Record attendances at Women In Print Breakfast Series

Women in Print Australia has confirmed the successful wrap-up of its nationwide Breakfast Series for 2024, featuring speaker Christina Bruce, Director of Sellabilities, and contributing writer in Digital Image Magazine. The series connected women across the print and related industries, offering valuable networking and learning opportunities.

The series boasted improved attendance in several cities; Perth hosted 60 attendees, and Adelaide had 90 attendees, breaking the event record for the city. Melbourne and Sydney maintained their numbers at 200 and 160, respectively, and Brisbane hosted 60 attendees.

Bruce led a transformative keynote activity across the capitals titled "Don't just think outside the box, build a better B❒X." Her session challenged attendees to rethink conventional boundaries and foster innovation and creativity in their professional lives. The session was well received, with overwhelmingly positive feedback from participants. Anna Need, Victoria Area Sales manager from Kwik Kopy who attended the Melbourne breakfast, commented, "Just wanted to thank you and your team. Our group thought today's Women in Print was the BEST they've ever attended," adding, "Christina's interactive session was outstanding, and we cannot wait for her online webinar."

This year saw the launch of the inaugural event in Canberra, which welcomed twelve pioneering participants. Instant Colour Press hosted the morning, joining the Sydney breakfast via Livestream for Bruce's activity—the expansion into Canberra reflecting a commitment to fostering a supportive network for women across all regions. A Canberra Patron will be announced after the application is approved at the next Women in Print Board meeting. The new Canberra Patron is expected to commence their term by hosting a Dignity Drive in August, collecting donations and raising funds for Share the Dignity.

Stephanie Gaddin, chair of Women in Print Australia and Editor of Digital Image Magazine, noted the dynamic exchange of ideas and the enthusiastic participation across the country. "We are immensely proud of the engagement and insights gained through this series. Each event was a testament to the vibrancy and resilience of women in our industry," she said. 

Gaddin spoke at the Melbourne breakfast, highlighting the most recent wage gap data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. She announced an expansion of services from Women in Print to include support for operational and technical role support for women in the industry and the imminent launch of the Women in Print Scholarship Program. The first scholarship in the program will be the HP Currie Group Scholarship, which will allow women to undertake technical certification at the Melbourne Currie Group training centre on an HP Indigo Digital Press. Gaddin thanked HP and Currie Group for their generosity, which enables the Scholarship program to launch under Special Projects Committee Chair Wendy Coss from Southern Impact.

Women in Print Australia extended a thank you to all the participants, speakers, and sponsors, including Ally Sponsors Cactus Imaging, Media Super and Ricoh Australia, Breakfast Series Supporters and Champions, IVE Group, Avery Dennison, Creative Juice SA and Spicers.

The next Women in Print event is at Visual Impact Brisbane on 18 July. Sponsorship opportunities are available for this networking event, taking place on the show floor at the end of the day. For more information about the packages available please request sponsorship details from [email protected].

Attendees to the networking event will also need to register to attend Visual Impact, which takes place from 17 -19 July, Hall 4 Brisbane Convention Centre. Show information and registrations: https://au.registration.entegy.events/visual24-visitor-registration