Talking Point: Time for women to step from behind the scenes to centre stage

From Enid Lyons and Sue Napier to Elizabeth Blackburn, Jane Bennett and Annie Greig to Kim Seagram, the list highlights achievers in every field, says Wendy Askew

Hobart-born Professor Elizabeth Blackburn, winner of the Nobel prize. Picture: Colin Murty

TASMANIA boasts a long list of important female leaders, many of whom have been inducted into the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women, but there are many more to be recognised.

My mother, Elaine Bushby, was inducted into the Honour Roll in 2017 for her community service, though she would always say she was happier working behind the scenes. That is probably the case for many of the other 324 inductees on the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women, but now is their time to shine and take pride in their recognition.

The women inducted to the Honour Roll have led within local, state and federal governments, the law, community service, education, science, business, agriculture, the arts, entertainment and sport.

A quick scan of the list reveals pioneering and leading educators like Mary Fox, Mary Hill, Margaret Bartkevicius and Faith Layton. The Honour Roll includes two female politicians who have inspired me on my current path –— Dame Enid Lyons, the first Tasmanian woman appointed to cabinet, and former deputy premier and opposition leader Sue Napier. Other political inductees include Margaret McIntyre and Lara Giddings.

Former Liberal deputy premier and opposition leader, the late Sue Napier.

There are women who have made major contributions to local government, like Annette Waddle, Margot Smart and Sue Hickey, and Indigenous leaders like Ida West and Lola Greeno. Historian inductees like Isabella Mead, Patricia Ratcliff and Marita Bardenhagen join community leaders like Mollie Campbell-Smith.

Sporting champions on the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women include Beverley Buckingham, Elizabeth Jack, Helen Gourlay, Julie Kent and Heather Innes. Those who have made a major contribution to the arts include Annie Greig, Kim Roe and Kim Schneiders. There are also scientists like Elizabeth Blackburn, farmers like Ruth Paterson, Clare McShane and Jane Bennett, and businesswomen like Kim Seagram and Frances Bender.

Kim Seagram. Picture: Richard Jupe

The Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women was established in 2005 by the Tasmanian government to recognise women like those listed here, who have made an outstanding contribution to their communities and, by extension, their state.

As the Women in Tasmania website says, “the Honour Roll stimulates community involvement in the processes of research and discovery about women’s historical and contemporary contributions to Tasmania, ensuring these achievements are given full recognition and not forgotten in the passage of time”.

Then Tasdance artistic director Annie Greig watches a rehearsal in a historic Launceston house.

Organisations and individuals can nominate women from all backgrounds and cultures, and all fields including community service, humanitarian, business, science and technology, arts and entertainment, sport, education and the environment. Posthumous nominations are accepted.

In addition, women’s organisations that have made a significant contribution at local, state or national level can also be nominated for the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women. Among the eight organisations already inducted to the Honour Roll are the National Council of Women, the Country Women’s Association and the Female Convicts Research Centre.

We all know women who should be recognised for their efforts in our communities, whether they have been volunteering at your local Landcare or playgroup for decades, or helping the most vulnerable people in our society. But worthy nominees could also be doing world-class work in cutting-edge fields, or are contributing significantly to their local, state or national community through business.

Wherever you are in the state, there will be a woman who has made a significant contribution at a local, state or national level who is worthy of being inducted into the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women. For women’s organisations, nominations must be for an overarching body and not subsidiary branches. Organisations that are no longer operating can also be nominated.

I encourage you to take the time to read the profiles of the 325 individual and eight organisation inductees on the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women and nominate someone you think should join them. Visit www.women.tas.gov.au/tasmanian_honour_roll_of_women. Nominations close this Friday.

Wendy Askew is a Liberal senator for Tasmania.