CANADA
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
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We celebrate the achievements of women making waves in the Canadian payments industry and beyond.
In a male-dominated industry, it’s even more important that we recognize fellow women succeeding in the payments industry. These are the rising stars, innovators, and thought leaders paving the way for the next generation of women leaders and making strides toward gender parity.
Winners are selected by a committee of senior women leaders from across the payments industry and presented at our annual symposium.
Nominate a deserving woman in payments for one of our women leadership awards. Learn about all the categories below.
Each nominee can only be nominated for one award category, duplicate nominations will not be accepted.
The Women in Payments 2023 Canada Symposium Award Nominations will close JUNE 9, 2023.

AWARD CATEGORIES
INNOVATION
The Women in Payments Award for Innovation will be presented to a woman, or a woman-led team or initiative, in the industry who best meets the criteria.
CRITERIA
- Has promoted payments innovation through creativity, vision, and perseverance in her organization or the payments industry. Has been instrumental in promoting innovations or creative process re-engineering which are original, have significant impact, can be easily and effectively adopted, have results that are measurable, can be applied elsewhere and support and inspire others in the organization or industry to innovate.
- Creative use of new knowledge and/or technology to develop ideas aimed at addressing ongoing challenges, enhancing customer experience and creating innovative systems, technology, products, programs and/or policies to solution such challenges.
- Has created a solution that reduces time, resources, risks, and/or costs associated with delivering a service, system or product. Has successfully implemented the solution, resulting in a positive impact to the product or customer experience beyond the nominee’s own team or department.
- Is widely recognized for her expertise and actively works to empower others. Leads by example and motivates members of her team, organization or industry. Acts as a mentor, advisor and teacher, to make a positive impact on members of her organization or the payments industry.
- Has integrity and sets high professional standards for ethics and quality of work. Has contributed to a positive and supportive learning environment by encouraging diversity of people and opinions.
INSPIRATION AWARD
The Women in Payments Award for Inspiration will be presented to a woman who inspires others in the industry, often through thought leadership or mentorship. The winner will be the nominee who best meets the criteria.
CRITERIA
- Is able to create a strong vision and inspire a team towards achieving a goal, either in her organization or industry. Has demonstrated payments thought leadership by actively contributing to the payments debate.
- Exudes a strong desire for growth and has a vision for the future. Actively encourages debate about the evolution of payments in order to shape a strong payments ecosystem. Inspires others to reach great heights of performance and success and is consistently proactive in seizing opportunities. Creates an environment where everyone feels valued and heard.
- Freely shares knowledge and insights of the payments system with colleagues, industry professionals and/or outside the industry. Is a beacon of positivity in the face of challenges and failures and is able to uplift others through her positive outlook. Inspires others to accomplish goals, despite difficulty or roadblocks to achieving success. Inspires greatness and growth from others.
- Is widely recognized for her ability to build strong relationships and mentor others. Actively works to empower others to be positive team players and further change agents. Leads by example and motivates members of her team, organization or industry. Acts as a mentor, advisor and teacher, making a positive impact on members of her organization or the payments industry.
- Displays extremely strong communication skills and creates an environment where everyone feels valued and heard. Establishes connections with people to build strong relationships founded on integrity, impeccable ethics and high quality of work.
THOUGHT LEADER
The Women in Payments Thought Leader Award will be presented to a woman
in the industry who best meets the criteria.
CRITERIA
- Has, actively contributed to the payments debate, either domestically or outside Canada. Has spoken publicly, or published articles, blogs, or other public comment about the evolution of the payments ecosystem in the Canadian or global context. May participate in the public arena through committees or other bodies to provide input to help shape the future of the payments industry. Actively encourages debate about the evolution of payments- within and/or outside the Canadian payments forum, in order to shape a strong payments ecosystem for the future. Freely shares knowledge and insights of the payments system with colleagues, industry professionals and/or outside the industry
- Is widely recognized for her expertise and skill in leading teams. Actively works to empower others to be positive team players and further change agents. Leads by example and motivates members of her team, organization or industry. Acts as a mentor, advisor and teacher, to make a positive impact on members of her organization or the payments industry.
- Has integrity and sets high professional standards for ethics and quality of work. Has contributed to a positive and supportive learning environment by encouraging diversity of people and opinions.
RISING STAR
The Women in Payments Rising Star Award will be presented to a woman under the age of 40 (as at January 1, 2023), who is currently employed in Canada and who best meets the criteria.
CRITERIA
- Is always willing to go the extra mile to achieve excellence for herself, her organization, her clients and/or the industry. She supports and inspires others through promoting innovation and advancement. She is results-oriented, always seeking new ideas with the ability to translate them into action for her organization and customers.
