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IPAA Victoria’s Top 50 Public Sector Women Awards 2023 nominations now open
28 Sep 2023
IPAA Victoria’s International Women’s Day Gala Dinner
27 Mar 2020
IPAA Victoria’s International Women’s Day Gala Dinner was more than just a great evening – it was a loud and proud celebration of women from across the public purpose sector. It was also about Victoria’s all-important emergency management and community sector women.
IPAA Victoria is deeply committed to cultivating women leaders by providing access to career development programs, confidence-building programs, networking opportunities and facilitating connection with role models.
Bonnie Cavanagh, Program Manager, Victoria Police, IPAA Victoria Young Professional, and the most recent recipient of IPAA’s Young Indigenous Leader Award, did an outstanding job of hosting the evening, which began with a poignant Welcome to Country by Aunty Georgina Nicholson.IPAA Victoria honoured the hard work and determination of the public purpose sector professionals making a real difference during the summer bushfire emergency.The panel was moderated with wit and wisdom by two-time Walkley Award journalist and commentator Virginia Trioli, whose trenchant questioning prompted a passionate, candid and moving discussion from Debra Abbott APM, Deputy Commissioner, Capability and Risk, Emergency Management Victoria; Dr Bethany Roberts, Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Forest Fire Management Victoria, Director of Forest & Fire Operations, Gippsland; and Sharon Houlihan, General Manager Community & Culture, Wellington Shire Council. Each spoke not only about their experiences in emergency management, but the challenges they’ve faced as women in a sector long perceived as the domain of men.More than one guest opined that it was a privilege to be in the audience that night, for this trio of exceptional leaders gave of themselves in way that cannot fail to be remembered. Here was the reality of the struggles women continue to confront every day, whether it was Sharon’s affecting account of how “every email and phone-call began with ‘I’d like to say “Happy New Year”, but it isn’t’”; Debra’s matter-of-fact yet heartrending statement that “one of the reasons I’m here is because I only took five months leave for my first child”; or the raw emotion that rang through Bethany as she recalled the summer’s seemingly incessant brutality (a stark contrast to her hilarious yet acerbic observations concerning one-piece suits designed by and for men, and the consequent difficulties with tampons).
It was an evening that – for all it swung from laughter to tears, humour to pathos – was above all else characterized by the incisive intelligence and perceptive wisdom evidenced by the panel. No punches were pulled in their assessment of the challenges they – and countless other women – have encountered, yet each panelist refused to be mired in the past, choosing instead to face the future with an optimism that inspired, even as it threw down the challenge to everyone in the room to work together to build that future.IPAA Victoria’s ability to hold this wonderful event, and other events throughout the year, relies heavily on the help we receive from our partners. This year’s International Women’s Day Gala would not have been possible without its major partner, KPMG, and supporting partners Maddocks, Fisher Leadership and the Transport Accident Commission. IPAA Victoria thanks them all – moments such as those we witnessed are to be treasured, and in partnering with us, you have helped take the next steps toward true gender equality.It was a truly memorable evening and is impossible to distill the magic of the IPAA Victoria International Women’s Day Gala Dinner into one moment or sentence. Nonetheless, when Bethany revealed that her daughter thought her to be “a total badass”, it seemed, amid summer’s fire and autumn’s rain, that the struggles of women past were not in vain, and that the future would be a place where each truly is for equal.
We thank each and every one of you for attending. It was your presence that made the evening a triumph, and hopefully inspired more than a few of you to continue breaking down the barriers to gender equity, wherever you work and whatever you do. We look forward to seeing you at next year’s event!©DELWP
©DELWP
