrating what women bring to communities, how much they contribute, how they should be noticed and how attention should be paid to women,” Uppal said.
Uppal said that when the award was created in the 70s, women were still relatively new in the workplace and their place as more than homemakers was still being solidified.
Despite the progress since then, Uppal says that many of the barriers still exist.
“The glass ceiling, the pay equity issues, the challenges we face in taking on leadership in communities all still exist and haven’t gone away,” Uppal said. “This is a way of trying to challenge that in our communities.”
Uppal said that too many of our assumptions are based on gender and that the WOD awards challenge those preconceptions. She notes that the event has changed over time to reflect the industries that women have become more involved in, like STEM.
“We’ve heard a lot from women in STEM that it’s an important category to maintain and grow because we need to profile more of the work of women in the STEM fields,” Uppal said. “A big part of the awards is to show young women what you can be and what opportunities are out there.”
“It’s hard to imagine yourself being in fields that you’ve never seen women in,” Uppal continued. “We want to show that women are in these areas of work.”
The ceremony will be held at the Hamilton Convention Centre, where Uppal said the YWCA is expecting around 1000 people.
Uppal said that both the nominees and those announcing the awards will not know the winners until they open each envelope on stage.
There will also be a dinner reception and gala an hour before the ceremony, where Uppal said attendees can connect and network with the nominees.
All nominees, excluding the Honourary Women of Distinction, are picked by the Halton and Hamilton community, not the YWCA themselves. Staff and board members of the organization are not eligible.
“Every year, women tell me they’ve never been to an event where there’s so many women and where it’s all about celebrating women,” Uppal said. “I feel so privileged that every year I get to do this.”
Uppal has previously served as a judge and reviewer of nominees for the ceremony and also received a WOD award in 2011 for Community Development and Social Activism. She has served as CEO since 2022.
For more information on the WOD event and to purchase tickets, click here.
