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Welcome to the August 2022 edition of the AWE Newsletter

The CSIRO’s recently released future megatrends report highlights climate change as one of seven global megatrends that will challenge Australia. It states that we can expect to be living in a more volatile climate, characterised by unprecedented weather events, and that natural disasters are expected to cost the Australian economy almost three times more in 2050 than in 2017.

The United Nations General Assembly recently recognized the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. The UN Secretary-General welcomed the historic decision and said the landmark development demonstrates that Member States can come together in the collective fight against the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

Climate change presents challenges and opportunities for women in the emergency management and disaster resilience sector, and women are already making a difference. The Women’s Leadership statement at last year’s Glasgow climate summit noted that despite increased vulnerability to climate impacts, we recognise that women and girls have been creating and leading innovative climate solutions at all levels. This article argues that women’s leadership on climate is already bringing fair, innovative and ambitious policies.

If you’d like to find out more about climate change and how to get involved, consider joining AWE’s Women in Emergencies for Climate Action chapter.

 

 
 

 

 

 
 

AWE News

 

 
 

Save the date!

10 October is Australasian Women in Emergencies Day

On Australasian Women in Emergencies Day we’ll be recognising and celebrating women in emergencies and disaster resilience with a range of activities including:

Check out our webpage and find out how you and your organisation can get involved! 

Call for AWEsome Women!

The AWE mentoring program is growing and we are in need of women in the network who might be able to be a mentor! Anyone with skills, experience or passion for emergency management can be a mentor. Please reach out to Lisa Marie Jackson at [email protected] if you would like to know more about the program, or sign up now.

Call for abstracts

AWE is pleased to announce that we will be hosting a session at the International Sociological Association’s 20th World Congress in Melbourne in 2023.

The Women Practitioners in Emergencies session will explore the gendered nature of emergencies and associated implications as the world moves forward into an uncertain future with predicted increases in the frequency and severity of disaster events. Presentations that promote and highlight the skills and strengths of women in emergency management and disaster resilience are keenly sought, as are those which promote collaboration and cooperation, public education, marginalisation, and integrating women into all aspects of emergency management. Presentations and case studies focussing on marginalised women, migrant and refugee communities are also encouraged.

Abstracts are now open. Click here to find more information about the session, and how to submit your abstract. Submissions close 30 September.

AWE Women in Emergencies for Climate Action 

The next AWE Women in Emergencies for Climate Action meeting will be from 12-1pm on Tuesday 16 August.

Our speaker will be Dr Nina N Ridder who has been a member of the Women in Emergencies for Climate Action since its inception earlier this year. Nina will share information about her work as Research Associate at UNSW and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, including a workshop she facilitated recently in Canberra on multivariate disasters and climate change.

Join us on Tuesday 16 August for what will be a very interesting update and opportunity to share your work with others in the group.

Amanda

Connect at a conference

AFAC22, which includes the Australian Disaster Resilience Conference, takes place in Adelaide 25-27 August. AWE members who are presenting include:

  • Jane Abdilla, South Australia Fire and Emergency Services Commission
  • Karla Billington, South Australian Country Fire Service
  • Dr Kate Brady, University of Melbourne
  • Liz Connell, South Australian State Emergency Service
  • Associate Professor Valerie Ingham, Charles Sturt University
  • Peta O’Donohue, South Australian Country Fire Service
  • Katelyn Samson, Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience
  • Associate Professor Michelle Villeneuve, University of Sydney
  • Associate Professor Marta Yebra, Australian National University

If you’re attending this conference and would like to meet with any of these presenters or other AWE members who are attending, email us and we’ll make sure you connect. Don’t forget to wear your badge!

AWE NSW

It’s been a mixed basket of emergencies and disasters in NSW, and the hits feel like they just keep on coming. My husband and I weathered the heatwaves on a recent trip to France and saw firsthand the impacts they are having socially and environmentally.  While there, my hometown was hit with floods, devastating the village of Broke. This is the fourth wave of floods we have endured over the last 18 months in the Hunter Valley, and part of the broader impact of storms and floods up and down the east coast. With further rain predicted, agencies are keeping watch on further rain events.

