Friday, March 7 saw 400+ people from across the liquor industry come together for the annual Drinks Association International Women’s Day lunch. Attended by industry leaders and valued partners, the day was both a celebration of women across the industry and a chance to reaffirm the industry's commitment to fostering equality and respect.
Aside from the chance to connect and network with industry peers, the most anticipated element of the lunch was the inspiring keynote from Jelena Dokic, former world number four tennis player, author and presenter.
Jelena bravely shared her journey from overcoming extreme personal adversity to finding her voice, celebrating for the strength in vulnerability and advocating for societal change and equality. Her powerful message of resilience, courage and self-belief resonated deeply with attendees, reinforcing the critical importance of creating supportive environments where women can thrive fearlessly.
"My biggest achievement was finding my voice, sharing my story and speaking up,” shared Jelena. “Why? Because it literally saved my life.
"Vulnerability is a power; I call it a superpower because vulnerability leads to authenticity, honesty, truth and being your best version of yourself."
Kerry Appathurai, National Sales Director at Lion, and Mia Horner, General Manager Customer Loyalty at Coles Liquor Group, engaged the audience with a thoughtful discussion about fearlessness, assertiveness and the importance of building strong networks. They ended by getting the audience on their feet to practise “making themselves big”, inspired by the Ted Lasso character Rebecca Welton.
Also an opportunity to raise funds for our 2025 charity partner, the Katrina Dawson Foundation, we heard from Angie Liu, an accomplished Katrina Dawson Foundation Scholar. Angie spoke passionately about the impact of her scholarship in pursuing post-graduate education and continuing Katrina Dawson’s legacy. The raffle, with prizes generously donated by Drinks Association members, raised $19,370 for the foundation, funds that will be used to continue the incredible work they do for young women.
"When you donate to the Katrina Dawson Foundation, you join Katrina’s legacy and what it means to be a woman who will live a life bigger than their own,” said Angie. "Thanks to the springboard that KDF gave, my pursuit of being a world-class educator has taken me beyond little old Canberra and onto Sydney, Helsinki, Harvard and now Melbourne.”
In her role as MC, Stephanie Shedden, Head of National Key Accounts at Pernod Ricard and Chair of the Drinks Association’s Embrace Difference Council Gender Equity Workstream, highlighted the importance of continued efforts towards gender equity. She reflected on the progress made but underscored the critical need to address ongoing disparities. In particular, she mentioned the gender pay gap, urging the industry to close these gaps as decisively as they would gaps in business forecasts.
Sandra Gibbs, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Asahi Beverages and Chair of the Drinks Association’s Embrace Difference Council, introduced the launch of the Respect in Drinks Charter. This Charter is a pivotal initiative aimed at ensuring safe, inclusive and respectful workplaces within the drinks industry.
In reflecting on the day, Drinks Association CEO Georgia Lennon said, “2025 marks our twelfth annual International Women’s Day lunch. The support for the lunch grows each year and reflects the incredible work of our Embrace Difference Council in the various initiatives they support to strengthen diversity, equity and inclusion across the industry.”
Attendees left the 2025 International Women’s Day lunch feeling inspired and reinvigorated to drive meaningful change across the industry. The rollout of the Respect in Drinks Charter will continue the conversation in the coming weeks and months.
View the full image gallery of the Drinks Association's 2025 International Women's Day event.
Event photography by Belinda Rolland.