Edna Ryan Awards
The Edna Ryan Awards, also referred to as simply "The EDNAS", are Australian awards established to recognise women who have "made a feminist difference". The inaugural Edna Ryan Awards were held in 1998, the year following the death of Edna Ryan. Edna Ryan was a life-long feminist, labour movement activist, and mentor and role model for a whole generation of women. These awards were created to honour her life and work by a group of her friends, particularly Eva Cox and other members of the Women's Electoral Lobby.
Edna Ryan had been closely involved with WEL, particularly the Women in the Workforce group which she convened. WEL hosted and administered the EDNAS from 1998 -2010, but since 2012 they have been administered by The Edna Ryan Awards Committee and hosted by the Australian Services Union.
Nominees for the awards must be comfortable identifying as a feminist and must live or work in NSW or the ACT as Edna did during her lifetime. A panel reviews all nominations and the awards are presented on an annual basis at an evening social event. Since their inception the awards have recognised many high-profile Australian women for their feminist activity, including Eva Cox, Meredith Burgmann, Susan Ryan, Anne Summers, Wendy McCarthy, Jane Caro and Sally McManus. However, many of the recipients have been tireless advocates for women's rights who worked as community activists over a long period with very little other reward or recognition.
The award categories can vary but in recent years there have been awards in many fields including workforce, government, arts, community activism, media/communications, leadership, mentoring, sport and education. The awards are not intended as simply recognition of women who are successful in their own field, but require evidence that their achievements or actions have made a feminist difference by improving the lives and status of women within the community. There is also a Grand Stirrer award for inciting others to challenge the status quo.
Grand Stirrer Award Recipients
Award Recipients–by year (all categories)
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
| Name | Category |
| Roxanne McMurray | Leadership |
| Maeve Marsden | Arts |
| Vee Malnar | Arts |
| Lillian Howell Project | Community Activism |
| Marilyn Forsythe | Workforce |
| Bronwyn Culling | Mentoring |
| Lin Cooper | Mentoring |
| Bush Lemons | Leadership |
| Marion Baird | Workforce |
| Hawzhin Azeez | Media/Communication |
| Kate Rowe | Sport |
| McKenzie Raymond | Community Activism |
| Zoya Patel | Media/Communication |
| Dorothy McRae-McMahon | Grand Stirrer |
2013
| Name | Category |
| Suzie van Opdorp | Community Activism |
| Shirley Kent | Community Activism |
| Anne Buttsworth | Media/Communication |
| Maree O'Halloran | Leadership |
| Kim Rubenstein | Leadership |
| Destroy the Joint | Grand Stirrer |
| Ursula Frederick | Arts |
| Lee Grant | Arts |
| Rebecca Ordish | Mentoring |
| Fiona Miller | Mentoring |
| Wendy Herbert | Education |
| Dragica Sinikoski | Education |
| Danielle Warby | Sport |
| Heather Reid | Sport |
2012
| Name | Category |
| Nadia Saleh | Workforce |
| Sonia Laverty | Workforce |
| Bronwyn Penrith | Mentoring |
| Natasa Nikolic | Mentoring |
| Sylvia Kinder | Mentoring |
| Teresa Savage | Grand Stirrer |
| Jenna Price | Media/Communication |
| Maree McDermott | Community Activism |
| Bronwyn Bancroft | Arts |
| Georgina Abrahams | Arts |
| Cigdem Aydemir | Arts |
| Jan McDonald | Community Activism |
2010
2009
| Name | Category |
| Edith Weisberg | Education |
| Charmaigne Weldon | Battling |
| Ruth Pollard | Media/Communication |
| Jane Caro | Media/Communication |
| Rhonda Wilson | Grand Stirrer |
| Julie Bates | Workforce |
| Patricia Griffin | Community Activism |
2008
f2007
| Name | Category |
| Julie Velthuys | Mentoring |
| Ellie Ellis | Education |
| Rosemary Kariuki | Community Activism |
| Muyesser Durer | Battling |
| Kellie Tranter | Community Activism |