- Consistently delivers, collaborates and leads in a variety of settings and circumstances. Performs with distinction and delivers strong results by building trust and confidence among her colleagues, peers and/or clients.
- Exhibits behaviors that reflect her organization’s culture and values in an exemplary manner. Shows a strong capacity to grow and succeed throughout her career.
- Is widely recognized for her expertise and actively works to empower others. Leads by example and motivates members of her team, organization or industry. Actively supports others to make a positive impact on members of her organization, clients or the payments industry.
- Has high integrity and sets high professional standards for ethics and quality of work. Has contributed to a positive and supportive learning environment by encouraging diversity of people and opinions.
ADVOCATE FOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
The Women in Payments Advocate for Diversity and Inclusion Award will be presented to a woman or a man in the industry who best meets criteria.
CRITERIA
- Actively contributes to the advancement and development of women and other diverse people either inside or outside their own organization and publicly celebrates the work and accomplishments of female and diverse leaders. Leads by example, promoting and broadcasting the need for continuous support and advocacy for female and diverse leadership. Is a strong role model for female and diverse empowerment, encouraging the hiring and promotion of strong talent with diversity in mind.
- Helps support the development of female and diverse talent and encourages all to increase their levels of participation and engagement. Is an advocate for diversity and gender equality, including equal pay and equal opportunities for career growth and provides a positive forum for women and other diverse talent to network and find mentors within the industry. Drives the organization or industry toward gender parity at all levels.
- Promotes education, career development, and mentorship opportunities, both formal and informal, for women and other diverse talent in the organization or industry. Leads business resource groups to support the personal and career growth for women and diverse talent in the organization or industry.
- Is widely recognized for their expertise and actively works to empower others. Leads by example and motivates members of their team, organization or industry. Acts as a mentor, advisor and teacher to make a positive impact on members of their organization or the payments industry.
- Has integrity and sets high professional standards for ethics and quality of work. Has contributed to a positive and supportive learning environment by encouraging diversity of people and opinions.
DISTINGUISHED PAYMENTS PROFESSIONAL
The Women in Payments Distinguished Professional Award is a lifetime achievement honor. It will be presented to a woman who is a recognized role model and positive contributor to the overall image of the industry and who best meets the criteria.
CRITERIA
- Has influenced industry trends, acts as a role model and successfully reached and exceeded goals—taking her team, organization and/or industry to the next level.
- Acts as a payments ambassador to promote a positive image of her organization, industry initiative and the payments industry as a whole. Actively contributes to the collective success of the payments industry as a whole. Is viewed as a trusted advisor by peers and colleagues and is often a source of industry expertise.
- Is known for her personal and professional authenticity and building her career on a strong set of values. Has built strong and positive relationships with co-workers and industry stakeholders. Is seen as a role model within her organization and throughout the industry.
- Is widely recognized for her expertise and actively works to empower others. Leads by example and motivates members of her team, organization or industry. Acts as a mentor, advisor and teacher to make a positive impact on members of her organization or the payments industry.
- Has integrity and sets high professional standards for ethics and quality of work. Has contributed to a positive and supportive learning environment by encouraging diversity of people and opinions.
SOCIAL IMPACT & SUSTAINABILITY
The Women in Payments Social Impact and Sustainability Award will be presented to a woman in the industry who best meets the criteria.
CRITERIA
- Has shown dedication and perseverance to drive change and support others in her organization or industry. Promotes development in a manner that ensures long-term economic and financial, social, environmental and institutional sustainability. Demonstrates leadership, vision, and resilience to bring about positive change in the community within her organization and/or industry. Adopts a multi-stakeholder approach that leads to sustainable outcomes.
- Consistently seizes opportunities to steer co-workers and/or the wider industry to embark on projects that yield innovative and sustainable solutions to specific social, economic and environmental industry challenges. Leads with spirit to drive a positive outcome for all and is able to pivot as circumstances change to maintain a positive direction.
- Has shown steadfastness in navigating projects, leading teams and/or accomplishing goals, despite difficulty or changing circumstances. Actively works to build resilience of the team, organization or industry to support each other in times of uncertainty and great change.
- Is widely recognized for her expertise and skill at leading by example. Actively works to empower others to be positive team players and future change agents. Acts as a mentor, advisor and teacher to make a positive impact on members of her organization or the payments industry.
- Has integrity and sets high professional standards for ethics and quality of work. Has contributed to a positive and supportive learning environment by encouraging diversity of people and opinions to support the greater community.