Awards season is upon us. In conjunction with PRINTING United Expo, the largest confab of the printing industry in the world, Big Picture and Screen Print magazines have announced their highest annual honors for women in wide-format and screen print sectors, and Women in Print Alliance is here to offer our heartiest congratulations.

But before we “open the envelope” to reveal (and celebrate!) the women who are receiving these well-deserve accolades, let’s take a moment to reflect on why industry awards focusing on female leadership and performance are so important.

Indeed, it’s a hot debate. There are detractors who say that gender-specific awards are unnecessary and outdated. Patronizing, even. Some industries are moving toward “de-gendering” recognition awards altogether. However, in industries, such a printing, where women as an employee demographic are fewer than men, I personally come down on the side that there is value and importance in highlighting high-performing, successful women.

Having represented the printing industry in government and external relations for nearly 20 years, I’ve seen the rise of female C-suite leaders in real time. “Women in…” awards programs on their own won’t accelerate that trend, but they can serve to bolster the overall goal of recognizing and improving gender diversity in the industry. I see women’s awards creating value in the following ways:

  • Increasing visibility. As more junior and entry-level women consider careers in print, seeing same-gender role models and learning about a variety of pathways to successful, fulfilling work in an industry that demonstrates its value of gender diversity can help both recruit and retain women in tomorrow’s workforce.
  • Affirming credibility. The traits that make one successful in the printing industry include initiative, work ethic, talent and the ability to adapt to the “beautiful chaos” that is print. None of these rely on gender (as pointed out by Elaine Scrima, VP Operations at GSP, herself an industry award honoree in this Women’s History Month podcast). But while an award can’t confer these traits onto a recipient, they certainly can affirm them before a large, diverse audience.
  • Building ally-ship. Sponsoring, advocating, and championing are key dimensions of ally-ship, a workplace concept defined as using one’s personal privilege to support and nurture colleagues from historically underrepresented communities (i.e., women in print). The act of creating women’s awards programs, nominating women as award candidates, and publicizing award winners and honorees are all ways that men in the printing industry can (and do) practice ally-ship.

Shecorporated.com takes the notion of women’s awards one step further by suggesting women should actually seek out opportunities to nominate themselves for recogition. Even if it feels awkward or out of character to draw attention to yourself, doing so can bring valuable benefits both to your company and to your professional brand, according to the website. (#5 on this list is a less obvious one, yet important, in my view.) Be mindful that not all awards are worth pursuing, though, as Debbie Gilbert, founder of The Best Business Women Awards, points out; due diligence on the awards program itself is key.

And now: Drum roll, please…

Women in Wide-Format Award 2023 Winners

This recognition is received by six female leaders who have advanced the wide-format digital print industry through their innovation, vision in spearheading successful businesses, and philanthropy. All serving in such influential positions as president, owner, and CEO, these women are impacting our field. Big Picture magazine

 

 

 

 

 

 

Women in Screen Printing Award 2023 Winners

These women are leaders at businesses that provide screen printing services as primary function. All serving in prominent positions, including founder, president, and owner, these women excel in and improve the industry by demonstrating exceptional leadership, progressive responsibility, and community awareness.

Screen Printing magazine

 

 

  • Shaynne Hall, Lead Ink Mechanic of Wear Your Spirit Wearhouse

 

 

 

To read more about the individual stories of these award recipients, view the digital edition of Big Picture magazine and the digital edition of Screen Printing magazine.

If you happen to be at PRINTING United Expo, I hope you will join me in attending the Awards Ceremony taking place at October 19 at 4 p.m. in the Future State Theater to celebrate these women and be part of the community acknowledging their incredible accomplishments.

If you are not able to attend the ceremony, please take the time to reach out and congratulate each of these women on winning these awards. Not only will your supportive words be appreciated, I’m quite sure you will be inspired by viewing their individual career paths and goal statements on LinkedIn.

 

Is there another women in print award series that Women in Print Alliance should highlight on its website and/or newsletter? Let us know!