| Spiderlily Redgold | Media/Communication |
| Denele Crozier | Community Activism |
| Libby Silva | Community Activism |
| Marie Muir | Community Activism |
| Emily Maguire | Media/Communication |
| Rosalind Helyard | Education |
2006
| Name | Category |
| Liz Ashburn | Arts |
| Betty Green | Community Activism |
| Jane Corpuz-Brock | Community Activism |
| Dorothy Hoddinott | Education |
| Joy Goodsell | Community Activism |
| Adele Horin | Media/Communication |
| Carmel Nola | Media/Communication |
| Catherine Fox | Media/Communication |
| Claire Moore | Government |
| Victoria Abigail | Mentoring |
| Jude Stoddart | Workforce |
| Rosemary Richards | Workforce |
| Daphne Baxter | Workforce |
| Helen Westwood | Community Activism |
| Marie Coleman | Government |
| Anne Field | Government |
| Tegan Wagner | Grand Stirrer |
| Priscilla Lumsden | Community Activism |
| Dixie Link-Gordon | Mentoring |
| Judith Troeth | Government |
| Lyn Allison | Government |
2005
| Name | Category |
| Merilyn Childs | Workforce |
| Josephine Conway | Community Activism |
| Alva Geikie | Community Activism |
| Nola Cooper | Community Activism |
| Bronwyn Moye | Government |
| Gerri Greenfield | Grand Stirrer |
| Margaret Kirkby | Access to Abortion |
| Julia Freebury | Access to Abortion |
| Jacqui Smith | Mentoring |
| Margaret Alston | Mentoring |
| Helen Campbell | Media/Communication |
| Anne-Mason Furnage | Battling |
| Stefania Siedlecky | Access to Abortion |
| Trude Kallir | Community Activism |
| Dorothy Cora | Community Activism |
2004
| Name | Category |
| Muriel Hortin | Community Activism |
| Susan Ryan | Government |
| Margo Moore | Community Activism |
| Anne Summers | Grand Stirrer |
| Lucy Porter | Battling |
| Phillippa Hall | Workforce |
| Joan Lemaire | Mentoring |
| Dominique Hogan-Doran | Workforce |
| Julie Griffiths | Mentoring |
2003
| Name | Category |
| Jean Slarke | Workforce |
| Denise Ferris | Arts |
| Di Graham | Grand Stirrer |
| Roseleen Healy | Arts |
| Cate Turner | Community Activism |
| Rebecca Reilly | Workforce |
| Aileen Beaver | Workforce |
| Suzan Virago | Workforce |
| Betty Johnson | Community Activism |
| Elizabeth O'Brien | Community Activism |
| Vicki Potempa | Community Activism |
| Clare Burton | Grand Stirrer |
| Susan Kendall | Government |
| Fran Hayes | Workforce |
2002
| Name | Category |
| Rachael Oakes-Ash | Humour |
| Judy Horacek | Humour |
| Julia Baird | Media/Communication |
| Kathleen Swinbourne | Government |
| Elizabeth Dawson | Education |
| Wendy McCarthy | Grand Stirrer |
| Dorothy Symonds | Grand Stirrer |
| Janne Ellen | Community Activism |
| Joyce Stevens | Mentoring |
| Betty Little | Battling |
| Leichhardt Women's Community Health Centre | Community Activism |
| Jan Roberts | Community Activism |
| Jill Bruneau | Arts |
2001
| Name | Category |
| Kristine Cruden | Government |
| Robyn Plaister | Grand Stirrer |
| Erica Lewis | Government |
| Toni Modafferi | Media/Communication |
| Merle Highet | Community Activism |
| Pam Johnston | Community Activism |
| Maggie Smyth | Mentoring |
| Shirley Jones | Arts |
| Chrissie Shaw | Arts |
| Martha Ansara | Media/Communication |
| Kathryn McConnochie | Arts |
| NSW Teachers' Federation | Workforce |
| Pat Richardson | Battling |
| Emma Tom | Humour |
2000
1999
| Name | Category |
| Joan Bielski | Grand Stirrer |
| Gail Hewison | Arts |
| Noreen Hewett | Battling |
| Jane Gardiner | Media/Communication |
| Helen McDermott | Workforce |
| Cathy Block | Mentoring |
| Kate Lavender | Community Activism |
1998
| Name | Category |
| Jenny Taylor | Battling |
| Meredith Burgmann | Humour |
| Juliet Richter | Lobbyist |
| Sheryle Bagwell | Media/Communication |
| Eva Cox | Grand Stirrer |
| Marlene Arditto | Political Potholder |
| Julie Compton | Battling |
| Misha Schubert | Young Woman |
| Ann Symonds | Government |
| Sharon Tobin | Workforce |
| Peggy Hewett | Arts |
| Lina Cabaero | Workforce |