Lady Rhondda Award for Outstanding Achievement
About the Lady Rhondda Award
This award recognises the outstanding achievements of an individual working in any area of research or innovation.
Winners of this award will demonstrate significant contributions in one or more of the following ways:
- A notable and exceptional contribution to research and/or the advancement of knowledge in/for Wales.
- An outstanding reputation within and beyond Wales.
- A reach and impact on wider society.
- Notable outputs of their work.
- Any other notable achievements, e.g. innovation, major projects, knowledge transfer, dissemination of their work etc.
Open to individuals.
It is fitting that the Outstanding Achievement award is dedicated to Margaret. Her achievements would be remarkable today, let alone one hundred years ago. Her ability to identify social inequalities and subsequently achieve positive results due to her actions, is nothing short of extraordinary in those times.
Who was Lady Rhondda and why is she associated with our Outstanding Achievement Award
Lady Rhondda (1883-1958) was – as Margaret Mackworth – arguably the most prominent and active suffragette in Wales. During the First World War she became the Welsh Commissioner in the Women’s National Service Department, then head of women’s recruitment in the Ministry of National Service. The 2nd Viscountess Rhondda from 1918, she became a leading industrialist, chairing 33 companies. In 1926 she was elected the first female president of the Institute of Directors.
She founded, funded and edited the leading inter-war journal Time & Tide. A lifelong champion of equal rights, she set up the Six Point Group and led the campaign for women peers to take their seats in the House of Lords.
July 2026 marks 100 years since she was elected as the first female president of the Institute of Directors.
Read more about Lady Rhondda at the Dictionary of Welsh Biography.
At a time when it was extremely difficult for women to be leaders in any field, Wales's Lady Rhondda broke the mould as a persistent champion of equal rights, the founder and editor of a powerful interwar journal, an international businesswoman and the first female president of the Institute of Directors. As the biographer of this outstanding achiever in so many different areas, it seems highly appropriate that the Learned Society’s award should be named after this remarkable and indefatigable pioneer.
Scrutiny Committee membership
Members of the scrutiny committee will be announced shortly.