Winners of the sixth annual Women of the Future (WoTF) Awards – hosted by The Australian Women’s Weekly in partnership with AGL – were announced this morning, with nine outstanding finalists resulting in three winners.
The awards recognise exceptional women aged 18-34 who are making a difference by either creating a great business venture, charity or innovation. An illustrious judging panel made up of Tanya Plibersek, Ita Buttrose, AWW editor-in-chief Nicole Byers, AGL Energy GM Lisa Harrington, OzHarest CEO Ronni Kahn, MP Julie Bishop and Lisa Wilkinson all picked the eventual winners.
As The Weekly’s editor-in-chief, Byers is understandably proud of the 2018 WoTF campaign, saying: “To say we were impressed by the calibre of entries in this year’s awards is an understatement. All nine finalists have accomplished so much, breaking ground in their respective fields, and it’s truly exciting to anticipate what they’ll do next.
“I’d like to sincerely thank AGL, our patron and the award judges, panellists and of course, finalists, for allowing The Weekly to keep telling the stories of Australian women. We look forward to continuing on our path to deliver a bright female future.”
The 2018 winners, each receivng over $70,000 in cash and prizes to promote their cause, are:
Sarah Moran, 34 (Collingwood, VIC) – Entrepreneur & Business
CEO of Girl Geek Academy, it’s Sarah Moran’s goal to get one million Australian women into technology by 2025.
Caitlin Figueiredo, 23 (Kaleen, ACT) – Community, Health & Charity
Domestic violence survivor Caitlin Figueiredo founded the social enterprise Jasiri Australia to train women aged 10 to 70 in self-defence.
Ally McLean, 25 (Erskineville, NSW) – Innovation & Technology
Founder of a mentorship programme called The Working Lunch, Ally is establishing female game-creating revolutionaries.
