Anja Christoffersen, a incapacity advocate and social entrepreneur, has been named the 2025 Queensland Award recipient of the Australian Awards for Excellence in Ladies’s Management.
Hosted by Ladies & Management Australia (WLA), this award recognises ladies and gender-diverse people driving change and advancing fairness throughout enterprise, authorities, and group.
Anja will formally settle for the award on the Australian Ladies’s Management Symposium in Brisbane on Might 30, 2025.
Anja Christoffersen has devoted her profession to creating management and financial alternatives for individuals with disabilities, advocating for larger inclusion throughout well being, analysis, and enterprise.
As CEO of the Ladies with Disabilities Entrepreneur Community (WDEN) and the founding father of ventures like Champion Well being Company, SHH!T Occurs, and In opposition to the Grain Espresso, her work straight addresses the systemic boundaries that restrict entry to profession and entrepreneurial pathways for disabled Australians.
“The incapacity group has the identical goals as everybody else, however we frequently don’t have the identical alternatives. Being an award recipient is a chance I’m extremely grateful for, not just for me however for my group,” Anja mentioned.
Anja’s management has reshaped alternatives for ladies with disabilities by fostering sustainable initiatives that promote social and financial participation. By WDEN, she empowers ladies with disabilities to pursue entrepreneurship, monetary independence, and management roles.
Karen Surmon, Normal Supervisor of Ladies & Management Australia, praised Anja’s impression:
“From founding the Ladies with Disabilities Entrepreneur Community to making a world-first company championing lived experiences, Anja has redefined prospects for ladies dealing with boundaries of gender and talent.”
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43% extra doubtless – Individuals with disabilities are considerably extra prone to turn into entrepreneurs than non-disabled Australians.
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900 instances much less doubtless – Regardless of their entrepreneurial drive, individuals with disabilities obtain 900 instances much less enterprise capital funding, limiting their means to scale companies.
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Over 20 years – Ladies & Management Australia has been advancing management fairness for greater than 20 years, delivering govt management packages, trade scholarships, and coaching initiatives.
Anja’s advocacy extends past entrepreneurship. She has co-developed a broadly referenced co-design framework, influencing affected person care and shaping systemic change inside healthcare companies. Her work amplifies the voices of ladies dealing with boundaries in management, employment, and financial independence.
“Her advocacy has paved pathways to significant work, entrepreneurship, and financial independence whereas amplifying the voices of marginalised ladies to drive systemic change in well being, analysis, and enterprise,” mentioned Karen Surmon.
Anja joins an esteemed listing of nationwide, state, and territory award recipients recognised for his or her contributions to gender fairness, together with:
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Dr. Cathy Foley AO PSM (NATIONAL), Australia’s Former Chief Scientist
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Heidi Yates (ACT) Change Chief, Strategist, Human Rights Lawyer
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The Hon Linda Burney MP (NSW), Member for Barton
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Karan Hayward GAICD (NT), CEO of Papulu Apparr-Kari Aboriginal Company
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Dr. Manasi Murthy Mittinty (SA), Senior Lecturer; Speaker & Writer; Founder CHERISH
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Affiliate Professor Justine Shaw (TAS), Founding father of Homeward Sure; Conservation Scientist & Advocate for fairness in STEM
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Suzie Betts (VIC) Founding father of Boob Armour
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Janine Dureau (WA), CEO of The Kimberley Aboriginal Ladies’s Council
Earlier Award recipients have included The Hon. Julia Gillard AC, Christine Holgate, Sam Kerr, Magda Szubanski, Janine Allis, Prof Dr Marcia Langton, Rochelle Courtenay, and The Hon. Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO, highlighting the award’s status.
Anja will settle for her award on Might 30, 2025, on the Australian Ladies’s Management Symposium in Brisbane. Her recognition is predicted to additional elevate the dialog on incapacity inclusion in management and encourage larger funding in initiatives that foster financial alternatives for individuals with disabilities.
For extra details about Ladies & Management Australia, go to www.wla.edu.au.
