Edna Ryan Awards

Last updated

Edna Ryan Awards
Awarded formaking a feminist difference to women in NSW and ACT, Australia.
VenueSydney Trades Hall
First awarded1998

The Edna Ryan Awards, also referred to as simply "The EDNAS", are Australian awards established to recognise women who have "made a feminist difference". The inaugural Edna Ryan Awards were held in 1998, the year following the death of their namesake Edna Ryan. Ryan was a life-long feminist, labour movement activist, and mentor and role model for a whole generation of women. [1] These awards were created to honour her life and work by a group of her friends, particularly Eva Cox and other members of the Women's Electoral Lobby (WEL). [2]

Contents

Ryan had been closely involved with WEL, particularly the Women in the Workforce group which she convened. [3] WEL hosted and administered the EDNAS from 1998 -2010, but from 2012 they were administered by The Edna Ryan Awards Committee and hosted by the Australian Services Union (ASU). In 2020 the Older Women's Network (OWN) NSW took over hosting the awards. [4] [5]

Nominees for the awards must be comfortable identifying as a feminist and must live or work in NSW or the ACT as Ryan did during her lifetime. A panel reviews all nominations and the awards are presented on an annual basis at an evening social event. [6] Since their inception the awards have recognised many high-profile Australian women for their feminist activity, including Eva Cox, Meredith Burgmann, Susan Ryan, Anne Summers, Wendy McCarthy, Jane Caro and Sally McManus. However, many of the recipients have been tireless advocates for women's rights who worked as community activists over a long period with very little other reward or recognition. [7] [8]

The award categories can vary but in recent years there have been awards in many fields including workforce, government, arts, community activism, media/communications, leadership, mentoring, sport and education. [9] The awards are not intended as simply recognition of women who are successful in their own field, but require evidence that their achievements or actions have made a feminist difference by improving the lives and status of women within the community. There is also a Grand Stirrer award for inciting others to challenge the status quo.

Grand Stirrer Award Recipients

NameYear
Sam Mostyn [10] 2023
Chanel Contos 2022
Brittany Higgins 2021
fEMPOWER2018
Mehreen Faruqi 2017
Amanda Hill2016
Tara Moss 2015
Sally McManus 2015
Dorothy McRae-McMahon 2014
Destroy The Joint 2013
Teresa Savage2012
Rhonda Wilson2009
Karen Lee Willis2008
Tegan Wagner 2006
Gerri Greenfield2005
Anne Summers 2004
Di Graham2003
Wendy McCarthy 2002
Dorothy Symonds2002
Robyn Plaister 2001
Jennie George 2000
Joan Bielski 1999
Eva Cox 1998

Award Recipients–by year (all categories)

2023

NameCategory
Sam Mostyn Grand Stirrer
Deborah Cheetham Fraillon Arts
Bree van Reyk Arts
Kristine HewettCommunity Activism
Audrey MimsCommunity Activism
Climate Writers: Marlene Baquiran & Eezu TanCommunity Activism
Sarah RosenbergCommunity Activism
Chrystina Stanford Leadership
Ginger Gorman Media Communication
Daphne Lowe KellyMentoring
Shirley RandellMentoring
Pilar LopezMentoring
Vanessa Donald-SmithMentoring
Anne Junor Workforce
Meg SmithWorkforce
Neelima KadiyalaWorkforce

2022

NameCategory
Chanel Contos Grand Stirrer
Louise HislopPolitical Activism
Amanda RoseLeadership
Annie CroweCommunity Activism
Brenda GaddiLeadership
Janice PaulsonMentorship
Jenny Leong Leadership
Julia Zemiro Media Communication
Licia HeathPolitical Activism
Lorraine UsherMentoring
Maha AbdoCommunity Activism
Malaika MfulaLeadership
Rizina YadavLeadership
Melina Georgousakis Mentoring
Natalie LangWorkforce
Renae Ryan Workforce
Romy ListoLeadership
Rosie HerberteArts
Sue EdmondsArts

