TO tie in with International Women’s Day, Marie-Louise Corkhill was announced the 2017 ACT Woman of the Year last night for her outstanding leadership and contribution to Canberra women and their families.
She was its first staff member in 1997, and was instrumental in doubling the provision of services including a special Mother and Baby Unit.
During the awards Francesca Maclean was named ACT Young Woman of the Year and Andrea Hotchkiss was named ACT Senior Woman of the Year.
Maclean founded the Fifty50 program aimed at helping young women develop a career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Match, while Hotchkiss has been instrumental in establishing and building women’s football in the region.
Minister for Women Yvette Berry says today is International Women’s Day, and we celebrate the achievements of women in our community and continue to address issues to support women and girls in our community.
“International Women’s Day is an important occasion to reflect on what has been achieved and strive towards gender equality, safety and better opportunities for women,” she says.
“The theme for International Women’s Day 2017 is to #BeBoldForChange.
“It calls on every person to take on gender inequity and discrimination through their own circles of influence and encourages the community to come together to take action, driving great change for women.
“This drive for change can be demonstrated through the ACT Government’s commitment to the ongoing work in gender equity, women’s health and wellbeing and supporting opportunities for women and girls in our community.”
The “ACT Women’s Plan 2016-26” is accompanied by three specific action plans to drive this change.
The First Action Plan launched at the awards describes the actions that all ACT government directorates will undertake to promote gender equity, wellbeing and physical and mental health of women and girls in our community.
The Plan will involve building our understanding through research and analysis, undertaking innovative actions for change, evaluation and review.
Information at women.act.gov.au
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