What an incredible night of celebration. We are deeply grateful to all those who attended the SAGE Awards Night on Monday 25 August 2025; a special night honouring 10 years of hard work, leadership and transformation.

This was a shift in focus for SAGE Awards. Where we normally focus on outcomes and impact—work done by complex teams of people and embedded across systems and structures—this Awards Night gave us the opportunity to focus on the people doing the great work.

These are the people who have made extraordinary contributions and shown long-term dedication to SAGE and the Athena Swan Framework.

The Awardees

Outstanding Collaborator

This award recognised individuals or teams who fostered meaningful partnerships and delivered shared impact through inclusive, innovative collaboration.

  • Winner: Dr Kieryn McKay, Western Sydney University
    Dr McKay was honoured for mobilising national collaboration during COVID-19, co-authoring the Joint Sector Position Statement on Gender Equity, and leading projects that strengthened systemic change at both Western Sydney University and across the sector.
  • Highly Commended: University of Sydney SAGE Team
    Prof. Dimitria Groutsis and colleagues were commended for their rapid, collaborative impact, earning five Cygnet Awards in one year, launching an EDI symposium, and embedding intersectional approaches across the University.

Sector Disruptor

This award celebrated those who challenged entrenched norms, using courage, creativity and persistence to disrupt systemic barriers to EDI.

  • Winner: Associate Professor Cate Thomas, Charles Sturt University
    Assoc. Prof. Thomas was recognised for championing intersectionality and systemic reform over more than a decade. Her tools, including The Intersectionality Walk and Australia’s first Graduate Certificate in Intersectionality, Diversity and Inclusion, have influenced more than 70 organisations worldwide.
  • Highly Commended: NAVIGATE Mid-Career Program, Department of Defence
    Led by Prof. Tanya Monro, Dr Melanie Fuller and Jessica Brophy, NAVIGATE disrupted traditional STEM recruitment models, exceeded gender equity targets, and drove cultural change within Defence by opening new pathways for mid-career professionals.

Catalyst for Change

This award recognised those who drove momentum, mobilised others, and delivered sustainable initiatives that advanced EDI outcomes.

  • Winner: Advancing Equity in Academic Careers Team, Monash University
    The Monash team dismantled barriers to women’s progression through policy reform, promotion frameworks and targeted initiatives. Their work increased women’s representation among professors and redefined academic merit across campuses.
  • Highly Commended: Professor Helena Teede, Advancing Women in Healthcare Leadership
    Prof. Teede was commended for leading systemic change across healthcare and academia, developing national frameworks, influencing policy, and embedding gender equity into leadership cultures through evidence-based strategies.

Outstanding Leader

This award honoured visionary individuals whose leadership, strategy and advocacy delivered significant and lasting impact.

  • Winner: Professor Dimitria Groutsis, University of Sydney
    Prof. Groutsis was recognised for her intersectional leadership in addressing barriers faced by migrant, refugee and ethno-racially marginalised women. Her scholarship and advocacy shaped systemic reforms in higher education, business and policy.
  • Highly Commended: Professor Cobie Rudd, Edith Cowan University
    Prof. Rudd was acknowledged for driving ECU’s Athena Swan journey and championing reforms that improved equity in promotions, leadership, and STEMM pathways, while mentoring the next generation of leaders.

Lifetime Achievement

This award recognised sustained, career-long contributions that left a profound legacy for equity, diversity and inclusion.

  • Winner: Emeritus Professor Denise Cuthbert, RMIT University
    Prof. Cuthbert was honoured for more than 40 years of impact, from pioneering feminist curricula to embedding inclusive research training. Her leadership and mentorship transformed practices across the sector.
  • Highly Commended: Professor Emerita Marilys Guillemin, University of Melbourne
    Prof. Guillemin was commended for three decades of leadership that embedded equity into governance, promotions and institutional culture, leaving a lasting legacy for staff and students.

With thanks to our speakers and presenters

We were honoured to welcome an extraordinary group of leaders to present these awards. Our special thanks go to:

  • NSW Minister for Women, The Hon. Jodie Harrison, MP
  • Professor Chennupati Jagadish, President of SAGE founding member organisation, the Australian Academy of Science.
  • Professor Anne Green, Vice President Equity Diversity and Inclusion at SAGE founding member organisation, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.
  • Professor Tanya Monro, Chief Defence Scientist at the Australian Government Department of Defence, and one of SAGE’s generous founding donors in 2015.
  • Professor Nalini Joshi, Payne-Scott Professor at the University of Sydney, internationally renowned mathematician and original champion of bringing the Athena Swan framework to Australia, including as Sponsor, co-founder and co-Chair of the SAGE Pilot Steering Committee.

Talking about global backlash: Facing challenges with courage

We also explored some topical issues. In a special Fireside Chat, following the presentation of awards, our International Keynote speaker Prof Mustafa F Ozbilgin talked with University of Sydney Athena Swan Lead Prof Dimitria Groutsis, on “Anti-wokeism: Should we be afraid?”.

They explored the language we use to talk about inclusion, international differences, and the opportunities that might be hidden in global EDI backlash, in a tricky conversation we needed to have.

 

A night of connection

Over dinner, drinks and nibbles, one of the most valuable opportunities of the evening was to connect with valued colleagues from other institutions.

SAGE is grateful to everyone who spent the evening with us and strengthened this powerful, inspiring network of leaders.

Thank you all for taking a moment to honour each other’s work and celebrate ongoing determination to embed change.