Diann Rodgers-Healey
PhD, MEd, BA, DipEd, GCertBusCoach
Founder Dr Diann Rodgers-Healey founded the Australian Centre for Leadership for Women (ACLW) in 2000. Diann has enabled ACLW’s distinctive identity in the pursuit of its vision to enable the valuing of all women and their advancement in workplaces through addressing systemic bias against women; empowering women to navigate through systemic barriers and address self-imposed barriers to advancement, and recognising and advancing women by rewarding initiatives by individuals and organisations that sustainably enable all women’s advancement and equality.
Diann established ACLW’s national flagship Leadership Awards Program, recognising women, advocates who advance women and organisations that sustain the advancement of women through their processes and cultures. Commencing in 2006, through 4 Awards, there have been more than 80 (women, men and organisations) recipients across Australia. The Awards have been judged by eminent women and men, supported by politicians, and have attracted commercial sponsorships from many organisations.
Diann has also researched and published on pertinent national issues which concern women’s equality and leadership; contributed to national policy reform for women’s equality by participating in legislation reform of workplace gender equality initiatives. Diann has contributed to the review of the Equal Employment for Women in the Workplace Act and Agency, The EOWW Amendment Bill 2012, Pay Equity Senate Enquiry and the issue of Quotas for women in board positions. She has led teams of community and industry leaders to participate in a range of leadership and gender equality initiatives, presented on women’s leadership issues, the leadership of minority women, and facilitated public discussions with gender and diversity experts to enable organisations to become more inclusive. Her evidence based views on women’s leadership have been featured in various publications including the Australian Financial Review, The Conversation, Women’s Agenda and the Australian Institute of Company Directors’ Magazine.
As a leadership analyst, Executive Coach and Mentor, Diann has designed and facilitated leadership programs for organisations and coached and mentored middle to C-suite executives to advance and sustain authentic and transformational leadership, improve organisational cultures and their leadership capacity. She continues to run programs to advance the leadership of women from minority groups. As a strategic planning facilitator, Diann has led the development of vision and mission objectives through analysis of workplace and industry issues and leadership capacity analysis of managers and junior staff as well as organisational stakeholders.
She has held positions of leadership and management in Sydney and London in education, business and the not-for-profit sector. Her current academic appointments are Adjunct Professorial Research Fellow in The Cairns Institute of James Cook University; Adjunct Professor in Notre Dame University, Sydney. She is also an Honorary Fellow of the University of Wollongong (UOW)’s Wollongong Academy of Tertiary Teaching & Learning Excellence (WATTLE) and has been an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Institute of Business Well-Being (AIBWB) at UOW. Diann lectures Postgraduate students in management at UOW. She was the recipient of UOW’s Vice-Chancellor’s Faculty Award for Outstanding Contribution to Teaching and Learning Award 2010. Diann is also a Reviewer for international journals including the Gender in Management Journal, Advancing Women and the Journal of Women, Politics and Policy.
Diann is the author of several books including, “Considerations for Australia’s next woman Prime Minister,” “Abandoning Leadership for a better way of being for women and men” and has edited and co-authored the book, “Pathways to Gender Equality – The role of Merit and Quotas,” and “For Ukraine.”
In 2015, Diann was awarded the University of Wollongong Alumni Award for Social Impact. In 2014, she was recognised as one of Australia’s ‘100 Women of Influence in 2014’ by The Australian Financial Review and Westpac. In 2013 she was the Finalist in the NSW Premier’s Woman of the Year Award. In 2009 she was the recipient of the International Alliance of Women (TIAW) 100 World of Difference Awards for ‘contributions to the economic empowerment of women in the community.’
The Centre also aims to make a difference in the civic life of Illawarra communities and develop knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference. The Centre’s website is illawarracfe.com
ACLW Achievements Timeline
Awards Received:
- 2015 University of Wollongong – Alumni Award for Social Impact
- 2014 100 Women of Influence (Westpac & Financial Review) – Diversity category
- 2013 Finalist New South Wales Premier – Women of the Year Award
- 2011 University of Wollongong – Early Career Outstanding Contribution to teaching award
- 2009 TIAW World of Difference Awards
The International Alliance for Women (TIAW) in Canada for its 2009 World of Difference Awards selected Diann Rodgers-Healey from Australia as one of the 100 women who have “made a world of difference” to the economic empowerment of women. In 2009, over 50 women from 23 countries were named.
Professional Social Media Profile: