Edna and Kate Awards to honor women for leadership in social justice, workers’ rights

Nominations being accepted through Sept. 16

The Berger-Marks Foundation is accepting nominations for its annual Edna and Kate Awards, which recognize outstanding young women for their contributions to social justice and workers’ rights.

The $10,000 Edna Award for Social Justice is named after Edna Berger, the namesake of the foundation and an early organizer at the Newspaper Guild-CWA. The award pays tribute to a woman who has made significant contributions to social justice and whose leadership is creating and inspiring social change.

The Edna award is open to young women from labor unions, women’s groups, workers’ rights organizations, immigrants’ rights groups and other areas of social justice. In addition to the winner, the foundation recognizes two other exceptional nominees with $1,000 Edna Awards of Distinction.

The $1,000 Kate Mullany Courageous Young Worker Award is named after Kate Mullany, an inspiring young laundry worker who, more 150 years ago, organized one of the first women’s unions when she was just 19 years old. The award honors young women who have stood up for workers’ rights and organized their own workplaces in the face of overwhelming opposition.

Nominations for the Edna and Kate awards must be submitted online by Friday, Sept. 16. Nominees must be 35 years old or younger as of Dec. 31. Winners will be notified by phone and email in December, and the awards will be presented during a reception in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 9.

The Berger-Marks Foundation is a private foundation dedicated to supporting women who organize for social justice and promoting the leadership and participation of women in the labor movement. For more information about the foundation or the awards, visit bergermarks.org.