Nominations are open for the inaugural FORCE Award Program, which recognizes outstanding women who are making a meaningful impact across the paving and pavement maintenance industry through leadership, innovation, mentorship, and professional excellence. This award celebrates individuals who are breaking barriers, driving progress, and inspiring the next generation of women in paving—from operations and engineering to business development and executive leadership. Honorees exemplify dedication to advancing the industry while fostering inclusion and empowering others along the way.
Managed by FORCE: Female Leaders in Paving, PAVE/X: The Pavement Experience and Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction Magazine, all applicants must work in the paving and pavement maintenance industry.
This award is broken down into eight categories:
- Woman of the Year in Pavement – Honors an individual making a significant impact on the industry through leadership, advocacy, and results.
- FORCE Trailblazer Award – Honors a visionary leader who is driving meaningful change or innovation within the paving and pavement maintenance industry.
- Emerging Leader Award – Recognizes a rising professional early in her career demonstrating exceptional promise and leadership potential.
- Legacy Leadership Award – Celebrates a woman whose long-term contributions have helped shape the industry and inspire others.
- Hands-On Hero Award – Celebrates women working directly in the field, equipment operation, striping, paving, maintenance, or construction management.
- Mentor of the Year – Recognizes individuals who actively support, coach, and develop others in the industry.
- Community Impact Award – Recognizes an individual who goes beyond their day-to-day role to create meaningful connections, uplift others, and strengthen the paving and pavement maintenance community.
- FORCE Ally Award – Recognizes male or female advocates actively supporting women in the paving industry.
Each award category selected for nomination will incur a $195 entry fee. Nominees may be submitted for multiple categories, with a separate $195 charge applied to each additional category entered.
If you’re a woman in the pavement industry, join FORCE and receive one complimentary award nomination with your membership. FORCE is a community built to empower women in pavement through meaningful networking, mentorship, leadership development, and increased industry visibility.
What is the overall timeframe?
Entries open: June 8, 2026
Entries due: September 1, 2026
Featured on FORCE: Female Leaders in Pavement
- Who is eligible? Business owners, company management, foremen, sales professionals, estimators, operators, laborers, dealer and rental company representatives, and manufacturers. It could be a contractor nominating an employee. It could be a manufacturer nominating a customer. It could be a dealer nominating a customer. It could be a manufacturer nominating someone from within their own organization. If the nominee works in the paving and pavement maintenance industry, he/she is eligible.
- Limit up to four nominees from the same company.
- Wins from other awards will not automatically guarantee a spot in this year’s award.
- Submissions must tell a story; they must detail the journey the nominee has taken to get to this current stage in her career. The more information, the better. Those submissions with one-sentence answers or no examples will not be considered.
- Winners ARE NOT determined based on relationship or advertising position with Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction, PAVE/X, FORCE and affiliate brands. Nominee names and company names are hidden in the vetting process; editorial staff vet applications based on the submission itself, which is why telling a story and providing clear examples is imperative to determining winners vs. non-winners.
- Be sure to hit “Submit” at the end of the application process. Applications must be completed in full to be considered. Incomplete submissions will be disqualified.
- All applications must be submitted electronically. Applications emailed to staff or submitted through social media channels will not be considered.
- Names, titles and other information will publish as listed in the nomination form. FORCE and its affiliate brands will not be held responsible for publishing names or other information that was incorrectly submitted in the nomination process. Please proofread your work.
- Information provided in the application may be used in print and/or online.
- Nominations can come from PR/marketing firms/agencies, suppliers, vendors, customers, end users, co-workers, manufacturers, dealers, contractors, distributors and/or the companies themselves. Workers, contractors and owner/operators can self-nominate. PR/marketing firms can nominate from more than one client.
- Nominations close September 1, 2026. FORCE will not accept any past due submissions.
- Questions can be directed to Director of Content & Programming, Jessica Lombardo at jlombardo@iron.markets