South Africa's leading ladies are ready to be awarded

The coveted awards will be handed out across categories including Top Woman Entrepreneur, Top Young Woman Entrepreneur, Mentor of the Year, SMME, Resources, Woman in the Public Sector and Engineering and Manufacturing, at a prestigious gala ceremony at the Gallagher Convention Centre on Thursday, 22 September 2011.

Karla Fletcher, Associate Publisher for Topco Media the company behind the Top Women Awards, says that the event has become a recognised platform for companies to pay tribute to and promote their top achievers and gender empowerment success stories, while many new business talents are known to emerge at the event.

"The list of finalists for this year's event is testimony to the outstanding female business talent the country has to offer. Many new business stars will be discovered at the event and the awards will do wonders for boosting their careers."

Several companies who have excelled with regards to their gender empowerment programmes are also in the running for awards at the event. Finalists for this year's event include Women of Africa Fuels & Oils for the Resources category, Mutual & Federal and PricewaterhouseCoopers for the Financial category, Softline VIP (Pty) Ltd for the ICT category and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals for the Science, Biotechnology and Healthcare category.

The Top Women Awards has drawn the attention of big business sponsors this year, including South Africa's National Oil Company, PetroSA, Standard Bank, Pfizer, Edgars, Edcon, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and the Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), with a further outpouring of entries from top companies across the country.

"We have received tremendous support from the business community and government who are putting a lot of focus on gender empowerment and who are recognising the importance of uplifting female professionals. The Top Women Awards has become one of the most respected events on the business calendar, which is evident from the quality of the nominations received."

Fletcher says that table bookings for the event are now open and that Topco Media would like to encourage the general business community to support the event with corporate bookings.

"The Top Women Awards will be an extraordinary opportunity to network with the country's top talent, radio and television celebrities and government officials," says Fletcher.

Companies who would like book tables for this year's Top Women Awards need to act quickly as tables are filling up fast. For more information, companies can contact 086 000 9590, email az.oc.ocpot@rehctelf.yelah or visit www.topwomenawards.com.

A full list of the 2011 finalists can be viewed on the Top Women Awards website: www.topwomenawards.co.za.