Since 2011, the Austrian Women’s ring has awarded the Frauenring Preis to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to feminist causes and gender equality. The award recognizes exceptional commitment to a solidaristic, feminist society and is presented once a year.
At the present moment, no award ceremonies are taking place.
The Frauenring Preis was awarded to Brigitte Hornyik, constitutional lawyer and former deputy chair of the Austrian Women's Ring, in recognition of her long-standing commitment to the organization and her dedicated advocacy for women's rights.
The prize was awarded to Hilde Stockhammer, head of the Women's Labour Market Policy Department at the Public Employment Service (AMS), gender studies scholar Gabriele Michalitsch, and Eva Blimlinger, historian and the first equal opportunities officer of the Austrian Rectors' Conference.
The Frauenring Preis was awarded to Kazuko Kurosaki (Aiko), who is a dancer, performer and choreographer as well as chairwoman and artistic director of the association One Billion Rising Austria; Ingrid Nikolay-Leitner, head of the Equal Treatment Ombud's Office and first Ombud for Equal Treatment; and Nicola Werdenigg, former professional skier, author and chair as well as co-founder of #WeTogether.
The Frauenring Preis was awarded to legal philosopher Elisabeth holzleithner, filmmaker Käthe Kratz and rapper Esra Özmen, highlighting three women who are engaged in feminism in very different ways.
The prize honored journalist, author and political scientist Sibylle Hamann; Gabriella Hauch, professor of modern history, women's and gender history; and media and communication scholar, university lecturer and media activist Ulli Weish.
The Frauenring Preis of 2015 was awarded to journalist Elfriede Hammerl and Susanne Riegler for their long-standing feminist engagement and journalistic advocacy for women's rights, as well as musician and DJ Susanne Kirchmayr, who has contributed significantly to networking within a still male-dominated art and music scene. An additional recognition award went to Ursula Kubes-Hofmann, founder of the Rossa Mayreder College.
The Frauenring Preis was awarded to three women: Christina Jankovics, ORF works council representative and member of the supervisory board, for her feminist pioneering work at the ORF; antifascist resistance fighter Irma Schwager, for her exceptional civil courage; and sculptor Ulrike Truger, in the field of arts and culture.
Renata Schmidtkunz, theologian and responsible editor of the Ö1 programme series "Im Gespräch", and Paula Gulda, composer and pianist, were jointly honored for their efforts to remove an advertising poster for an "exclusive night club" at Vienna Airport. Schmidtkunz had been protesting it since 2007, while Gulda criticized the sexist poster as a violation of women's and human dignity.