In addition, NSW is dealing with a biological hazard, with the varroa mite now detected in beehives in Newcastle and as far away as central NSW and Coffs Harbour. This is devastating news for the agricultural industry with hives in the red zones being euthanised as a precautionary measure. We’re all hoping the CSIRO has a treatment option soon to halt the progression of this invader.

Kylie – AWE NSW Chapter Lead

AWE Membership Update

What do we know about AWE Network members?

  • We currently have more than 1600 members and we welcome an average of ten new members every month 
  • We know that 56.5% of members read the Newsletter from their desktop computers, while 43.5 % use their mobiles
  • While most members are located in Australia and New Zealand, we are proud to have members located in USA, Israel, Canada, United Kingdome, Netherlands, France, Germany, Japan, Belgium, Denmark, Cameroon, Singapore, Spain, Jordon, Iraq, Fiji, Finland, Tonga, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, Turkey, Thailand, Poland, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

AWE Network members as a group are quite mobile, and regularly change their email addresses usually associated with changing workplaces.  If you change your email, you might find that you stop receiving Newsletters. The easiest way to make sure you stay an AWE member is to register again with your new email here.

 

 
 

AWE Events

 

 
 

AWE Open Discussion – Burnout is real 

Burnout. What does it look like? What strategies have helped? Why do we fall into the trap of thinking that ‘working harder’ might be an answer?

Join our July Open Discussion to discuss an issue that’s only too real and too relevant to women in the emergency sector – burnout.

Hosted by AWE Committee Member, Kath Cooney

12 pm Wednesday 17 August

Book now

AWE QLD Networking Drinks

Join us for drinks!

5pm Wednesday 10 August
Shorehouse, the Strand, Townsville

RSVP: aliciapalmer222@gmail 

AWE Yarra Ranges drinks

This month, the AWE Yarra Ranges Chapter will be meeting for after work drinks instead of breakfast, so we can ensure those who can’t make breakfast due to child drop off can come along after work.

It would be great to see you on Wednesday 17 August at 6.00pm at the Public Brewery in Croydon – 13 Lacy Street.

RSVP – Amanda Lamont [email protected]

AWE Women in Emergencies for Climate Action

Guest speaker Dr Nina N Ridder will share information about her work as Research Associate at UNSW and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, including a workshop she facilitated recently in Canberra on multivariate disasters and climate change.

12-1pm on Tuesday 16 August
Online

For more information contact Amanda Lamont [email protected]

AWE events are a great way to learn about and get to know other women in the emergency management and disaster resilience sectors. Keep an eye on our calendar of events, Missed an AWE event? Many of our past events are available for viewing on our YouTube page. 

 

 

 
 

AWE Member profile

 

 
 

Arden Haar – Proud AWE member and Project Officer, Operations and Logistics, at Australian Red Cross Emergency Services

Arden first began in the EM sector during 2019 when she volunteered as a Project Leader for Red Cross while completing a Masters of Environment, with a focus on International Development. As part of the Masters program, Arden is working on completing a thesis researching the impacts of natural disasters on resource reliant people, and how they are impacted by a subsequent humanitarian emergency response.

Arden’s volunteer project role was in the Summer Readiness planning in 2020, to develop a food and water exercise to ensure that Red Cross would be able to provide Food & Water Relief if an emergency response was required. We are all too aware of the disastrous fires that eventuated over that Summer, and Arden’s prepardeness work supported the distribution of over 200 tonnes of food and water to affected

 

 

communities in a remarkable example of interagency collaboration.

After a brief interlude, Red Cross was activated to support the provision of Emergency Food and Water Relief to people in mandatory isolation during the COVID pandemic. More than 43,000 packs of Emergency Relief packs were provided duringover two and a half years in Victoria. Coordinating this response helped Arden to further identify her interest in logistics and appreciate the value of having a tangible impact and contributing to communities.

​Since 2020 Arden has been employed with Red Cross Emergency Services and is currently working on process improvement to make an even more effective impact, by improving service, volunteers’ experience, and the ability of Red Cross to impact communities, highlighting the value of volunteer led services.

