Confident Woman Awards

The 2011 Confident Woman of the Year Awards will feature Australian women who have been featured on the site and who have been carefully selected on the merit of their stories all of which will be featured on the site. Voting by readers will open again in October 2011.

Confident Woman Award 2010

Confident Woman congratulates Bernadette Black on winning the 2010 Australian Confident Woman of the Year award.

Shocked to learn she was pregnant at 16 years of age, Bernadette faced the hardship of being a teenage mother and a single mother.

Towards the end of her pregnancy, she made a pact with herself: to be a great mum, to complete her studies and to write a book to help others in this situation.

She has done all three.

She is now a mother of three, a registered nurse, and the author of "Brave Little Bear: The inspirational story of a teenage mother".

"It is wonderful to have Bernadette win our Inaugural Confident Woman of the Year award. She had some tough opposition," says Rachel Green, Director of Confident Woman.

Bernadette polled 5% more votes than her nearest rival, anti-whaling campaigner, Skye Bertoli. Dr Fiona Woods came third, closely followed by Julia Gillard.

Bernadette has now opened a Foundation to help teenage girls value the importance of their teenage lives and to live them without complications, such as pregnancy.

Based in Tasmania, and now aged 36, Bernadette has already spoken to thousands of teenagers Australia wide.

"Readers warmed to Bernadette's story, because she has shown us all that adversity can be overcome, and that something positive can arise from times of depression and gloom. They also valued her enormous contribution to the lives of other teenagers." Rachel explained.

Bernadette's full story can be read here.

Berndette has won the whole collection of 17 CDs and a book from the Confident Woman website, along with a special certificate, and a Confident Woman T-shirt.