The Australian Women’s and Gender Studies Association (AWGSA) is pleased to provide financial support for a range of workshops and symposia that address important and timely issues related to women and gender studies. Only AWGSA members are eligible to apply to lead a symposium or workshop. Applications ideally will be cross-institutional, and cross-disciplinary, aiming to explore issues related to women and people of diverse genders. Funding is available to a maximum of $1,000.00 (for each category) to support the convening of workshops, seminars or small conferences conducted in the period of June 2025 to October 2026.

Applications should include a clear overview of the aims and objectives of the proposed symposium, along with a statement regarding contributions to the discipline and costings. This funding is open to four categories:

a) ECR/HDR – the proposed event is required to be led by either Early Career Researcher/or Higher Degree Research Student/s.
b) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led workshop or symposium or workshop.
c) RUN University-led – the proposed event is required to be led by academic/s working in the Regional Universities Network.
d) General – whereby any AWGSA member may apply to host a symposium or workshop.

It is expected that symposia outcomes will be disseminated through the AWGSA website and socials, with a post-event report submitted one month after the event.

Plans for the symposium or workshop should be clearly outlined, along with a proposed budget. Successful applicants will also be required to submit a blog (500-700 words) reporting on the completion of the workshop/symposium, which will be published in the AWGSA website. The applicants must acknowledge the support received by AWGSA in all promotional and media activity, as well as subsequent publications.

You need to be a current member of the AWGSA when applying to lead the symposium or workshop. 

Criteria for assessment:

Applications will be considered solely based on the information provided on the application form. The assessing committee will assess applications in terms of:

• Timeliness and relevance of the theme to AWGSA mission
• Quality of the proposal
• Potential contribution of the symposia or workshop to women’s or gender studies
• Anticipated outcomes and their dissemination.

Symposium and/or workshop funding can be used for catering, room hire, speaker travel and accommodation, and reasonable associated costs. If you have queries pre-application, please contact AWGSA as below.