Australian Women in Music Awards (AWMA) and Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) announced the inaugural Executive Leader Game Changer Award will be presented at the 2023 Australian Women in Music Awards on 27 September at the Tivoli in Brisbane.

The new award is designed to shine a light on music industry leaders who are creating significant and positive change to bring about equality for women and non-binary people in the Australian music industry, by celebrating the achievements of a CEO, CFO, COO, CMO, MD, GM or senior executive each year. Nominations for the award opened on 4 April and close on 26 April.

The judging panel will assess entrants based on their vision, integrity, ethics, trust of co-workers and employees, their demonstrated ability to drive positive industry change, the longevity of their commitment, and the prioritising of gender equality, respect, inclusion, safety, empowerment and quality of work.

“We are very proud to partner with AWMA to present this award that acknowledges the incredible cultural change being driven from within our industry and hopefully inspires a great deal more,” ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd said. “The Raising Their Voices report shone a spotlight on gender and diversity inequality in Australian music, and the need for immediate change to create a safe and equal workplace for all. The positive news is that there is enormous appetite for change, and ARIA is committed to continue working closely with the industry to drive this,” she said.

Past AWMA recipients include Tina Arena, Deborah Cheetham OAM, Katie Noonan, Kate Ceberano, Elena Kats-Chernin AO and Tamara Georgopoulos as well as studio producer Anna Laverty, photographer Wendy McDougall and stylist Cindy Vogel. Dame Olivia Newton-John AC DBE, Helen Reddy and Judith Durham AO are Honour Roll recipients and Renée Geyer received an award for her Life Time Achievement in 2018, alongside Margret RoadKnight, Little ‘Pattie’ Amphlett and Joy McKean.

Nominations for the AWMAs opened on 8 March here, with the award ceremony, concert and conference to be held in Brisbane on 26 and 27 September. Artists can nominate here: https://womeninmusicawards.com.au/nominate

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