Grace Vaughan Memorial Lecture: Julie McKay, UN Women

The Grace Vaughan Memorial Lecture commemorates the life and achievements of Grace Vaughan, a social worker, social activist and parliamentarian, who was dedicated to the improvement of life at all levels and had a deep commitment to Australia’s participation in the Asian region and to ensuring women’s full participation in society.

This annual lecture is presented by the Australian Association of Social Workers, The University of Western Australia and Department of Local Government and Communities - Women’s Interests, Western Australia.

A Roadmap for Equality 

A lecture by Julie McKay, Executive Director of the Australian National Committee for UN Women and 2013 Young Australian of the Year (ACT). 

Ms. McKay has recently been appointed as a Gender Advisor for the Australian Defence Force, and was one of two civil society delegates joining the Australian Government representatives at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York in March.  Having held the position of Executive Director at the Australian National Committee for UN Women since March 2007, Ms. McKay advocates on key issues affecting women including women’s leadership, pay equity, political participation and violence against women. With experience in both the corporate and NGO sectors she actively works to support strong partnerships between the community, the private sector and government.

Ms. McKay sits on the Chief of Defence Force’s Gender Equality Advisory Board, the Board of the YWCA of Canberra and has been elected to the Steering Committee of the University of Sydney, Business Alumni Network. She has been appointed by the Prime Minister to the C20 Steering Committee which is working to ensure that the voices of civil society are heard during Australia’s Presidency of the G20 in 2014.