And the winner is… Power Roundup of our past Woman of the Year honorees

The Her World Woman of the Year awards have been actively celebrating the achievements of the most inspirational women that have been making serious headway in Singapore since 1991. We proffer the accolade to pay homage to the go-getter woman; passionate in contributing to a long-standing positive effect on society through her profession.

In the modern world we now live in where politics and culture can so easily shift according to a hashtag or a fad, it may be difficult for women to discern authentic, timeless inspiration. But to us, an empowered awe-inspiring woman never goes out of trend.

Tonight marks the annual gala where we announce our 2017 Woman of The Year award winner. But before we crown the next woman, in the spirit of female-to-female empowerment, we’re rounding up some of our past-year winners who’ve had outstanding achievements of late. From politics to the Paralympics, 2017 has been an eventful year for our remarkable honorees.

As Michelle Obama once said ever so tactfully, "There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish."

READ MORE: 10 EMPOWERING WOMEN OF THE SEA GAMES THAT INSPIRES US TO GET MORE OUT OF LIFE

Halimah Yacob

Photo: The Straits Times

The former speaker of Parliament - and 2003 Her World Women of The Year Award recipient - earned widespread admiration when it was announced that she was running for president for the upcoming elections. Set to possibly become Singapore’s first ever female president, the mother of five has empowered all Singaporean women to further believe that the future and progress of this very nation could very well be molded by them.

Having graduated from NUS with an honours degree in law in 1978, Madam Halimah promptly joined as a legal officer in NTUC, acting as the voice of the workers’ welfare. The empathetic nature of hers has not wavered one bit for the past 39 years; evident through her consistent efforts in championing for workers' rights, working to upgrade their skillsets and improve their quality of life both in Singapore and abroad. In 2000, she became the Worker's Vice Chairperson of the Standards Committee of the ILO, and in 2016, she was elected as the Worker's Spokesperson for the ILO Tripartite Committee on Human Resource Development.

But most recently, she has once again proven that true passion knows no boundaries by choosing to run for President in order to better serve all Singaporeans. Madam Halimah’s relentless pursuit of a cause that can only benefit others is nothing short of inspiring, distinguishing her as an exemplary figure for women everywhere.

Yip Pin Xiu

Photo: The Straits Times

The 25-year-old para-athlete may very well just be the prime living definition of resilience. Born with muscular dystrophy, a genetic irremediable muscle-wasting illness, our 2008 Young Woman Achiever award recipient grew up making peace with the disorder.

With the motor skills in her wrist and grip on the decline and the vision in her left eye deteriorating, her never-say-die attitude shone when she turned to competitive swimming (and excelling in it at that) for solace at the age of 12. And as her agility in the waters grew over the years, she never once looked back on the days where she used to be bullied in secondary school.

Soon she was taking part in both regional and international meets in her teenage years, relentlessly bringing home medal after medal. But her big break came in 2008 when she clinched Singapore's first Paralympic gold at the Beijing Games, setting two groundbreaking world records in the process for the 50-metre backstroke (57.92s) and 50-metre freestyle events (57.04s). Most recently in 2016, Pin Xiu triumphed over her other 6 fellow competitors during the Rio Paralympics to once again secure a gold medal in the 100m backstroke S2 event (Ed’s note: S2 refers to a class of events in the paralympics, which ranges from S1 to s10. The lower the number the more severe your disability).

Pin Xiu’s outstanding accomplishments have propelled her to national hero status. Oh, how we Singaporeans rejoiced when she made a surprise appearance atop the papier mâché mountain alongside Joseph Schooling during this year’s National Day Parade. But most importantly, the sensational para-swimmer’s success has brought about greater recognition for disabled athletes in Singapore while inspiring women everywhere to achieve great feats by riding on their backbone of passion and discipline.

Stephanie Sun

Photo: Universal Music

Singapore's sweetheart Stefanie Sun, also known as Sun Yan Zi, holds a special place in our hearts. She is, after all, the island's Queen of Mandopop; having sold more than over 30 million copies of her past 14 albums to date and won more than 59 awards throughout the course of her career in Singapore, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong.

