Yes, you read the title correctly, and it’s not a typo, I did not win Industry Woman of the Year at the National Print Awards.
That feels like an odd way to start a reflection, but it also feels like the right way. Because this is not really a story about winning. It is about the slightly uncomfortable, surprisingly generous and deeply affirming process of stopping long enough to look at the work, name it properly, and allow other people to reflect it back. This is what being a finalist reminded me about making room, and holding space for others
Entering an award is a strange thing. You sit down to write about your own work and immediately want to make it about everyone else. In my case, that instinct is not entirely wrong. So much of the work I have been able to do through Women in Print Australia belongs to many people: our non-remunerated board members, patrons, volunteers, sponsors, partners, members and supporters who keep turning up, contributing, opening doors and saying, “Yes, Steph. Because this matters.”
But the entry process also forced me to look at the shape of the work.
It reminded me that Women in Print Australia has evolved from a grassroots community network into a national member association with a growing role in shaping a more sustainable industry workforce. It reminded me of the work behind the HP Indigo Digital Press Scholarship, produced with the support of HP and Currie Group, the newly launched Executive Leadership Program. The growth and expansion of our national events across more regions, and the ongoing effort to create pathways for women and other minority demographics to be seen, supported and equipped to build lasting careers in print, packaging and signage.
And then there were the supporting statements for my nomination.
Reading those was the part I was least prepared for. It is one thing to know you have worked hard. It is another to read the words of people who have seen you pose the probing question, pull the threads together, tackle the problems everyone can see but nobody quite knows how to solve, and occasionally say the uncomfortable thing that needs to be said. The work of advocacy is sometimes lonely, and incredibly hard. Gently nudging a change and hoping for an avalanche is tiring, often repetitive. More than anything else in this process, I felt seen, deeply appreciated. And so very humbled by the amazing things my referees had said about me in their testimonials. Knowing my entry for the Major Award of Industry Woman of the Year was so enthusiastically, and genuinely supported was deeply affirming of the direction and strategy our board have decided on for our growing individual member association.
For all appearances to the contrary, I have never been particularly interested in being the loudest person in the room. I am much more interested in whether the right conversation is happening, whether the right people are being heard, and whether the thing that needs fixing is actually being fixed. Prefering to show up quietly with my bright loud hair, and sparkle runners. [ if you know, you know]
Being named a finalist reminded me that work matters too. Plus I got to celebrate the industry at a phenomenal shindig in Brisbane put on by the exceptional team at the Visual Media Association.
The print manufacturing industry which I use as term that encompasses print, signage, packaging, visual media and everything in between, has extraordinary capability, vast creativity and a resilience few can match. Its future depends on ensuring we have new talent, supporting people as they grow, and that we are all working together to keep capability onshore.
To every woman building a career in print, packaging, signage, visual media, technology or manufacturing: please keep going. You do not need to be ready, fearless or completely certain of anything to make a difference.
Sometimes you simply need someone to show you there is room for you here.
There is. And you can hop over to Women in Print Australia if you want to meet a few of us.