Welcome to our 2015 NAB Women’s Agenda Leadership Awards!
You can follow our awards here, on Twitter, or on Facebook.
Our distinguished guests and finalists have arrived and our awards are underway. We are so excited to welcome our guest speaker, former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, and our Hall of Fame Entrant and Workplace Gender Equality Agency director Helen Conway. We would also like to welcome each and every one of our amazing finalists, and we would like to congratulate them on their incredible achievements.
Our editor Georgina Dent has opened our awards by telling us that we are here today to create a new narrative for women.
“We are writing a new story for women, because the old story isn’t working,” she said.
“When appointing one woman doubles the number of women in the highest level of government, it’s clear the story isn’t working.”
“Everyone in this room demonstrates that the new story is worth chasing.”
We have now welcomed the Executive General Manager of our partner NAB Business, Cindy Batchelor to the stage.
“I stand before you today as the proud product of a single mother who raised four children on her own,” she explained.
“We need to create the environment where female business leaders are not the exception if we are to build a strong and sustainable economy that leverages the whole population of Australia,” she said.
To announce our first award, we introduce Cosmopolitan editor Bronwyn McMahon to the stage.
Our first category is Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year. Congratulations to all our finalists: Lorraine Murphy, Zoe Piper, Nikki Jurcutz and Andrea Myles.
And the winner is: Nikki Jurcutz. Congratulations, Nikki!
Our Associate Publisher Angela Priestley will now announce the winner of our Emerging Leader in the Not for Profit sector.
Congratulations to our finalists Lucy Perry, Melanie Raymond and Christina Matthews!
And the winner is… Lucy Perry from Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia (Australia). Congratulations, Lucy!
And now, to our Emerging Leader in the Private Sector. Congratulations to our finalists Sarah Turner, Anita Mitchell and Lauren Williams.
And the winner is… Lauren Williams, CEO of carsguide.com.au. Congratulations, Lauren!
Our next category is our Rural/Regional Emerging Leader of the Year.
Our finalists are Helen Duckham, Simone Kain, and Jo Scard.
The winner is Simone Kain from Hello Friday. Congratulations, Simone!
After returning from lunch, we would now like to present the Agenda Setter of the Year award.
Congratulations to all our finalists: Tracey Howe, Georgina Sutton and Linny Kimly Phuong.
And the winner is… Tracey Howe from the NSW Council of Social Services. Congratulations, Tracey!
And now to our Emerging Leader in the Public Sector Award. Congratulations to our finalists, Linda Spurr, Jerril Rechter and Anneke Schneider.
And the winner is… Linda Spurr from Airservices Australia. Congratulations, Linda!!
And now to our Mentor of the Year award. Congratulations to our finalists: Sharon Warburton, Janet Michelmore and Jennifer Martin.
And the winner is… Sharon Warburton from Brookfield Multiplex. Congratulations, Sharon!
And now, our editor Georgina Dent will welcome the former Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, to the stage.
“We are so incredibly honoured to be joined by the former Prime Minister Julia Gillard,” she said.
“As Julia Gillard herself so aptly put it: Gender does not explain everything about her prime ministership, but it doesn’t explain nothing.”
We are so proud to now introduce the former Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.
“It has been wonderful to sit and listen to the stories of all of the finalists and winners, doing so many things in so many diverse sectors of Australia,” Gillard said.
“When it comes to gender inequality, we feel the restlessness reminiscent of children in the back of the car chanting ‘are we there yet’, and unfortunately we are not there yet.”
“We will know we have achieved equality when we look at the structures in Australia and see 50/50 men and women.”
“Don’t we owe it to our nation and the world in which we live to make sure that the most important positions have the best possible people serving in them?”
“If you want to change a nation, if you want to change the planet, educate a girl.”
“Why is there still this disparity between men and women in our society?” she asks.
Gillard explains that she grappled with this question when writing the gender chapter of her book, My Story. She tells us this was the hardest chapter to write.
The former Prime Minister explained to us a series of studies detailing the entrenched gender inequality across the world.
“Three studies, in different contexts, telling us something we need to think about in terms of women’s leadership.”
“What is going on?”
“My best explanation is that somewhere, for all of us, women and men, in the back of our brains there are sexist stereotypes still whispering.”
“Those whispers tell us we are used to images of men being in command, in leadership roles.”
“I don’t have all the answers, bur one thing I’m certain of is that part of the answer is what we are doing here today – coming together and celebrating women’s achievements and women’s leadership, and sharing stories of success and change.”
Our Associate Publisher, Angela Priestley, has thanked Julia Gillard for paving the way for women in leadership, and for making it easier for the next female prime minister. And the next one, and the next one after that.
Thank you Julia.
And now to our final award: The Change Champion of the Year.
Congratulations to our wonderful finalists: Julie Bernhardt, Jessi Miley-Dyer and Aviva Tuffield.
And the winner is… Julie Bernhardt of the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health. Congratulations, Julie!
And now, we would like to induct the wonderful Helen Conway into our Hall of Fame for 2015 and welcome her to the stage.
“The business case for gender equality is in,” Conway said.
“So why aren’t we seeing urgency and action?”
“The time for talking is over. Can’t we just get on with it?”
“What we need is a strategic approach to gender equality.”
“If you truly believe in gender equality, you don’t only talk about it. You actually do it. And it requires strong, real, visible leadership.”
Conway tells us to have courage and step up when opportunities present themselves.
“When someone offers you a position, they believe you can do it.”
Angela Priestley returns to the stage with some final advice: “Back yourself.”