“To win our battle for the future, we must champion the successes of the past”

Ever since the pandemic began, pundits have been talking about the impact it would have on the security industry – but as the dust settles after the fourth annual Australian Women in Security Awards, it is all too clear just how big that impact has been, and how many amazing security heroes it has created.

Just a few years after we launched the 2019 event as a day conference with an awards ceremony tacked onto the end – when we had 240 nominations, 12winners, and a handful of Highly Commended nods –this year’s event tipped the scales with more than 800nominations, 19 winners, 17 Highly Commended, and2 special recognition awards.

Those numbers show not only how many amazing women are making their mark on the industry, and how stellar the contributions they made – but how much the profile of security has increased over the past four years. Since the first event, the nomination pool is much bigger; there are more judges; the categories have expanded along with the security landscape; and the calibre of champions submitted are, hands down, becoming more and more inspiring every year.

As we look to the Awards’ future, planning requires us to look to the past for guidance, reflect on the experiences of the awards as individuals, and understand what recognition and success mean to you. We always ask for feedback and we listen, so that we can react and act – so please never be afraid to contact us with suggestions about how we can refine the Awards to deliver a sharper focus on celebrations, and on the elevation of our champions. It is because we listen that we added five new categories this year, aiming to expand recognition of the ways that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)initiatives are framed and acknowledged.

With these awards, I feel that we are growing in our respect for one another, and in our resolve to work and lead with empathy, compassion, and flexibility. And we do so while respecting and valuing each other’s experiences and perspectives, and by highlighting the role that lived experiences playing in the ways that we adapt – as individuals and as an organisation.

RAISE YOUR VOICE FOR CHANGE

It’s as true today as it was the first year we ran the awards that the reason we do this is for the industry.

Each year, as we look backwards to see what worked and what we could do better, we are also looking to the future of an industry that has become more important than ever before.

It is an industry filled with unsung heroes, so we scream from the top of our lungs about the amazing contributions they make every day.

It is an industry where we elevate and celebrate the champions who are keeping us safe, spreading the word about security, and truly inspiring future generations to join the exciting industry we all share.

It is an industry where nobody should ever have to look around the room and feel that there is nobody else that looks, sounds, or thinks the same. So many of us have struggled with these negative feelings in the past – and it is my deep hope that by turning differences from a divisive wedge into a positive unifier, we can turn the narrative around DEI into a powerful force for positive change.

Year after year, you have heard my voice screaming out for recognition of the brilliant people in this industry. You have watched me step out of my comfort zone as I realised that confidence can take you to great places if you step out of your comfort zone.

I knew early on that if I wanted the Awards to advance DEI, then I needed to step out of my comfort zone, and use the event to drive content, discussions, and a sense of shared purpose.

Just as I discovered that my voice matters, you must allow yourself to believe that your voice does matter too. Every voice matters.

Taken together, the voices promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and resilience form the cornerstones of what makes us better and stronger as individuals. They make us more impactful as organisations.

But being committed is not enough on its own. Making progress in our journey also requires putting our commitment into action, sharing our progress along the way, and encouraging our partners and stakeholders to hold us accountable.

As they say, “you never know how easy it is to break a glass ceiling until you get close enough to touch it”. And by working together, we are getting closer and closer.

We are helping to create the future we have always wanted. And as we close the books on another amazing Women in Security Awards, we can look forward to that future knowing that all of our voices are increasingly being heard.

Thank you to every single person who was involved in the Awards – nominees, judges, sponsors, organisers, and everyone else. Together, we have created something tremendously special – and we hope it continues every year as the cause of DEI in our industry keeps going from strength to strength.