There is just over a week left to put forward the women, teams and businesses making a difference across the Tees Valley for this year’s Tees Businesswomen Awards.
Entries and nominations close on Monday 7 September, with twelve categories covering leadership, entrepreneurship, charity work, students, new businesses and people helping create fairer opportunities for women at work.
The awards, organised by Tees Business in with Middlesbrough College Group, will be held at Hardwick Hall on Wednesday 4 November.
Twelve different routes to recognition
The categories include Tees Businesswoman of the Year, Outstanding Contribution, Business of the Year, Inspiring Others, Small Business of the Year, Lifelong Inspiration, Breaking the Mould, Charity Award, Best Newcomer, Student of the Year, Best New Business and Male Ally.
Entering or nominating someone is free. Tees Business says qualifying organisations must be headquartered in Teesside or the Tees Valley, and there is a maximum of three entries per organisation.
The awards are now in their ninth year. Recent winners include people working across industry, charity, recruitment, education and professional services, with organisers positioning the event as a way to make local role models more visible.
Why the nomination itself matters
At a Tees Business LIVE event in Middlesbrough on 28 August, previous and current award winners argued that recognition can have an effect well beyond the ceremony itself.
Rachel Burke, the 2025 Tees Businesswoman of the Year, spoke about the doors that had opened since winning, including a place on the Tees Valley Business Board. Middlesbrough College principal and chief executive Zoe Lewis also highlighted the value of organisations visibly recognising the people contributing to their success.
That makes the final week useful even for people who have no interest in black-tie awards nights. A nomination is, at its simplest, somebody formally recording that another person’s work has been noticed.
Entries and nominations close on Monday 7 September 2026. The full and entry forms are available on the Tees Businesswomen Awards page.