As part of the celebrations for International Women’s Day, Cumberland Council hosted an Awards Ceremony at the Holroyd Centre in Merrylands to acknowledge the achievements of women in the community.
Cumberland Mayor Lisa Lake said she was honoured to recognise women who are embracing equity in Cumberland.
“Women make up almost half of the Cumberland population and many of their achievements go unnoticed, so I’m extremely proud of these women who work tirelessly for progressive change, that support one another and make an outstanding contribution in their communities,” she said.
“As a community, we strive to achieve gender equality and inclusion and create positive environments and workplaces where everyone can succeed and maximise their own individual potential. However, as women together, more work is needed to achieve social and economic justice for all people.”
International Women's Day is a global day that celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality. The theme for this year is International Women’s Day "#EmbraceEquity” and encourages conversations around equitable opportunities.
Congratulations to the winners of Cumberland Council’s 2023 International Women’s Day Awards:
Young Female Ambassador Award - Shaqaeq Rezai
Shaqaeq is the Co-Founder of Modest Fashion Outlet, a change driven and community-oriented fashion label offering training and employment opportunities to newly arrived migrant and refugee women in Western Sydney. She has helped establish a women’s centre at Kateb Hazara Association Sydney as well as jointly organising and running a women’s safety forum, which brought women from Australia and Afghanistan together to eliminate violence against women.
Access and Disability Award - Janu Dhayanathan
Janu is a Cumberland resident who was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis. Janu is an ambassador for the Children's Tumour Foundation where she works to raise awareness of the condition and mentors young adults on their journey with Neurofibromatosis. To date she has raised approximately $20,000 for the Children’s Tumour Foundation through her fundraising efforts.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Achievement Award- Michelle Pearce
Michelle is a Gunai/Kurnai woman has who worked in Aboriginal Health for the past 25 years and has provided culturally significant care to Aboriginal patients at Auburn hospital.
Community Event Award- Aynalem Tessema
Aynalem has worked to settle refugees and asylum seekers for many years with many communities, including the Ethiopian community. She also assists multicultural communities in partnership with local service providers to run educational workshops and programs for women and girls about domestic and family violence, mental and women’s health.
Multicultural Leadership Award- Pilar Lopez
Pilar is the CEO and Co-Founder of House to Grow, a not-for-profit and charitable organisation bringing empowerment to women through education. The organisation runs a number of programs in Australia and overseas advocating for women’s employment, health and wellbeing to provide lasting social change. Pilar is also a guest speaker at events, hosts seminars and has two self-published books.
Local Business Woman of the Year Award- Isabel Lorenzi
Isabel (Izzy) Lorenzi is the business owner, head programmer and online coach of Uplift Gym in Merrylands. Izzy has contributed to removing barriers for women through coaching, educating and promoting gender inclusivity in the sport of weightlifting. She also hosts weightlifting competitions and provides opportunities for women to participate in. Izzy also uses her social media platforms to debunk myths about women in weightlifting and addresses issues of traditional gender roles in her content.
