Winter Tales: The National Foundation for Australian Women presents Dr Liz Allen

The Australian Women’s Archives Program (AWAP) is an initiative of the National Foundation for Australian Women. AWAP builds knowledge and recognition of the contribution made by women through an online biographical Register. Winter Tales events raise funds to support the Register development. A delicious home-made afternoon tea is served after the presentation.

About Liz Allen

Demographer Dr Liz Allen’s life story is inspirational. Liz grew up in a large family in western Sydney and dropped out of school in Year 7. She experienced homelessness and became a teenage mother. With great determination to change her life she completed Year 12 at TAFE before stumbling into Demography as part of Bachelor of Social Science studies. Demography gave her the language to understand her life’s trajectory. By looking at population, examining data patterns from an outsider perspective, she has shaken up the discipline.

Dr Allen is a senior lecturer at ANU Centre for Social Policy Research. She is a member of ANU Council and an advocate for inclusive and accessible higher education. Liz was named among the ABC Top 5 Humanities and Social Sciences academics in Australia in 2018, and a woman to watch by the Australian Financial Review in 2023. Liz serves on the National Foundation of Australian Women Social Policy Committee and is a regular media commentator. Her book The Future of Us (2020) is a call to action to build a stronger Australia through fairness and equality.

Liz will ask: From accommodating to accommodated: how can Australia best support people from disadvantaged backgrounds?