It’s the time again for top ten lists and random end of the year awards. Here at Blag Hag, it means it’s time to recognize the wonderful women of the atheist movement.

Why bother with a women-only poll? Because despite their accomplishes, women are still frequently overlooked when we acknowledge people in the atheist movement. I originally started this informal award because of end of the year “Top Atheist” lists that always seemed to exclude women. We’re certainly getting better: the gender ratio at cons is getting less skewed for attendees and speakers, and women’s issues are gaining more and more attention in the movement. But there’s still room for improvement. The main public figures of atheism are predominantly men, and calling out blatantly obvious issues of sexism results in the internet exploding (not to mention, you know, rape and death threats). And yet again, end of the year round-ups forget that women exist.

But this year we’re going to do something different. Instead of me giving you a list of women to choose from, you get to vote for whoever you want, and as many women as you want. This prevents the cries of “Why didn’t you include lady X?!” and “How am I supposed to choose between awesome person Y and awesome person Z?!” Just comment below clearly listing the names of who you vote for. Once the votes stop trickling in, I’ll make a new post announcing the results.

And of course, feel free to add why you’re voting for these amazing atheist women. What did they do in 2011 that made them noteworthy? What posts, or articles, or talks, or campaigns stuck out to you? How did they personally affect you?

Feel free to consult the Large List of Awesome Female Atheists. It’s sorely in need of an update, but I have a feeling this poll will help me with that.