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Gender equity at UOW

International Women's Day Gender Equity Awards - March 2025

International Women’s Day is an important occasion – a global celebration of women’s achievements. But it is also a reminder of the ongoing work needed to achieve gender equality.

This year, UN Women Australia celebrated International Women’s Day under the theme “March forward” with a call to action to turn commitments into progress. It’s a day to recognise that advancing gender equality benefits everyone – not only in large and complex workplaces like ours but across society. 

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At UOW, our commitment to gender equity is steadfast. We know that equity, diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our success as a leading global university. Women’s contributions – across research, teaching, professional services and leadership – are essential to UOW’s achievements and the strength of our community.

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Announcing the winners of our inaugural UOW International Women’s Day Awards

We are also proud to be presenting the inaugural UOW International Women’s Day Awards this year, recognising the amazing work done by women, non-binary persons and their allies around our university.

Congratulations to our winners and those highly commended – your contributions to advancing gender equity are truly inspiring and we are proud to recognise your achievements.

These individuals and teams actively encourage, promote and instil a commitment to achieving equity across all gender identities in their workforce through gender equity actions, projects, initiatives or programs. Details below.

Gender Equity Advocate Award – First Place

Denny Nesbitt, chair, Women of UOW Network

Denny was nominated for her work as a passionate gender equity advocate as Chair of the Women of UOW Network. She is passionate about creating a Network of women who are dedicated to supporting others to March Forward. She also coaches mothers in career transitions and has authored a book on how to empower women in the workplace.

IWD - Gender Equity Advocate Award Winner - Denny Nesbitt

Gender Equity Advocate Award – (Equal) Second Place

Professor Sharon Crozier De Rosa

The first candidate was nominated for her work championing gender equity at UOW. She was a part of the Feminist Research Network, is a mentor for women in Humanities and Social Enquiry School and is committed to providing a gender-inclusive curriculum.

Photo pending 

Dr. Katharina Peters

The second candidate was nominated for her gender equity leadership in Marine Science at UOW, including her work with early career researchers and the Nominations Committee at the Society for Marine Mammalogy.

Photo pending 

Gender Equity Advocate Award – (Equal) Third Place

Margie Jantti

The second candidate was nominated for her work promoting gender equity within Library Services. She is an active mentor and collaborates to deliver inclusive and safe environments for women, she also delivers several international development programs for women in higher education libraries.

Photo pending

Professor Lorna Moxham

The first candidate was nominated for her work on the Recovery Camp Project, and her active inclusion and collaboration with the women around her to create opportunities and address gender equity barriers impacting staff and students in Nursing.

Photo pending

Gender Equity Advocate Award – Highly Commended

Ass. Prof Katarina Mikac

Katarina was nominated for her work to bring gender equity to ecology fieldwork. She empowers women around her through mentorship, and advocacy to ensure women in ecology have the support and opportunities to thrive in their careers.

Photo pending

Lisa Simmons

Lisa was nominated for her forward-thinking approach to management of her Faculty Research Operations Team, for years she has proactively supported her staff in flexible work, and with caring needs, as well as actively working towards gender balance within her team through recruitment. 
Photo pending 

Gender Equity Project Award – First Place

Ella Young and Jessica Hewett (UOW students, Project Period)

This team was nominated for their project that brought free women’s hygiene products across campus. This project aimed to normalise menstruation and sought to reduce inequity for at risk and low socio-economic students.

IWD - Gender Equity Project Award Winner - Ella Young and Jessica Hewett

Gender Equity Project Award – Second Place  

Women in STEM Entrepreneurship LIFT Project Team: Danielle Skropeta; Tamantha Stutchbury; Georgia Watson; Helen Georgiou; Jon Roberts; Shamika Almeida; Rebecca Duldig; Emily Yap; Grace Kennedy; Grace McCarthy, Lorraine Denny; Jingjing Liu; Khin Win; Sharon Robinson.  

This team was nominated for their intersectional work with women from culturally diverse backgrounds, the project empowers participants in the workplace and enhances the visibility of women in STEM. 

IWD - Gender Equity Project Award - Women in STEM Entrepreneurship LIFT Project Team

Gender Equity Project Award – Highly Commended 

Safe and Respectful Communities Team: Kylie McElhone; Ciara Smith; Angela Cowan; MacKenzie Edgington; Miranda Batchelor; Eleanor Coleman. 

This team was nominated for their work with gender-based violence support, advocacy and training, especially their project that targeted culturally diverse women to navigate and report.  

Photo pending  

Gender Equity Ally Award – First Place

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Transformation team in SMAH (including Sarah Hamylton, Kerrylee Rogers, Jeff Kelleway, Anthony McKnight, Ryan Dallas, Naomi Dear, Anthony Dossetto, Shona Rankin-Lawless, Siobhan Heatwole

This team was nominated for their work establishing a UOW fieldwork code of conduct, promoting the cultivation of safe cultures for women working in the field for geography and engineering schools. The Code sets standards for behaviour and was developed to specifically address concerns about discrimination and sexual harassment being reported by women in these schools. 

IWD - Gender Equity Ally Award Winner - EDIT team in SMAH

Gender Equity Ally Award – Highly Commended 

Xavier Mayes from Advancement, Communications and Marketing  

Xavier was nominated for his amazing work as a vocal and passionate Ally in all things EDI. He actively engages with EDI communications projects and events, often going above and beyond to ensure content is effective and engaging.   

Photo pending