A marketing strategist, a midwife, a rehabilitation scientist and an environmentalist. They have built their own companies, fought the government in the courts, solved major societal problems, and designed apparel made specially for female athletes.
They are the ten winners of the 2023 Women’s Agenda Leadership Awards, named at a ceremony in Melbourne on Friday night.
This year’s celebrations were marked by the profound and powerful words of Professor Megan Davis — who spoke about the importance of courageous leadership at this time of “sensationalist campaigns of division.”
The evening’s celebrations ended with a heart-rendering set by Jack River.
The 2023 Women’s Agenda Leadership Awards were made possible thanks to the support of our headline partner, Commonwealth Bank’s Women in Focus, category partners Charles Sturt University, MECCA M-Power, CSIRO, charity partner Plan International, venue partner Accor and gift partners at Loco Love.
Winner of Emerging Leader in Tech
Luli Adeyemo
Luli Adeyemo is the Executive Director of the TechDiversity Foundation. As a fervent advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in technology workforces across different sectors, she is on a mission to illuminate the transformative power of DEI in boardrooms across Australia.
Adeyemo’s compelling discussions with numerous executives have sparked a DEI revolution, showcasing its potential as a catalyst for innovation, competitiveness, cultural enrichment, and as a solution to bridging the skills gap.
“Technology is the enabler that gives us health benefits,” Adeyemo said in her acceptance speech. “It gives us benefits in that area of our life. The thing is the thing that we need to be really aware of that there’s a very small proportion of our society that are involved in the design of technology. We need inclusive voices involved in the design of tech.”
“Luli is a standout applicant who is strategically effecting systemic change in the tech industry,” the judges said of Adeyemo. “Her three pillar approach puts education at the heart which is vital to driving systemic change.”
“She works at all levels of industry from grassroots through to business level. Her work to create business metrics is also key. She focuses on creating “Intentional Impact”, creating new programs, more than awareness and putting it all into action.”
Winner of Emerging Leader in the Private Sector
Cecilia Chiu
Cecilia is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of New Aim. A trailblazer in Australian ecommerce, Cecilia introduced the dropship model to Australia with Dropshipzone.
It’s her mission to empower more Australian SMEs to start and scale through ecommerce, by creating a more inclusive ecosystem that levels the playing field. In 2022, Cecilia transitioned Dropshipzone to a B2B2C marketplace helping thousands of retailers, which stands unique in the Australian market.
Accepting her award on Friday night, Chiu reminisced about the origins of her company.
“I started New Aim with my husband in 2005 from a garage store and today, it’s has a $300 million turnover,” she said.
“We help more and more small business, especially woman’s businesses to set up their businesses in e-commerce. So this is what we are really proud of as well. A third of our senior management is women. Thank you so much for this award.”
The judges praised Chiu, saying she’d demonstrated her alignment to the values based on the evidence of her exemplary track record.
“It’s one thing to join an established company and take it to the next level, and a whole other to take an idea to a startup to a scale up and then into a corporate entity,” they said.
“Achieving each new stage of of her business has made her an emerging leader each time in different types of businesses and where her company is now no longer a startup but a corporate entity in the private sector, she is clearly an emerging leader and deserves the recognition for her hard work.”
“The fact that a third of her company managers are female demonstrates evidence of integrity as does her desire to expand the company’s operations to make e-commerce more accessible to founders in particular women who make up 60 per cent of this founder community.”
Employer Initiative of the Year
FUJIFILM’s Elevate program
Accepting the award on Friday night was Rhys Huett, General Manager Customer Service Operations and Executive Sponsor of Fujifilm’s Elevate program
Huett admitted to feeling “a little bit out of place” on stage in front of a sea of women.
“A massive thank you to the Women’s Leadership Awards Committee and judges for recognizing our efforts and championing female leaders and supporting women’s success in the workplace,” he said.
“It’s a privilege as the executive sponsor for Fujifilm business innovation and the elevate Employee Resource Group. We’re incredibly proud to play a role in making a difference in the ICT sector for current and future generations.”
