One of the most favourite parts of my job is writing about SWOTY.

The Evening Times Scotswoman of the Year awards dinner takes place early next year and we recently launched our search for the superwomen of 2017.

As part of the process, I get to delve into the history of the event - which we believe is the longest-running unbroken female achievement award in the UK.

It’s been going since 1963, championing the extraordinary doings of ordinary women, from charity workers and business leaders to pensioners and scientists.

Some of the early Evening Times reports on the event make fascinating reading, demonstrating how social conventions and attitudes to women have changed substantially over the decades.

Women are named for their husbands (“Mrs Michael Noble, Mrs Thomas Murdoch and even our first winner, tireless Red Cross fundraiser Bessie, was described throughout as Mrs Douglas Johnston) and oh, the hats. Everyone wore a hat. Fabulous flowery affairs and floppy fabric triumphs - perhaps we should bring back the hats?

The women who have picked up the trophy (originally a rosebowl, now a bronze sculpture) have been incredible and inspiring in all kinds of ways.

I have spent many a joyful hour trawling through hundreds of press clippings and photographs to discover more about these early pioneers - these women who were changing the world for the rest of us, improving our lives with their legacies, even though most of them might not have realised it at the time.

There are some little gems of information in the articles too.

The 1975 winner Captain Mary Campbell, for example, who inspired our readers to raise more than £4000 for a leprosy hospital in India, recorded a single with 70s band Middle of the Road in aid of the cause.

The 1970 winner Margaret, or Peggy, Herbison - the first woman to serve as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland didn’t attend the event because she was lunching with the Queen at Buckingham Palace, giving Her Majesty a report on workings of the Assembly.

The closing date for entries is December 8 and the winner will be crowned at a grand ceremony in Glasgow City Chambers - really, 250 women having a blether over a glass of wine and some excellent food, while feeling inspired by all those around them.

So, if you have not yet told us about your superwoman of the past 12 months, now is the time to do it. Email swoty@heraldandtimes.co.uk and help us shine a spotlight on the women who are quietly and determinedly changing the world.