Arden’s interest in humanitarianism spurred from a passion to work in international development. However, working in the EM space as part of a humanitarian agency has provided the intersection of two key areas of interest. It has also showed her the need for support that remains in Australia, reinforcing the importance of locally-based responses. Although Arden still intends to work in international development in her near career for a period of time, she now feels like she has a special place and area of interest return to in future.

Members can contact Arden at Red Cross Vic by emailing [email protected].

Find out about more volunteering with Red Cross here. 

 

 
 

You can nominate yourself or another AWE member to be profiled in the AWE Newsletter.
Please email us for more information.

 

 
 

AWE Q&A

 

 
 

Welcome to the new AWE Q&A!

Q: I have found emergency management to be a male dominant industry, which can be challenging. What can I do to support my journey?

A: If you feel like a woman in a man’s world, you are not alone. While the numbers of women working in emergency management has steadily increased over the past decades, it hasn’t been without its challenges. A 2016 US study found that women felt less respected, were perceived to be less knowledgeable, were given a higher workload or given the work of others to complete, and were seen as being less capable in the field.

The study also explored some of approaches used by women to overcome these challenges. These including working to prove themselves above others, working harder than their counterparts, and taking on more work and completing it to a higher standard, in an effort to prove themselves and other women in the sector. And as we know these can quickly lead to imbalance and burn out.

So what else can be done? The study reported that practical experience and exposure, in work or volunteer capacities, helped women feel more confident. Women also placed strong emphasis on the value of networks, fostering relationships, and mentor mentee relationships. And now for the great news – these are all things you can find here at AWE!

Importantly, as workplace diversity is changing, workplaces need to change too. In a 2021 address to the Gender Justice in Disaster conference, Victorian Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp APM stated, “Our focus cannot just be on recruiting more women and other diverse persons to our sector or organisations; we are also responsible for ensuring our workplaces will be culturally safe.’ So go forth and be the change you want to see in your world, and don’t give up!

The AWE Q&A answers your questions by calling on the experience and expertise of our AWEsome membership. Email us your questions and we’ll work with our members to have them answered. 

 

 
 

News, events, and resources

 

 
 

 

 
 

PhD Scholarships: MUDRI is offering two full-time PhD Scholarships, both relating to the 2019/20 bushfires. If you are interested in pursuing a PhD in Gender in Disasters, or Understanding Risk in Disadvantaged Communities in the Setting of Disasters, please contact Dr Caroline Spencer.

Leadership scholarships for women in emergency services: Leadership development scholarships are now available from Women and Leadership Australia (WALA). Partial scholarships of $1000–$5000 will support participation in courses designed for women from non-leadership roles through to senior leaders. WALA brings together the latest in leadership theory and practice with a focus on applied learning, building networks and a flexible, part-time delivery to fit in with your schedule. Apply by 9 September 2022 and find out more here.

Conference: The Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction will be held from 19-22 September in Brisbane. This year’s Conference, From Crisis to Resilience: Transforming the Asia-Pacific Region’s future through disaster risk reduction, will focus on capturing and sharing lessons learned to reduce the risk of disasters across the Asia-Pacific. It will provide an important opportunity to review risk reduction efforts, share and learn about innovative and practical solutions, and for countries and organisations to make actionable commitments against the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.

Documentary: Fired Up is an AFP award-winning documentary that tells the story of how Melbourne’s Muslim community arrived to help East Gippsland’s isolated communities during the 2019-20 bushfires. It captures community-led responses, collaboration with emergency services and how racist stereotypes can be broken down. This inspiring documentary is suitable for schools, emergency services, communities and others. Contact AFP for more information.

Indigenous knowledge of fire and drought: This article outlines how indigenous knowledge can help us develop long-term solutions to bushfire and drought. It calls on Australian researchers to recognize the value of this knowledge and to harness it to find new and more effective ways of tackling environmental problems.

Gender and the Social Dimensions of Climate Change: This new book, due out in September, brings together work from leading feminist researchers and practitioners in Australia, Canada and Spain to explore gender relations in land-based livelihoods, inclusive environmental policies and lived experience of climate hazards. It aims to help planners and decision makers develop more inclusive and equitable adaptation policies, plans and practices.