Judges said that FUJIFILM’s Elevate program shows what is possible when women and men work in partnership – even in male dominated industries – to create positive pathways for emerging women leaders.
“We were greatly impressed by FUJIFILM’s clear, measurable targets and long-term commitment, and that the program had already grown from an employee resource group to an employee owned movement.”
“This buy-in and shared accountability from the top down is core to a 31 per cent increase in new female hires year on year, totalling 86 per cent of new hires this year. Encouragingly, and despite this great progress, FUJIFILM is still keen to do more.”
Winner of Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year
Suzie Betts
Suzie Betts is the founder of Boob Armour, a sports bra brand specifically targeted at protecting women’s breasts during sports and exercise.
Betts is on a mission to redefine safety and empowerment for girls and women, not just in sports but also in occupations where breast injuries are a concern.
Her innovative breast protection solutions are reshaping the landscape, empowering females to pursue their passions with confidence, whether on the field or in their workplaces.
Betts’ values-driven leadership and her commitment to addressing this critical challenge make Boob Armour a transformative force for girls and women, ensuring their well-being and confidence in all aspects of life.
On Friday night, Betts admitted that the award was her first.
“I really started as a business for my daughters when I had a breast injury that presented itself later on in life and my mission became to protect them at the foremost.”
“Obviously it grew from there and now I’m totally obsessed with protecting all girls and women in sport in occupations where their breasts can be impacted and injured.”
The judges described Betts’ journey as one that “represents everything these Awards were designed to celebrate.”
“Through Boob Armour, Suzie’s has shown her dedication to truly serving the unique needs women have, and a willingness to partner with organisations well beyond her sporting origins – including the military, train drivers, mine workers, and dog groomers to name just a few – to increase her impact as a courageous, inclusive and values-driven leader who is at the start of a truly positive growth story,” they said.
Winner of Small Business Leader of the Year
Lacey Webb
Lacey Webb is the Founder & CEO of Resource Hub, defining efficiency and best practice for the Waste Management and Resource Recovery sector.
With over 15 years experience in industry, Webb is the foremost authority on waste levy regulation and gatehouse operations in Australia, she is a winner of the 2022 Women in Industry Awards. She is committed to supporting the growth of women across traditionally male industries, including in the Waste Management and Resource Recovery sector.
Although Webb was unable to attend on Friday night, the judges praised Webb’s passion, determination, and commitment.
“Lacey is solving a clear and substantial problem in changing the measurement and management of Australia’s waste, as the founder of the country’s only waste levy specialist, Resource Hub.”
“She had clear passion, determination, and commitment to making the country more sustainable as well as her genuine leadership in supporting her own fast-growing team to work flexibly within an inclusive environment.”
“Lacey has also seen rapid revenue growth with judges noting the expected scalability of Resource Hub given its unique gap in market, free from competitors.”
Winner of Emerging Leader in Science
Dr Hayley Teasdale
Dr Hayley Teasdale is the Manager of Science Policy Projects at the Australian Academy of Science. She works at the interface science and policy, making science accessible to policymakers and helping shape policy to support science in Australia.
Dr Teasdale also develops innovative methods for producing science policy advice, including new methods for the inclusion of Traditional Knowledges in science policy processes.
Accepting the award on Friday night, Dr Teasdale said the award was “an absolute honour”.
“The project that my colleagues nominated me for was a really unique process in that we believe, it was the first time a science policy process has been inclusive of traditional elder voices,” she said.
“I just feel like science policy is here to help inform evidence informed decision making. It’s so important that decisions are based on evidence. Everything I do is absolutely because of my team. I have the most incredible team and colleagues and scientists that we work with every day.”
“Hayley’s unique trajectory in both business and science has equipped her with impressive skills, already enabling significant policy cut through,” the judges said. “She is clearly an astute collaborator, working and leading multidisciplinary teams with determination and passion. She knows the value of listening to diverse perspectives to maximise outcomes and has demonstrated incredible capacity to problem-solve complex issues.”
Winner of Emerging Leader in Climate & Sustainability
Anjali Sharma
At just 16, Anjali Sharma was the lead litigant of Sharma vs Environment Minister, a legal case which, in 2021, successfully established that the environment minister owes all young people a duty of care to protect them from the impacts of climate change.
