Support International Women’s Day this year by nominating a colleague for the 2025 Women in Security Awards Aotearoa. Nominations are due 21 February.
International Women’s Day is coming up on 8th March, and what better way to recognise the contribution of women to the defence, security, and resilience of Aotearoa New Zealand than nominating a colleague in the 2025 Women in Security Awards Aotearoa!
The Women in Security Awards Aotearoa (WiSAA) initiative was established in 2020 to promote the role of women in sectors where they are still significantly under-represented, and to recognise women who are advancing Aotearoa New Zealand’s security, risk and resilience sectors.
Nominees must be women, or identify as women, have more than three years of experience in a security or resilience-related profession, and be actively practising in Aotearoa New Zealand or working overseas in a New Zealand-focused role.
With nine award categories targeting those working in defence, international and border security, law enforcement, private and enterprise security, cybersecurity, and emergency management, the WiSAAs seek to recognise professionals across the front lines of New Zealand’s security.
Colonel Mel Childs recognised in the 2023-24 WiSAAs for Cyclone Gabrielle response.
“Last year’s awards saw a group of truly inspirational security leaders recognised,” said Defsec New Zealand Chief Editor Nicholas Dynon. “These included category winners from a diverse range of organisations, including the NZDF, New Zealand Customs, New Zealand Police, NetSafe, and the private sector, and a cohort of highly commended runners-up.”
Lieutenant Colonel Laura Cranston of the NZDF took out the ‘Contributing to defence and national security’ category last year for her contribution to implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1325 – Women, Peace and Security within the NZDF and among international partners.
Another category winner, Gina Lindsay-Crawford of FIRST Security, was recognised for implementing a range of initiatives that improved the security posture of several nationally significant customer organisations across a range of critical sectors, including financial services, communications, and local and national government.
“We look forward to sharing the stories of last year’s eight winners and their exceptional contributions to Aotearoa New Zealand’s security in coming weeks,” said Mr Dynon. “And we hope these inspire as many nominations as possible for a new cohort of award recipients this year.”
The nine categories for WiSAA 2025 are:
- Contributing to defence and international security
- Protecting borders, trade, and biosecurity
- Countering incivility and violent extremism
- Preventing crime and protecting communities
- Securing organisations and infrastructure
- Safeguarding networks and people online
- Combatting fraud and misrepresentation
- Responding to natural disaster events
- Building resilient and informed communities
Nominations are encouraged from across the private sector, public sector (including government, education, military, and law enforcement) and community sector. Self-nominations are welcomed.
For more information, including detailed descriptions of each award category, visit https://defsec.net.nz/women-in-security-aotearoa/
The deadline for nominations is 4:00pm, Friday 21 February 2025, and nominations of no more than 1,000 words (including supporting material) are to be emailed to awards@defsec.net.nz
Winners’ certificates and citations will be sent to the nominators of winning finalists one week prior to International Women’s Day.
