Good Design Australia is calling for Australian nominations for the 2020 Women in Design Award. 2020 marks the second year of this prestigious Award, created to address the significant gender imbalance within leadership roles in the design industry.
Considering the stark figures coming out of the design industry with women barely accounting for 18% across executive leadership roles, the Women in Design Award seeks to recognise and celebrate women who have made significant contributions to the industry and hopes to encourage a more diverse and equal representation within leadership roles and in the design and creative industries in general.
The inaugural winner of last year’s Women in Design Award was Sharon Gauci, who is the Executive Director of Industrial Design at General Motors, one of the world’s largest car manufacturers. Today, as one of the company’s top design professionals, Ms Gauci, plays an important role in the “visual expression” of General Motors and its brands around the world.
Ms Gauci is set to return as a judge for the second annual Women in Design Award. Gauci will be joined by a panel of other exceptional women in design including:
- Claire Beale – Executive Director at Design Tasmania
- Janna DeVylder – Co-Founder and Principal of Meld Studios
- Annie Dow – Founder and Owner of two of NZ’s leading brand and design agencies Dow Goodfolk and Brother Design
- Eunjoo Maing – Executive Managing Director, Capacity Building
- Korea Institute of Design Promotion (Kidp); and
- Tanyaradzwa Sahanga – Transformation Lead at 37Thanks and internationally respected speaker on sustainability, product creation and the circular economy
Sharon Gauci said she was honoured to receive the Women in Design Award and be recognised at this level for her work in the industry.
“Through Good Design Australia, the country’s peak body, giving a platform to and recognising the achievements of women in design leadership roles, we are certainly taking a step forward within the design industry. However, the number of women in leadership roles still isn’t where it needs to be. My goal is to bring awareness to the creative opportunities our business offers and to help foster the next generation of passionate and diverse talent,” Ms Gauci added.
Dr. Brandon Gien, CEO of Good Design Australia said “The Women in Design Award was established in response to the significant gender imbalance within leadership roles in the design industry. We want to recognise women at the top of their field and celebrate women who have made significant contributions to the industry in hopes to encourage more diversity moving forwards.”
The Women in Design Award is presented as part of the annual Good Design Awards program. Now in its 62nd year, the Awards have been recognising and rewarding excellence in cutting edge design and breakthrough innovation since 1958 and are considered to be the nation’s highest design honour.
Women who are Australian citizens, working in Australia or overseas are eligible to be nominated for this prestigious Award. Submit your nomination before the deadline of the 27th of March 2020.
Entries to the 2020 Good Design Awards are also open across 11 main design disciplines including Architectural Design, Communication Design, Digital Design, Product Design, Fashion Impact, Social Impact plus more.