2021

NameCategory
Brittany Higgins Grand Stirrer
Ann ReynoldsCommunity Activism
Adina JacobsMentoring
Bobbi MahlabMentoring
Catherine Gander Leadership
Charmaine HuismanCommunity Activism
Claire Couson Arts
Clair Jackson Arts
Danielle VillafanaCommunity Activism
Denise ThompsonMedia/Communication
Diane HagueWorkforce
Dulce MunozCommunity Activism
Elaine EvansLeadership
Elizabeth HillWorkforce
Emily Mayo Media/Communication
Georgie Dent Workforce
Hayley FosterLeadership
Jess Hill Media/Communication
Jo-Anne CahillArts
Kim LooCommunity Activism
Kittu RandhawaLeadership
Robynne MurpheyWorkforce
Rosell Flatley Arts
Sunita GlosterMedia/Communication
The LoveysArts
Yvette KinkadeCommunity Activism

2018

NameCategory
Mary O'SullivanCommunity Activism
Leonie McGuireCommunity Activism
fEMPOWERGrand Stirrer
Lee Lewis Arts
Pearlie McNeillArts
Margot OliverMedia/Communication
Deborah Brennan Education
Helen L'OrangeLeadership
Marilyn HattonLeadership

2017

NameCategory
Erin Wen Ai ChewCommunity Activism
Jude FinchCommunity Activism
Lewina JacksonCommunity Activism
Simone WhiteCommunity Activism
Mary KonstantopoulosSport
Mehreen Faruqi Grand Stirrer
The Baulkham Hills African Ladies TroupeArts
Nina AngeloArts
Gabriele JonesArts
Erika Addis Media/Communication
End Rape on Campus Australia (EROC)Education
Hannah WandelEducation
Rachel CooperWorkforce
Marion BrownLeadership

2016

NameCategory
Billi McCarthy-Price and

Hannah Massingham [11]

Sport
Amanda HillGrand Stirrer
The Women's Library Arts
Catherine OrdwaySport
Lina CabaeroWorkforce
Janine WhitemanMentoring
Carol Booth and Liz RickmanLeadership
Sharon McKinnonLeadership
Darriea TurleyGovernment
Jozefa Sobski Education
Jan BreckenridgeEducation
Monica DavidsonMedia/Communication
Julie PerkinsCommunity Activism
Jane DavidsonCommunity Activism
Heidi Zajac [11] Community Activism

2015

NameCategory
Ashleigh ThomsonMentoring
Margaret HickieMentoring
Louise EvansSport
Chris RonaldsLeadership
Margaret Henry Leadership
Sally McManus Grand Stirrer
Betty FergusonMentoring
Amanda ShalalaSport
Tara Moss Grand Stirrer
Finola Moorhead Arts
Darelle DuncanCommunity Activism
Jeannie SotheranCommunity Activism
Saba Vasefi [12] Community Activism
Anjani RegmiCommunity Activism
Frances CrimminsLeadership

2014

NameCategory
Roxanne McMurrayLeadership
Maeve MarsdenArts
Vee MalnarArts
Lillian Howell ProjectCommunity Activism
Marilyn ForsytheWorkforce
Bronwyn CullingMentoring
Lin CooperMentoring
Bush LemonsLeadership
Marian Baird Workforce
Hawzhin AzeezMedia/Communication
Kate RoweSport
McKenzie RaymondCommunity Activism
Zoya PatelMedia/Communication
Dorothy McRae-McMahon Grand Stirrer

2013

NameCategory
Suzie van OpdorpCommunity Activism
Shirley KentCommunity Activism
Anne ButtsworthMedia/Communication
Maree O'HalloranLeadership
Kim Rubenstein [13] Leadership
Destroy The Joint Grand Stirrer
Ursula FrederickArts
Lee GrantArts
Rebecca OrdishMentoring
Fiona MillerMentoring
Wendy HerbertEducation
Dragica SinikoskiEducation
Danielle WarbySport
Heather ReidSport

2012

NameCategory
Nadia SalehWorkforce
Sonia LavertyWorkforce
Bronwyn PenrithMentoring
Natasa NikolicMentoring
Sylvia KinderMentoring
Teresa SavageGrand Stirrer
Jenna Price Media/Communication
Maree McDermottCommunity Activism
Bronwyn Bancroft Arts
Georgina AbrahamsArts
Cigdem AydemirArts
Jan McDonaldCommunity Activism