After this ruling was appealed, Sharma launched a campaign to legislate this duty of care through Federal Parliament, and has successfully seen a bill tabled in the Senate to do so.
Although Sharma wasn’t able to make it on Friday night, the judges praised her for her leadership and boldness.
“Anjali has demonstrated courageous leadership in advocating for climate justice,” they said. “Her self awareness, strategic thinking and bold action impressed the judges and her work has broad reaching and profound implications for the whole country. It is for this reason that we award her this category.”
Winner of Emerging Leader in Health
Sonita Giudice
Sonita Giudice is a proud Gunggari and Wakka Wakka woman who is passionate about providing holistic and culturally appropriate care to Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander women and their families.
As a Clinical Midwifery Consultant within the Office of Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, she provides her expertise with clinical and cultural knowledge to support the co-design of these models of care.
“It’s an absolute privilege to be in the office surrounded by wonderful leadership and mentors,” Giudice said.
Thanking her sister, who is also a midwife, Giudice said she was surrounded by strong women, and thanked her family and partner. “They support me in this journey of midwifery.”
“Sonita exemplifies the ethos of thinking globally and acting locally,” the judges said. “She was able to paint a clear and achievable vision of the changes she wants to see delivered in women’s health. The impact of her work transcends the individual to improve health for families, the community and future generations.”
Winner of Emerging Leader in the NFP Sector
Katherine Berney
Katherine is the Executive Director of National Women’s Safety Alliance (NWSA) with a membership of over 400 individuals and organisations she is determined we will end violence against all identifying women, non binary people and children.
NWSA is a trusted government advisor, and under Katherine’s leadership, it has influenced major federal policy reforms in Domestic, Family and Sexual violence.
“We have a real problem in violence against women and children in this country,” Berney said upon accepting her award. “My fundamental belief is that if we are to end violence against women and children in a generation, as our government has suggested, we need every single person who wants to positively contribute that to be part of the conversation. I need to acknowledge this is a room of remarkable women. And there’s so much lived experience in this room.”
“Katherine is the true embodiment of what the Women’s Agenda Emerging Leadership Awards seeks to recognise,” the judges said. “As the Director of the National Women’s Safety Alliance (NWSA) she is a fierce and passionate campaigner to end violence against women.”
“She demonstrates strong systems thinking, the ability to bring like minds together to solve complex challenges, and has a demonstrated passion to ensure that her work is inclusive and raises the voices of those who need to be heard.”
Winner of Agenda Setter of the Year
Angelique Wan and Sam Payne
Angelique Wan is the co-founder and CEO of Consent Labs, a youth-led not-for-profit that is working to reduce the prevalence of sexual violence in Australia through education programs delivered to high school students, their educators and parents.
To-date, Consent Labs has delivered programs to more than 50,000 people nationally. Previously, Angelique has been recognised as the 2022 NSW Young Woman of the Year and a 40 Under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australian in the same year.
Sam Payne is the co-Founder and CEO of Pink Elephant — a charity organisation that aims to support parents through early pregnancy loss. She is on a mission to ensure that no one faces the journey of pregnancy loss alone and that they receive the support they need and deserve. In 2021, Payne changed federal legislation to include miscarriage. She continues to challenge cultural norms, breaking the silence, and initiating much-needed change in the space of pregnancy loss.
Wan was unable to attend the awards evening, but Payne attended, and made a heart-wrenching speech.
“This [award] isn’t for me,” she said. “This is for the nearly 300 women today who will have heard the words from Sorry, there is no heartbeat or the 100,000 estimated women and partners every year, who will lose their much loved unwanted baby during pregnancy.”
“It’s all about putting a voice to our experiences. Telling our stories on purpose, so that every person who goes through the experience of losing their baby during pregnancy is met with the validation empathy and understanding they deserve.”
The judges commended both winners’ “dedication, courage, persistence, passion.”
“Angie and Sam exemplified all these things. Tackling big issues we are lucky to have you both put your energy into education, awareness and advocacy that will help millions of people.”