Australian Young Professionals in Disaster: AYPD’s vision is to attract, connect and inspire the next generation of disaster professionals in Australia to deliver contemporary approaches to risk mitigation, disaster response, recovery and community empowerment. AYPD is hosting network events in Canberra on 17 August, and in Adelaide on 23 August. 

Do you work in security in crowded places? Sarah Smorhun from Charles Sturt University is researching protective security for crowded places and its intersection with law enforcement and emergency management. If you are responsible for security in a crowded place like a university, event space, place of worship or sports stadium, and would like to contribute to Sarah’s research please email [email protected]

Disaster nerds book club: The Monsoons & Mojitos Book Club meets online once a month on the last Thursday of the month, 7pm AEST (UTC+10:00). Part professional development, part networking, part hanging out with friends – this book club reads all things disasters, recovery and resilience. All welcome. For more information contact Alicia Palmer  

Social, financial and economic costs of rain and flood: An independent Deloitte Report into this year’s South East Queensland floods has revealed an estimated total of $7.7 billion in social, financial and economic cost to Queensland.

2022 Global Platform for DRR: gender progress report: At the Global Platform for Disaster  Risk Reduction 2022, the Third Multi-Hazard Early Warning Conference and the Fifth World Reconstruction Conference in May 2022 in Bali, UN Women secured and supported significant progress for gender equality and women’s leadership in disaster risk reduction and resilience so as to advance the gender-responsive implementation of the Sendai Framework, contributing to the gender-responsiveness of all three conference outcome statements.

Helping organisation to thrive before, during and after disasters: Resilient Ready is a new social enterprise comprising a global collective of experts who can help build everyday resilience capabilities in organisations of any size, industry and structure; empower local communities to increase social capital, preparedness and resilience to disasters; and lead positive relationships within and between government, corporates, SMEs and communities.

Women in fire and emergency leadership video: Check out this video exploring experiences and ideas for systemic change in gender inclusion. Commander Donna Wheatley talks to four inspiring women, all of whom have faced barriers and overcome them to become leaders within their communities and organisations. 

 

 

 
 

Job opportunities

 

 
 

NSW
Emergency Management and Engagement Officer, Singleton Council
Disaster Grants Officer, Central Coast Council

QLD
Principal Advisor, Strategic Frontline Communications, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services
Principal Project Officer – Emergency Management, Queensland Government

SA
Flood Management Project Officer, Department for Environment and Water
Community Resilience Officer, Adelaide Hills Council

TAS
Dam Safety Manager, Hydro Tasmania
Risk & Compliance Lead, TasRail

VIC
Senior Program Manager – Future Drought Fund’s Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought, Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal
Project Officer – Knowledge Development, Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council

WA
Bushfire Risk Planning Coordinator, Shire of Kojonup
OSH Advisor, St John Ambulance

NZ
Māori Research Advisor – Resilience and Research Group, Earthquake Commission
Sustainability and Resilience Advisor, Auckland Council

 

 
 

 

 

 
 

Other events

 

 
 

If you are attending any of the events below and would like to meet up with other AWE members, please email us at [email protected] and we will make sure you connect.

23-26 August        AFAC22 – AFAC/Deutsche Messe/IFE/AIDR

10 October           Australasian Women in Emergencies Day

12-14 October      Natural Hazards Research Australia annual conference – NHRA

7-9 November      ISCRAM Asia Pacific regional conference – ISCRAM

 

 

 
 

Newsletter contributions

 

 
 

The AWE Newsletter is published monthly and is distributed to almost 1600 AWE members across Australasia. For contributions, queries or to let us know what you would like to see in the newsletter, please email us at [email protected].

 

 

 
 

About AWE

 

 
 
The Australasian Women in Emergencies Network (AWE) promotes, supports and recognises the contributions of women in emergency management and disaster resilience across Australasia.

www.awenetwork.org.au

[email protected]

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AWE acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work, and pays our respect to Elders, past, present and emerging.
 

 

 

 
 

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