Having amassed a following of devoted fans in the preceding countries for the past 16 years, Stefanie has definitely come a long way since her wide-eyed starting days of newfound fame. In her humble beginnings, Stefanie wasn't fluent in Mandarin despite having chosen to build a career in Mandopop. Our beloved singer was notoriously humiliated on a popular Taiwanese variety show by Jacky Wu calling her 'stupid' when she couldn't understand his questions posed in Mandarin. And since then, she's worked hard over the years to enrich her understanding of the chinese language and has now mastered the language well.

Since winning the Her World Young Woman Achiever award in the year 2001, Stefanie is currently juggling her music career as well as fulfilling the duties of a doting mother to her 4 year old sun. Stefanie also released her newest song 'Rainbow Bot' last year and it conceivably climbed to the top of the iTunes chart in Malaysia and Taiwan within an hour of its release. She has also hinted that her next album is currently underway, though leaving us with no other clue as to it’s actual release date. One thing’s for sure, we’re definitely on the edge of our seats in anticipation in hopes of reconnecting with Stefanie through her euphonious lyrics soon.

READ MORE: 10 YOUNG INSPIRING AND SUCCESSFUL SINGAPORE WOMEN YOU NEED TO KNOW!

Elim Chew

Photo: The Straits Times /  Desmond Wee

The last time we caught up with Elim Chew, she was the reigning boss of the streetwear empire 77th Street. But much has changed since 2002 when the eccentric maverick was Her World's Young Woman Achiever of the year. Due to high rentals and rising labour costs, the entrepreneur closed all 16 outlets across the island as well as a 400,00 sq ft shopping mall in Beijing. The notable local retail store lasted 28 years and played a vital role for most teens growing up in Singapore through their journey of self-discovery. Now that the sanctuary for 'cool kids' - famed for their facial piercing services, edgy jewelry and street fashion pieces - is gone for good, we're left with nothing but nostalgia.

But when it comes to Elim herself, she isn't to be defeated this easily. In fact, she has already swiftly moved on to the next phase of entrepreneurship by investing and setting up three restaurants with her elder siblings: I'm Kim Korean BBQ, Kokomma Cafe, and Goro Goro Steamboat and Korean Buffet. Her venture into the food and beverage industry is ingenious at best, given the lucrative nature of Korean BBQ buffets in Singapore these days. Elim's steadfast knack in spotting trends has assuredly paved her way to success once again. 

Elim has also embarked on a new project on her YouTube channel ElimChew TV: Gamemaker. The series features a collective group of individuals around the world in all fields of work who are making a positive change to society.

Elim's business-minded, go-getting spirit in face of failure is certainly infectious. Her story echoes true strength and tenacity - reminding us to always center our faith in our personal capabilities and prospects even in the most trying times.

Li Jia Wei

Photo: The Straits Times / Dios Vincoy Jr.

When Li Jia Wei relinquished the silver medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, the national paddler instantaneously became a household name across the country. The Beijing-born talent was scouted at the age of 14 to train and compete while brandishing Singapore's name, and she soon smashed her way to numerous athletic achievements.

She stood as the proud flag bearer during the 2008 Beijing Olympics where she played a pivotal role in the Singapore Table Tennis team's triumph in attaining the silver medal - the first Olympic medal Singapore has ever won since its independence in 1965.

Photo: The Straits Times

We knew we weren't about to see the last of her when she retired from competing professionally in 2012 to focus on her family and education abroad. And we were right - the table tennis superstar left us wide-eyed with wonder when she made a splashing return to Singapore to launch the Jiawei Table Tennis Academy.

Photo: Facebook / Li Jia Wei

Jia wei aims to groom and develop young local children in hopes of giving back to Singapore for the many years of arduous training that have made her who she is today. As the acting CEO and chief coach of the academy, Jia Wei now commutes regularly between Singapore and Beijing in order to best nurture the handful of 30 plus students at the Chinese Swimming Club.

Slowly but ever so surely, we know that Jia Wei is lighting the way for future homegrown athletes in Singapore to carry the day and reach greater heights.

READ MORE: 15 HUNK-SOME ATHLETES TO WATCH OUT FOR THIS SEA GAMES