NFP Leaders Feature in 100 Women of Influence Awards

A large number of Not for Profit and social enterprise leaders have been honoured in this year’s 100 Women of Influence awards including Dementia Alliance International founder and CEO Kate Swaffer and executive director of Good Pitch Australia Malinda Wink.

Now in it’s fifth year, the AFR and Westpac 100 Women of Influence awards cover a broad cross-section of women and include high-profile winners such as the president of the Australian Human Rights Commission Gillian Triggs, business executives such as the co-founder of children’s snack food company Monica Meldrum, and a retired volunteer community worker Mave Richardson.

The organisers said that while many of the 100 Women of Influence were high profile, such as  mining magnate Gina Rinehart and three-time paralympic swimmer Ellie Cole, others who were less well known were equally influential, such as Swaffer.

Westpac director of women’s markets, diversity and inclusion, and judging co-chair, Ainslie van Onselen, said finding the hidden talent as well as the more visible leaders was what differentiated the awards.

“Women deserve to be recognised as intelligent, capable and equal and these awards not only highlight the incredible breadth of talented Australian women, they uncover those extraordinary women whose tireless commitment to creating change would have otherwise remained unrecognised,” van Onselen said.

Under the category of social enterprise and Not for Profit were 10 women who were the CEOs and / or founders of diverse organisations from addressing climate change, working with the homeless, preventing violence against women and promoting marriage equality.

Wink, the executive director of Good Pitch Australia, a leading forum for social impact documentaries, has facilitated the raising of millions of dollars to fund films with an agenda for social impact or change.

Wink joined the list of the 100 Most Influential Women in the category of arts, culture and sport.

Under the Good Pitch framework filmmakers present their documentaries to an audience of philanthropists, corporates and Not for Profits each year to raise funds to assist with production and promotion of the films as well as extensive outreach programs.

Swaffer is the co-founder, CEO and chair of the Dementia Alliance International. She was diagnosed with early onset dementia at 49 and her work centres on reducing the stigma and discrimination associated with the illness,and empowering women with dementia to rebuild their own lives.