Less than a week remains before the deadline—July 31—to submit nominations for the 2012 Edna, a $10,000 award for young women making a mark in labor, women’s and other social justice movements.

The award honors Edna Berger, a pioneer for women’s rights who rose from a receptionist at The Philadelphia Inquirer to become a writer, editor and the first female organizer in The Newspaper Guild-CWA.

The Berger-Marks Foundation established the Edna Award in 2011 to recognize “a woman who has made an extraordinary contribution to social justice early in her career. The recipient’s outstanding achievements to date indicate that her ongoing work will significantly improve the lives of working women and men.”

Nominations for the 2012 Edna will be accepted online only. In addition to the nominator, each nominee must have one additional letter of recommendation. Nominees may not nominate themselves. Nominees must be 35 years or younger on Dec. 31, 2012. The online nomination form is available on the foundation’s website at www.bergermarks.org.

An independent panel of union, civic and activist leaders will judge the nominees and make the final selections.