2010

NameCategory
Ludo McFerranCommunity Activism
Jennifer DalitzWorkforce
Kat ArmstrongBattling
Debbie CarstensWorkforce
Shokufeh Kavani Arts
Sue SalthouseCommunity Activism
Nina FunnellMedia/Communication
Frances PlummerMentoring
Mary DimechMentoring
Jane PollardEducation
Dawn AtkinstonEducation
Gabe KavanaghCommunity Activism
Rose CampbellCommunity Activism
Susan SmithCommunity Activism
Maggy FargoCommunity Activism

2009

NameCategory
Edith WeisbergEducation
Charmaigne WeldonBattling
Ruth PollardMedia/Communication
Jane Caro Media/Communication
Rhonda WilsonGrand Stirrer
Julie BatesWorkforce
Patricia GriffinCommunity Activism

2008

NameCategory
Jo KowalczykWorkforce
Liz BarlowGovernment
Lesley LaingEducation
Jude IrwinEducation
Matina MotteeCommunity Activism
Karen Lee WillisGrand Stirrer
Elaine Odgers NorlingCommunity Activism
Judy James BaileyMedia/Communication
Beth EldridgeCommunity Activism
Christine SinclairCommunity Activism
Tess BrillCommunity Activism

2007

NameCategory
Julie VelthuysMentoring
Ellie EllisEducation
Rosemary KariukiCommunity Activism
Muyesser DurerBattling
Kellie TranterCommunity Activism
Spiderlily RedgoldMedia/Communication
Denele CrozierCommunity Activism
Libby SilvaCommunity Activism
Marie MuirCommunity Activism
Emily Maguire Media/Communication
Rosalind HelyardEducation

2006

NameCategory
Liz AshburnArts
Betty GreenCommunity Activism
Jane Corpuz-BrockCommunity Activism
Dorothy HoddinottEducation
Joy GoodsellCommunity Activism
Adele Horin Media/Communication
Carmel NolaMedia/Communication
Catherine Fox Media/Communication
Claire Moore (Senator)Government
Victoria AbigailMentoring
Jude StoddartWorkforce
Rosemary RichardsWorkforce
Daphne BaxterWorkforce
Helen Westwood Community Activism
Marie Coleman Government
Anne FieldGovernment
Tegan Wagner Grand Stirrer
Priscilla LumsdenCommunity Activism
Dixie Link-GordonMentoring
Judith Troeth (Senator)Government
Lyn Allison (Senator)Government

2005

NameCategory
Merilyn ChildsWorkforce
Josephine ConwayCommunity Activism
Alva GeikieCommunity Activism
Nola CooperCommunity Activism
Bronwyn MoyeGovernment
Gerri GreenfieldGrand Stirrer
Margaret KirkbyAccess to Abortion
Julia FreeburyAccess to Abortion
Jacqui SmithMentoring
Margaret AlstonMentoring
Helen CampbellMedia/Communication
Anne-Mason FurnageBattling
Stefania Siedlecky Access to Abortion
Trude KallirCommunity Activism
Dorothy CoraCommunity Activism

2004

NameCategory
Muriel HortinCommunity Activism
Susan Ryan Government
Margo MooreCommunity Activism
Anne Summers Grand Stirrer
Lucy PorterBattling
Phillippa HallWorkforce
Joan LemaireMentoring
Dominique Hogan-DoranWorkforce
Julie GriffithsMentoring

2003

NameCategory
Jean SlarkeWorkforce
Denise FerrisArts
Di GrahamGrand Stirrer
Roseleen HealyArts
Cate TurnerCommunity Activism
Rebecca ReillyWorkforce
Aileen BeaverWorkforce
Suzan ViragoWorkforce
Betty JohnsonCommunity Activism
Elizabeth O'BrienCommunity Activism
Vicki PotempaCommunity Activism
Clare BurtonGrand Stirrer
Susan KendallGovernment
Fran HayesWorkforce

2002

NameCategory
Rachael Oakes-AshHumour
Judy Horacek Humour
Julia Baird Media/Communication
Kathleen SwinbourneGovernment
Elizabeth DawsonEducation
Wendy McCarthy Grand Stirrer
Dorothy SymondsGrand Stirrer
Janne EllenCommunity Activism
Joyce Stevens Mentoring
Betty LittleBattling
Leichhardt Women's Community Health CentreCommunity Activism
Jan RobertsCommunity Activism
Jill BruneauArts

