WoC ELP 2025 (APS) Application form

Applications open Monday 21 October 2024 and close COB Thursday 19 December 2024

If you require this form in another format, please contact elp@womenofcolour.org.au. 

Important note:

Applicants who are selected to join the WoC ELP - APS Stream must pay a 50% tuition fee by 20th January 2025 to proceed with the official application process. Please ensure that you have secured or will secure funding by this date.

As a reminder, the program rollout timeline is as follows:

21 October 2024: Applications open
19 December 2024: Applications close
20 January 2025: Deadline for 50% payment
17 February 2025: Program launch (subject to sufficient demand)
18 February 2025 - 19 June 2025: Program rollout

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, considering eligibility requirements, and limited spots ensure a high-quality experience. The final curriculum and exact dates and venue will be announced upon confirmation of demand, delivering an outstanding leadership development program.

Applicants will be selected based on the following criteria: 

  • Eligibility: Applicants must identify as Women of Colour including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and hold a mid-to-senior level management position in their organisation in the APS.
  • Leadership Potential: Applicants should demonstrate strong leadership potential, including a track record of professional achievements, ability to inspire and motivate others, and commitment to personal and professional growth.
  • Alignment: Applicants should be able to articulate how the program aligns with their career goals and how they plan to apply the learnings to drive positive change in their organisations and communities.
  • Commitment to the Program: Applicants must be willing to commit the necessary time and effort to fully participate in the program and make meaningful contributions to their cohort.
  • Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Applicants should be passionate about promoting diversity and inclusion in their organisations and communities, and be willing to serve as role models and champions for other Women of Colour.
  • Commitment to Safety of Self and Others: Applicants must respect everyone's unique experiences, maintain confidentiality, embrace inclusivity, and adhere to a zero-tolerance policy for harassment or discrimination, fostering a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment throughout the program.

Definitions:
Women - Transgender and cisgender, all those who experience or have experienced oppression as women, including non-binary and gender non-conforming people and all those who identify as women. Self-definition is at the discretion of the individual. Definition credit: wire.org.au

Women of Color / Colour - "Women of Color is not a biological designation. It is a solidarity definition. A commitment to work in collaboration with other oppressed women of color who have been minoritized. It is a term that has a lot of power." Loretta Ross. Learn more here.

Program Overview

Women of Colour Australia (WoCA) proudly presents the Women of Colour Executive Leadership Program (WoC ELP) - Australian Public Service (APS) Stream. This transformative program nurtures and empowers Women of Colour within the APS. In line with the first-ever APS CALD Employment Strategy, our initiative contributes to creating a more inclusive public service that reflects the diverse communities we serve.

Guided by our commitment to empowering Women of Colour within the APS, the WoC ELP offers a comprehensive and structured approach to leadership development through five interconnected components:
1. Storytelling and Healthy Boundaries
2. Self-Mastery: Identity, Authentic Leadership, Communication, and Storytelling
3. Sponsorship and Allyship
4. Ecosystems of Change: Adaptive Leadership, Transformative Cultures, and Indigenous Frameworks
5. 1:1 Coaching

Our program features in-person workshops and personalised online executive coaching sessions that equip participants with the skills and insights to excel in their careers. By focusing on psychosocial safety, wellness support, and diverse perspectives, the WoC ELP empowers Women of Colour to drive transformative change within the APS.

We exist to champion Australia’s Women of Colour.

ORIGIN OF THE PHRASE "WOMEN OF COLOR"

"Women of Color is not a biological designation. It is a solidarity definition. A commitment to work in collaboration with other oppressed women of color who have been minoritized. It is a term that has a lot of power." Loretta Ross
Learn more here

WOMEN DEFINITION

Women - Transgender and cisgender, all those who experience or have experienced oppression as women, including non-binary and gender non-conforming people and all those who identify as women. Self-definition is at the discretion of the individual.
Definition credit: wire.org.au

ALLY DEFINITION

A - always centre the impacted
L - listen and learn from those who live in oppression
L - leverage your privilege
Y - yield the floor
*Mnemonic credit: Kayla Reed Executive Director ACTION St. Louis Follow Kayla Reed on Twitter @iKaylaReed

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We acknowledge the Wallumattagal clan of the Darug nation as the Traditional Custodians of the land upon which Women of Colour Australia is situated. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present. We acknowledge and honour the strength and resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women with whom we stand in solidarity. We acknowledge that as settlers on this stolen Aboriginal land, we are beneficiaries of the dispossession, genocide, and ongoing colonial violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We believe that it is our collective responsibility and moral imperative to help dismantle the structural inequities and systemic barriers oppressing the original inhabitants of this land. This land is and always will be Aboriginal land. Sovereignty was never ceded.