2023 Susan Ryan Oration

The Susan Ryan Oration is the University's flagship International Women's Day event and honours one of our community's greatest gender and age advocates, the late Susan Ryan. 

This annual Oration gives our nation and our community the opportunity to remember Susan and reflect on her incredible legacy of advocacy and her far-reaching contributions that changed Australia and our world for the better. The event aims to drive important conversations around gender equity and discrimination - national debates that Susan helped ignite across her many years of work. 

We are pleased to announce the 2023 Susan Ryan Oration will be delivered by Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher, Minister for Women.

Please join us for the Oration followed by a reception.

About Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher 

Minister Katy Gallagher has dedicated her working life to improving the lives of Canberrans, whether it was advocating for people with disability as a community worker, standing up for the rights of public servants as a CPSU Organiser or delivering for every Canberran as the Chief Minister of the ACT.

As a Minister in the ACT Government and later as Chief Minister, Katy Gallagher led a progressive and future-focused government that legislated marriage equality, started Australia's first public nurse-led walk-in medical centres and committed the Government to a 100% renewable energy target by 2020.

As a senior Cabinet Minister holding the Federal Government's finance and the women's portfolios, Katy Gallagher is passionate about making women's equal opportunity an economic and social priority of government.

About The Hon Susan Ryan AO 

The Honourable Susan Ryan AO was one of the University's greatest pioneers for equality. Susan worked as the first female Senator for the ACT in 1975 and was also the first female to hold a Cabinet role in the Hawke Government. 

Susan pioneered extensive anti-discrimination and equal opportunity legislation and was Australia's first Age Discrimination Commissioner from 2011 until 2016. 

Susan's legacy was recognised in 2017 when ANU awarded her an honorary doctorate, and again 12 months later when she was named ANU Alumna of the Year. 

In 2021, ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt announced the renaming of the ANU International Women's Day event to the Susan Ryan Oration. 

The inaugural Susan Ryan Oration was delivered by award winning journalist Samantha Maiden in 2022. Watch the 2022 Susan Ryan Oration.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Registration is required for this event.

• Accessible parking spaces are available around campus should you require them.

• To help keep everyone safe, please ensure that you are familiar with, and follow, the advice from ACT Health regarding COVID-19.

• If you do not feel well, please refrain from attending this event.

• By registering for this event, you are accepting our privacy policy.