If awards feel uncomfortable, self-promotional, or “cringey,” you’re not alone. Many women—particularly solopreneurs and service-based founders—have been conditioned to believe recognition is something you wait for, not something you pursue.

But here’s the reality: in today’s business landscape, awards are not about ego. They are a visibility strategy. A credibility signal. A way to close gaps that compound quietly over time.

And those gaps are not accidental.

They’re structural.

This is where the conversation about awards needs to change—especially for women building independent businesses.

The Recognition Gap No One Talks About

Women are doing exceptional work. The issue isn’t effort, talent, or results.

The issue is recognition.

Research consistently shows that women receive fewer nominations for high-status awards and are significantly less likely to self-nominate. A study found women were approximately 28% less likely to self-promote their work online—including sharing results, frameworks, research, thought leadership, and original ideas.

That matters more than most people realize.

Because awards systems, features, and opportunities depend on visibility. They depend on someone raising their hand. Submitting the application. Asking to be considered.

And when women hesitate—when they wait—the system keeps moving without them.

This is what’s known as the recognition gap.

Not a confidence problem.
Not an ambition problem.
A structural problem that most women entrepreneurs are paying the price for.

Across visibility applications—speaker submissions, partnerships, features, awards—there’s a recurring pattern. We see it at The Power Table, and we feel very confident this applies elsewhere too.

Women who are accepted often say, “I almost didn’t apply.”

Women who never submit say, “I thought about it… but I didn’t.”

The reasons are familiar:

• “I didn’t feel ready.”
• “I didn’t want to look like I was bragging.”
• “I didn’t think I was far enough along.”
• “I assumed someone else was more qualified.”

This isn’t hesitation by accident.

Women are taught—explicitly and implicitly—to wait.
To be discovered.
To be chosen.

But recognition systems don’t reward waiting.

They reward participation.

And opting out doesn’t just cost an award.
It quite literally costs you and your business momentum.

What Happens When Women Don’t Promote Their Work

When women don’t actively pursue recognition, the consequences aren’t immediate—but they are cumulative.

Over time:

• Fewer people know what they do
• Fewer opportunities come inbound
• Fewer ideas gain traction
• Fewer brands, stages, and partners take notice

Visibility gaps compound—especially for solopreneurs who don’t have corporate titles, PR teams, or institutional backing doing the signaling for them.

Recognition isn’t about applause.
It’s about positioning.

Why Corporate Recognition Works—and Entrepreneurial Recognition Often Doesn’t

OwIn corporate environments, recognition is built into the system. It’s easy to know where you stand, and what steps you can take to advance and be recognized for your skillset.

Performance reviews.
Promotions.
Leadership tracks.
Industry awards.

These signals create trust, advancement, and authority—often before someone ever advocates for themselves.

Outside of corporate structures—especially for women building independent businesses—those systems disappear.

No one is tracking milestones.
No one is documenting impact.
No one is automatically validating expertise.

Unless founders do it themselves—or intentionally opt into systems that do.

This is why entrepreneurial awards matter more for solopreneurs than almost anyone else.

They become shorthand for trust.

Awards Are Not Just About Validation — They’re Infrastructure

Awards are not about needing validation or needing to feel good.

They’re about creating infrastructure for visibility.

They:

• Shape how others perceive expertise
• Document credibility in a way that compounds
• Open doors before you even knock

Awards turn invisible work into visible proof.

For solopreneurs especially, they help replace what corporate systems once provided automatically.

Why We Built the Power Table 100

At The Power Table, we didn’t set out to create “another award.”

The goal was to solve a structural problem—one that leaves highly qualified women overlooked simply because traditional recognition systems weren’t designed for them.

From the beginning, there were clear non-negotiables.

This would not be:

• Pay-to-play recognition
• A popularity contest
• Audience voting driven by follower counts
• Awards skewed toward whoever could mobilize the biggest crowd

“Vote to win” systems disproportionately advantage businesses with large audiences—not necessarily those with strong execution, leadership, or impact.

They also ask founders to sacrifice their own platforms and content to build someone else’s list—with little real return.

That’s not visibility strategy.

Designing Recognition for How Women Actually Build Businesses

The Power Table 100 was intentionally designed to recognize what often goes unseen.

It is:

• Application-based, with depth and context
• Judged by independent reviewers—not public votes
• Evaluated on quality of work, leadership, execution, and impact
• Designed specifically for solopreneurs and small teams
• Aligned with IP-driven, service-based, and non-traditional businesses

Judges look at:

• Proprietary frameworks and methodologies
• Thought leadership and intellectual property
• Clarity of execution and operations
• Real client outcomes
• Leadership and community impact

This isn’t about who shouts the loudest.

It’s about who has actually built something real.

Education Is Part of Our Strategy

The criteria for winning awards and receiving recognition shouldn’t be mysterious.

One of the most intentional design choices behind The Power Table 100 was education and transparency.

Support exists around the process:

• Content explaining what makes a strong application
• Podcast episodes demystifying visibility and recognition
• Clear insight into what judges actually look for

Women shouldn’t be penalized for not knowing how awards systems work.

Visibility should be rigorous—but accessible. That’s why we created an entire Awards Application Guide.

We’re Setting a New Standard for Recognition & Offering It Directly to the Women Whose Work is so Often Unseen

Awards become a long term visibility asset for you and your business! The recognition you receive doesn’t just end when you win.

Awards create:

• Credible talking points for media and PR
• Stronger positioning for speaking and partnerships
• Trust signals that work before conversations even begin

They help founders move from “introducing themselves” to being introduced.

That’s not ego.

That’s strategy.

We don’t believe prestige isn’t about speed, size, or scale-at-all-costs growth.

We believe awards can be about:

• Leadership
• Integrity
• Execution
• Innovation
• Impact over time

Women founders are creating enormous value—through their ideas, their frameworks, their clients’ results, and their communities.

It’s time recognition reflected that reality.

Applications for The Power Table 100 open January 15 and close February 15. Applications take around 30 minutes to complete.

If you’ve built a business that:

• Supports your life
• Delivers real results
• Creates intellectual property
• Leads with intention

This is an invitation to be recognized—thoughtfully, credibly, and without apology.

And if you’re not ready yet, send this to a woman whose work deserves to be seen.

Because visibility isn’t about ego.

It’s about impact.

Apply for The Power Table 100 Awards today! We have multiple categories of awards for women in business!