2001

NameCategory
Kristine CrudenGovernment
Robyn PlaisterGrand Stirrer
Erica LewisGovernment
Toni ModafferiMedia/Communication
Merle HighetCommunity Activism
Pam JohnstonCommunity Activism
Maggie SmythMentoring
Shirley JonesArts
Chrissie ShawArts
Martha Ansara Media/Communication
Kathryn McConnochieArts
NSW Teachers' Federation (on behalf of 13 women casual teachers)Workforce
Pat RichardsonBattling
Emma Tom Humour

2000

NameCategory
Suzanne BellamyArts
Jennie George Grand Stirrer
Jan WoodCommunity Activism
Christine Nixon Mentoring
Margaret JonesBattling
Sarah MaddisonBattling
Rae Frances Workforce

1999

NameCategory
Joan Bielski Grand Stirrer
Gail HewisonArts
Noreen HewettBattling
Jane GardinerMedia/Communication
Helen McDermottWorkforce
Cathy BlockMentoring
Kate LavenderCommunity Activism

1998

NameCategory
Jenny TaylorBattling
Meredith Burgmann Humour
Juliet RichterLobbyist
Sheryle BagwellMedia/Communication
Eva Cox Grand Stirrer
Marlene ArdittoPolitical Potholder
Julie ComptonBattling
Misha Schubert Young Woman
Ann Symonds Government
Sharon TobinWorkforce
Peggy HewettArts
Lina CabaeroWorkforce

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Hannaford</span> Australian realist artist

Robert Lyall "Alfie" Hannaford, is an Australian realist artist notable for his drawings, paintings, portraits and sculptures. He is a great-great-great-grandson of Susannah Hannaford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soccer in the Australian Capital Territory</span>

Soccer in the Australian Capital Territory is predominantly amateur with a local, interstate, national and international history. Football in the ACT is organised and administered by Capital Football and involves teams from within the ACT and surrounding NSW regions, Monaro, Southern Tablelands and Riverina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Girls High School</span> School in Australia

Sydney Girls High School is a government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school located at Moore Park, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

The Women's Electoral Lobby (WEL) is a feminist, non-profit, self-funded, non-party political, lobby group founded in 1972 during the height of second-wave feminism in Australia. WEL's mission is to create a society where women's participation and potential are unrestricted, acknowledged and respected and where women and men share equally in society's responsibilities and rewards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eva Cox</span> Australian writer and sociologist

Eva Maria Cox is an Austrian-born Australian writer, feminist, sociologist, social commentator and activist. She has been an active advocate for creating a "more civil" society. She was a long-term member of the Women's Electoral Lobby (WEL), and is still pursuing feminist change by putting revaluing social contributions and wellbeing onto political agendas, as well as recognising the common ground between Australia's First Nations and feminist values of the importance of the social.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mehreen Faruqi</span> Australian politician (born 1963)

Mehreen Saeed Faruqi is a Pakistani-born Australian politician and former engineer who has been a Senator for New South Wales since 15 August 2018, representing the Greens. She was chosen to fill a casual vacancy caused by the resignation of Lee Rhiannon, before being elected in her own right in 2019. She had previously served in the New South Wales Legislative Council between June 2013 and August 2018. Since June 2022, Faruqi has served as Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens.

Australia has a long-standing association with the protection and creation of women's rights. Australia was the second country in the world to give women the right to vote and the first to give women the right to be elected to a national parliament. The Australian state of South Australia, then a British colony, was the first parliament in the world to grant women full suffrage rights. Australia has since had multiple notable women serving in public office as well as other fields. Women in Australia with the notable exception of Indigenous women, were granted the right to vote and to be elected at federal elections in 1902.

Patricia Anne Conlon was an Australian feminist, public servant and labour activist.

