Three women from Greater Geelong will attend a five-day Igniting Leadership Program next month after receiving the City’s inaugural EmpowerHER Leadership Scholarships.
We announced these scholarships at our free Women in Community Life Celebration – 11 Years of Impact event in March to mark International Women’s Day.
Cecile, Natasha and Kylie were selected by an assessment panel in recognition of their strong leadership potential, commitment to community, capacity to empower others and efforts to remove barriers to participation for vulnerable women.
Spread over five weeks and delivered by Leadership Victoria, the program will help emerging leaders explore their strengths and values, learn to navigate change and develop interpersonal skills to build trust and influence.
We received 15 expressions of interest of a very high calibre for the two EmpowerHER Leadership Scholarships, leading to the City deciding there was opportunity to sponsor a third.
The EmpowerHER Scholarships aim to help emerging leaders with tools and confidence to drive meaningful change in Greater Geelong.
This opportunity is made possible by funding from the City and our valued partners and sponsors including Member for Corangamite Libby Coker MP, Soroptimist International of Geelong, GMHBA, Women’s Health and Wellbeing Barwon South West and Zonta Club of Geelong.
Councillor Melissa Cadwell
The strong response to our inaugural scholarship program highlights the depth of female leadership talent in our community.
The calibre of applications exceeded our expectations, making the selection process incredibly difficult.
Rather than limiting the opportunity to two recipients, we recognised the value of supporting a third emerging leader and expanding the program’s reach.
Congratulations to Cecile, Natasha and Kylie – we look forward to seeing how you apply program learnings to inspire and support others.
Councillor Emma Sinclair
These scholarships are a meaningful outcome of our International Women’s Day celebrations and demonstrate our ongoing commitment to nurturing women in leadership.
Women bring unique strengths to leadership and it’s important that we create opportunities for them to thrive.
