MEDIA RELEASE: Women with Disabilities Australia launches Leadership Statement to challenge ideas and definitions of ‘leadership’.

Embargoed until 3pm AEDT, 8 March 2022

Women with Disabilities Australia (WWDA) is calling on all Australians to rethink leadership and what it looks like, with the launch of its new Leadership Statement, written in co-design with women and non-binary people with disability.

The Leadership Statement, developed as part of WWDA’s LEAD project to advance the leadership and capacity of women, girls and non-binary people with disabilities is being launched by the Hon. Marise Payne, Minister for Women on International Women’s Day, Tuesday, 8th of March 2022 at 3pm via an online event. The Minister will be followed by women and non-binary people with disabilities who were directly involved in the development of the statement, including WWDA LEAD Project Manager,  Saphia Grant and WWDA members, Karin Swift and Monique Crowden; who will talk about the co-design process and the importance of transforming definitions of leadership to reflect women with disabilities’ skills and experiences.

Saphia Grant, said, “This leadership statement was co-designed and cowritten by women with disabilities for women with disabilities. For too long we have been actively excluded from participation and decision-making processes”.

“Through this Statement, we want to challenge our culture, politicians and ‘leaders’ in our communities to both see and value the leadership of women and non-binary people with disabilities. We are calling for exclusionary and discriminatory attitudes and practices to be replaced with open-mindedness and inclusion that values the leadership of women with disabilities in all our diversity”.

Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) is the award winning, national Disabled People’s Organisation (DPO) and National Women’s Alliance (NWA) for women, girls, feminine identifying and non-binary people with disabilities in Australia.

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Watch the live webinar on WWDA’s webcast channel here.

Download the Leadership Statement: 

Spokespeople and contributors may be available for interviews on request.


MEDIA CONTACT:
Saphia Grant
lead@wwda.org.au
0457 527 016

Background with pastel blue, purple and pinks. In the top left is the WWDA LEAD Project Logo: which is pale purple circle with text "LEAD" and the WWDA logo. Around the logo are two women representing diversity and different disabilities in colourful clothes. Main text reads: ‘WWDA LEAD. Leadership Statement Launch. International Women’s Day. Tuesday 8 March 2022.’