Edna Minna Ryan, néeNelson was an Australian feminist and labour movement activist and writer, and a role model and mentor to a whole generation of women. Mary Owen wrote that she " may not have been the most outstanding woman in the women's movement but she has probably done more to improve the status of Australian women than any other person this century." For former Senator Susan Ryan : "She was the most inspiring and admirable woman I have known."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Baird (journalist)</span> Australian journalist and author

Julia Woodlands Baird is an Australian journalist, broadcaster and author. She contributes to The New York Times and The Sydney Morning Herald and has been a regular host of The Drum, a television news review program on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Her non-fiction work includes a bestselling memoir, a biography on Queen Victoria and a meditation on the experience of grace during a time of dark politics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally McManus</span> Australian trade unionist

Sally McManus is an Australian trade unionist, feminist and political activist who has served as the Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) since 2017. She is the first woman to hold the position of Secretary in the ACTU's 90-year history. Prior to becoming Secretary she served as a Vice President and Campaigns Director.

Joyce Stevens AM (1928–2014) was an Australian socialist-feminist activist, communist, and historian, one of the founders of the women's liberation movement in Sydney, prominent in the wave of feminism that began in the late 1960s in Australia.

Dorothy McRae-McMahon is a retired Australian Uniting Church minister and activist, formerly Minister at Pitt Street Uniting Church—known for its human rights work and local "street level" activism.

For Love or Money - a pictorial history of women and work by filmmaker-authors Megan McMurchy, Margot Oliver and Jeni Thornley is a companion book to the film of the same name released in 1983. This project arose out of the 1977 Women’s Film Production Workshop and the 1978 inaugural Women and Labour Conference. It involved interviews with many women and research into hundreds of feature films, documentaries, home movies, commercials and news reels and effectively revealed the working lives of Australian women. Feminist and union activist, Edna Ryan, who had been instrumental in achieving equal pay for women, also made editorial contributions to both the film and book. The film has been digitised and was screened at the 2017 Sydney Film Festival when it was hailed as "a major work of historical research, a masterclass of montage editing and a classic essay film."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Bielski</span> Australian womens rights activist

Joan Margaret Bielski,, was an Australian activist for equality for women in employment, education and public life.

Marie Yvonne Coleman, is an Australian feminist, social activist, public servant and journalist. She was the first woman to head an Australian national statutory authority. She spent over 60 years campaigning against the gender pay gap and other social injustices.

The Women's Library ("TWL") in Newtown, Sydney, Australia, is a community-based library and a hub of lesbian and feminist activity. It stocks books "by women, for women" and aims to make feminist and lesbian literature more accessible.

Kim Rubenstein is an Australian legal scholar, lawyer and political candidate. She is a professor at the University of Canberra.

Jenna Price is an Australian journalist and academic. As of 2021, she is a visiting fellow at the Australian National University and The Sydney Morning Herald columnist. She is one of the founders of the online feminist movement, Destroy The Joint.

Georgie Dent is a writer, journalist, former lawyer, and winner of the 2021 Edna Ryan award, in the category of Workforce. She was author of the book Breaking Badly, published in 2019. In 2022, Dent was executive director of The Parenthood, an advocacy group representing parents and carers. She is an advocate of women's empowerment, workforce participation, and gender equality.

References

  1. Hutton, Marg, ed. (1997). Edna Ryan Remembered. New International Bookshop Cooperative. ISBN   0646330489.
  2. "History of the Awards | Edna Ryan Awards". www.ednaryan.net.au. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  3. Bielski, Joan (July 2005). "The History, Organisation and Achievements of WEL NSW" (PDF). Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  4. "Driving on roads is not enough". City of Sydney - What’s On. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  5. "History of the Awards". Edna Ryan Awards. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  6. "Nominations | Edna Ryan Awards". www.ednaryan.net.au. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  7. "Women's advocate smashed educational barriers". The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 September 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  8. "Joyce Stevens: tireless activist for women's and workers' rights". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 June 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  9. "Awards 1998 onwards | Edna Ryan Awards". www.ednaryan.net.au. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  10. "Winner of feminist "Grand Stirrer" Award announced on air". ABC listen. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  11. 1 2 "Edna Ryan Award wins for Y Canberra women". YWCA Canberra. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  12. "Saba Vasefi receives Edna Ryan Award". Asylum Seekers Centre. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  13. "2013 Edna Ryan Award". ANU College of Law. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2018.