By Mikayla van Loon
Empowered Women in Trades (EWIT) has taken home the award for accelerating women in the Victorian arm of Telstra’s Best of Business Awards for 2024.
In the running for the award with business like She’s on the Money and Mums Matter Psychology, EWIT was praised for its help to “champion tradeswomen, diversity, and gender equality”.
Founder and CEO Hacia Atherton said winning the award was a “monumental achievement” for the social enterprise but also for every individual.
“This accolade is a testament to our team’s unwavering commitment, innovative spirit, and the impactful work we do every day,” she said.
“It’s an honour to be recognised among such distinguished businesses, and this award fuels our passion to continue making a difference.”
Thanking everyone who has supported EWIT in its 18 months of operations, since running its first pilot program at the Box Hill TAFE campus in Lilydale, Ms Atherton said she was most grateful for “how society is starting to shift their mindsets around women belonging in trades”.
“Once you see mindset shift, then everything else really starts to happen at a much faster pace,” Ms Atherton told Star Mail when the finalists were announced.
“It’s a lot harder to change hearts and minds than it is to upskill a woman, to teach her how to be an electrician or a plumber.”
Each of the 35 nominated businesses from Victoria were judged on economic sustainability, operational effectiveness and technology adoption, progressive leadership and culture, and social and community contribution.
The accelerating women category specifically looked at businesses that were “actively challenging exclusion and inequality to create meaningful and lasting equity for women”.
The award ceremony was held on Friday 3 November for all the Victorian finalists, with the national awards to be held in early February.
“The calibre of small and medium-sized businesses in Australia is nothing short of exceptional. The State Winners of the 2024 Telstra Best of Business Awards program are a testament to this, and represent the brilliant business minds our country has to offer,” Telstra Business group executive Amanda Hutton said.
“We couldn’t be prouder to celebrate the winning businesses and the people behind them, recognising their relentless efforts and incredible potential while inspiring the next generation of small businesses in Australia.”
There were more than 22,000 nominations countrywide.
