May 2026
Walking New Pathways – Women Volunteers in Emergency Services
Walking new pathways – women volunteers in emergency services By Celeste Young, Collaborative Research Fellow and Sub Discipline Co-Lead Systemic Risk, Disaster & Resilience, Victoria University If volunteers are the backbone of the emergency management agencies, then the women who enable and participate in it could be seen as its
April 2026
Gender equality progress — and why it matters in emergencies
Gender equality progress — and why it matters in emergencies By Gabby Smith, AWE Fundraising and Strategic Partnerships Subcommittee Chair and Bridget Tehan, AWE President When disasters strike, gender inequality doesn’t pause — it often becomes more visible. The Status of Women Report Card 2026 shows that Australian women are
March 2025
Storm Chasing, Science, and Cinema: Women at the Heart of Extreme Weather
Have you ever dreamed of chasing storms or uncovering the real science behind extreme weather? Maybe you’re fascinated by how Hollywood brings epic storms to life, or curious about the role of women in disasters. If so, our International Women’s Day webinar, recorded on 5 March 2025, is a must-watch. Featuring
March 2024
Speed Networking Event Success!
The recent speed networking event at Maritime NZ was a huge hit! Maritime NZ holds a pivotal role in New Zealand's maritime sector, overseeing the development and enforcement of national safety regulations, licensing seafarers, and maintaining maritime safety infrastructure. Their responsibilities extend to providing a national search and rescue coordination
October 2023
AWE Excellence Awards 2023
The Australasian Women in Emergencies Network (AWE) is thrilled to announce the recipients of the inaugural AWE Excellence Awards 2023. The AWE Excellence Awards recognise and honour the contributions of women to emergency management and disaster resilience. Ruth Wraith OAM, who presented the awards at today’s Australasian Women in Emergencies
Volunteering Opportunities
Blog: By Akira Kelly, AWE VIC Chapter Lead The Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council has reported an increased risk of bushfire across most of Australia over the 2023/24 fire season, with reports it is likely to be the most significant bushfire season since the 2019-20 black summer fires.
September 2023
AFAC23 Recap
This year's AFAC23, ADRC 2023 and WAFA 2023 conferences were a great opportunity to hear from a vast range of people and organisation about research, practice and emerging trends, with topics ranging from disaster communications, inclusion, leadership to community resilience. A highlight for AWE was the powerful opening Keynote delivered
Re-framing Vulnerability: Community Recovery and Resilience in Australia through an Intersectional Gender Transformative Lens
Here is an initial overview of the conversation written by Ashleigh Brady reflecting on the panel. (Writers lens: Ashleigh Brady's pronouns are she/her, and she is a settler-colonial, white, able-bodied, middle-class, cis-gender woman, and an employee in NSW Government as well as a volunteer committee member with the Australasian Women
August 2023
AWE-AFAC and Champions of Change Fire and Emergency Webinar
In July, around 50 AWE members came along to hear from AFAC CEO, Rob Webb, and Stephanie Andrade, AFAC D&I lead and Cassie Lindsay from Champions of Change about the Fire and Emergency Champions of Change 2022 Progress Report. We heard that while progress is being made across the sector,
July 2023
AWEsome AWE members!
Congratulations to AWE member Karleen Gribble who led the recently released Australian Breastfeeding Association’s Babies and Young Children in the Black Summer (BiBS) Study. This world-first research project aims to increase understanding and reduce the negative impacts of emergencies on the feeding, health and wellbeing of infants and young children. The findings of
AWE supporting your event
Did you know AWE is available to MC, Chair or facilitate your events? AWE recently MC'd Fire Rescue Victoria’s (FRV) Long and Good Service Awards in Geelong and Melbourne. It was a privilege to help recognise the commitment, dedication and service of FRV employees, and to acknowledge their contributions to
Recently released reports on the impacts of climate change
It is well document that the effects of climate change impact directly and indirectly on many if not every area of emergency management. Below are summaries and links to three recently reports that speak to the impacts of climate change on communities, peoples mental health and young people, including the