About SWECO
ACLW’s ‘Sustaining Women’s Empowerment in Communities and Organisations’ (SWECO)
Objective and Overview
ACLW’s ‘Sustaining Women’s Empowerment in Communities and Organisations’ (SWECO) Award aims to honour male and female individuals and groups who have developed a sustainable initiative to empower women in a community or organisation. The Award was established in 2011.
2012 SWECO Winners
SWECO’s first round of winners were commended for their leadership, determination and collaboration in establishing significant initiatives for women in the community and in the workplace.
• Kat Armstrong was honoured for her leadership in establishing the Women in Prison Advocacy Network (WIPAN) and its highly valued mentoring program which has an 82% success rate in keeping women out of prison
• Ludo McFerran was commended for the introduction of domestic violence entitlements to periods of paid leave and other rights in industrial instruments
• Karen McFadzen was recognised for her initiative to achieve gender diversity at the executive level in Cisco Technical Services Team across Asia Pacific, Japan, and Greater China
• Yolanda Vega for establishing the Australian Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AWCCI)
• The Transport and Logistics Workforce Advisory Group (TLWAG-Q) & the Transform Team in the Department of Transport and Main Roads Queensland were recognised for the Women Take the Wheel Project to encourage women to pursue a career in the
Transport and Supply Chain industry
Winners received certificates and prize meney. The 2012 Award was sponsored by commercial sponsors
2013 SWECO Winners
Organisation Category
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SWECO Gold Award Winner - The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples (Congress)
The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples (Congress) is commended for establishing gender equity as a founding principle in its Constitution and for implementing this principle in its management and governance of the Congress.
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SWECO Silver Award Winner: Angela Yin
Angela Yin is commended for her self-appointed leadership, commitment and dedication to raising awareness and celebrating the achievements of women through the establishment of Queensland Justices Association International Women’s Day project.
Community Category
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SWECO Gold Award Winner - Julie Verner-Mackay
Julie Verner Mackay is commended for her self-leadership, and for designing and developing a program in response to stakeholders needs. Her motivation to give women the opportunity to access a leadership development program that focuses on self-leadership and enables women to recognise their capacity to lead using their innate strengths, are exemplary.
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SWECO Silver Award Winner - Sarah Patricia Valentine
Sarah Patricia Valentine is commended for her self-appointed leadership and shaping her desire to empower other women personally and professionally in Bellarine, Victoria through the Bellarine Business Women venture.
More information about the 2013 winners
2014 SWECO will commence in September 2013.
Support for SWECO
This Award has received Statements of support from the following distinguished individuals upon its commencement in 2011.
Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia
Sir Gustav Nossal AC, CBE, FAA, FRS
The Hon Sharon Bird, MP Federal Member for Cunningham
Eligibility Criteria for SWECO
- Sex: Female or Male
- Age: 18 or older
- Nationality: Australian or with Australian permanent resident status
- An individual who has won the SWECO Award previously will be ineligible.
- Only one application per organisation will be accepted.
- Any individual, who works for ACLW, or is a relative of the judges, or works in the organisation of the judges will not be eligible for an award under this program.
SWECO Judging Criteria
SWECO Applications in both categories of Community and Organisations will be evaluated by the Judges according to the following criteria:
- Leadership: the applicant should demonstrate their leadership skills employed in effectively developing, implementing and evaluating an initiative for achieving and sustaining empowerment of women in a community or organisation.
- Sustainability: the applicant must describe how the initiative has sustained empowerment for women within the community or organisation, how it will continue in the future and expected outcomes.
- Impact on women’s empowerment: the applicant should clearly articulate the specific intended effect on women in terms of their economic and social empowerment as well as the actual impact the initiative has on women.
- Capacity: the applicant should demonstrate their capacity to collaborate with others to seek and utilise assistance and expertise to develop and implement their initiative.
- Measurable and/or Non-Measurable results: the applicant should provide either quantitative evidence (eg statistics) to show progress toward the stated goal or qualitative evidence such as the milestones reached toward their stated goals.
Judging Panel
All applications will be reviewed by the judging panel. The 2013 Award will have 2 categories, Communities and Organisations.
Judges for the Communities category are:
• Sue Conde, Former President, United Women Australia
• Mitra Khakbaz, Executive Manager, Multicultural Development Association
• Graham West, CEO National Australia Day Council
• Mike Zissler, CEO Lifeline Canberra
Judges for the Organisations category are:
• Dr Michelle Bakar, HR Director Aust/NZ, Kellogg Australia
• Susan Ferrier, Head of PPC & Internal Communication, People, Performance & Culture, KPMG
• Katy McDonald, National Director, People and Development, Minter Ellison
• Nareen Young, CEO, Diversity Council Australia
Dr Diann Rodgers-Healey will select the applications for judging, conduct the interviews with short listed applicants and/or their referees, and contribute to the decisions regarding final placing.
Award
There will be 4 rankings in each category:
• One First place or Gold Winner
• One Second place or Silver Winner
• One Third place or Bronze Winner
• A Highly Commended Winner
Winners will receive an ACLW SWECO Certificate. Online and off-line publicity of the winners and their initiatives will also ensue. The Judging panel reserves the right to defer the awards if there are no suitable recipients.
The decision of the Judging Panel will be final. All of the winners are honoured in ACLW's Honour Roll