Women leaders nominated for ANZSOG/ Women’s Agenda public sector award

Five women leaders from the public sector have made the shortlist of nominees for the ANZSOG/ Women’s Agenda Emerging Female Leader in the Government and Public Sector Award.

The award, sponsored by ANZSOG for the first time this year, is part of the Women’s Agenda Leadership Awards, to be announced in Sydney on 13 September. ANZSOG Associate Dean Gill Callister is on the judging panel for the award.

The nominees are: Janelle Andrews, Amy Thunig, Associate Professor Dr Abeer Alsadoon, Narelle Underwood and Faye McMillan.

Faye McMillan is a Wiradjuri woman from Trangie, NSW, who graduated as Australia’s first Aboriginal pharmacist, and has since become a founding member of Indigenous Allied Health Australia.

She currently Charles Sturt University’s Djirruwang Program – Bachelor of Health Science (Mental Health) and is passionate about nation building, Indigenous women in leadership roles and mental health.

Amy Thunig is a Gamilaroi woman, and associate lecturer in the Department of Educational Studies at Macquarie University, who is undertaking a PhD in education.

Janelle Andrews is the Inspector, State Intelligence and Covert Services Command, Queensland Police Service. Previous roles within the Queensland Police Service include Patrol Group Inspector for the Centenary and Inner West Patrol Groups and as a Strategy and Performance Officer for the Deputy Commissioner of Regional Operations.

A. Prof Dr Abeer Alsadoon is an academic and research scientist in Information Technology at Charles Sturt University She has a passion for research and teaching, and has worked as a researcher in the health services area, data mining and the e-health research group.

Narelle Underwood is the Surveyor-General of NSW, and was not only Australia’s first female surveyor-general but also the youngest, appointed at the age of 32. She is working to modernise the role and inspire more women to become surveyors.

The award will be given to the emerging leader in the public sector who can best demonstrate growth and inclusivity in her field since the beginning of 2018. Any woman working in a government department, politics or local government, regardless of age, job title, experience or background, is eligible.

While two-thirds of Australian public sector employees are female, women still make up a minority of senior staff and agency heads.

Organisers of the Awards, now in their seventh year, said that they had received the biggest response ever this year, with hundreds of entries received.

The awards cover a range of categories including science, health and medicine, and an ‘agenda setter’ award. The finalists come from all over Australia, cross a huge range of industries and are leading on major initiatives, teams and organisations that are changing how we live and work.

Tickets to the 2019 Women’s Agenda Leadership Awards are available here.