Nominations Open For 2025 National GirlBoss Awards

From developing youth-led sustainability projects to launching small businesses and teaching robotics to kids, the search is on for New Zealand’s most driven young women.

GirlBoss New Zealand has officially opened nominations for the 2025 National GirlBoss Awards, recognising young women aged 11–18 who are breaking stereotypes and leading real change in their communities.

With over $20,000 in cash prizes awarded, the GirlBoss Awards celebrate leadership across nine diverse categories, from STEM to business, innovation to inclusion, reflecting the many ways young women are stepping up and reshaping the future of Aotearoa.

Founder Alexia Hilbertidou, who launched GirlBoss NZ at just 16, says the awards exist to spotlight the girls doing the work, often behind the scenes and long before anyone gives them a title.

“Some of the boldest, most practical ideas I’ve seen have come from girls still in school,” she says. “You don’t need a title or a degree to start something that matters, you just need the guts to get going. That’s why these awards exist: to make sure the girls who are already leading get the recognition and backing they deserve.”

Now in its eighth year, the GirlBoss Awards have shared the stories of over 80 remarkable young women, and 2025 is set to be the biggest year yet.

Among this year’s early nominees:

A high school student leading a campaign to revive New Zealand’s wool industry, turning heads with her innovative take on sustainable fashion and local fibres.

A young volunteer who spends her weekends at a local STEM club for kids, mentoring tamariki from all backgrounds in coding, robotics, and digital design. She helps develop lesson plans and says her favourite moment is watching a child’s face light up when their robot comes to life.

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