- Date
- 05.03.26
- Time
- 12:30PM AEDT
- Venue
Online
- Organiser
- NAWO
- Price
- Free for NAWO Members
- Share
In this month’s Tuning into the Nine Dials session, we’re focusing on the Inclusive Leadership & Allyship dial — the idea that leaders are equipped and accountable for fostering inclusive environments through visible allyship and inclusive decision making.
This session blends expert insight with meaningful participation to help you explore what effective allyship looks like in practice.
What we’ll cover
Introduction to the Dial
We’ll begin with an overview of the Inclusive Leadership & Allyship dial and unpack what it means for leaders to actively model allyship, enable diverse voices, and make decisions that create belonging.
In conversation: Louise Weine and Matthew Brierley
Next, we’re delighted to welcome Matthew Brierley, a long‑standing NAWO contributor with decades of engineering, maintenance and operations leadership experience across the oil and gas sector in New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Scotland and the USA. Matthew brings a rare blend of deep operational expertise, academic rigor and practical experience in driving gender equality.
Next we’ll welcome Matthew Brierley, In conversation with NAWO CEO Louise Weine, Matthew will explore:
- What he has unlearned about allyship in recent years — and what changed his mind
- What moves men from passive support to active engagement, drawing on his PhD research into pro‑feminist men
- How to interrupt microaggressions in the moment without derailing a conversation
- The real difference between mentorship and sponsorship, including the most consequential sponsorship action he’s taken
- The single study or statistic that most effectively shifts resistant leaders towards meaningful gender equality conversations
This session is ideal for leaders, allies, advocates and anyone wanting to strengthen inclusive leadership capability in their team or organisation.
Speed Dial Sprints
This series is all about participation, so we’ll head into small-group breakouts for a Speed Dial Sprint. You’ll discuss a real workplace moment where someone’s voice was overlooked, interrupted, or under‑credited.
Expect practical insights, shared learning, and a supportive space to build confidence in everyday allyship actions.
About Matthew Brierley
Matthew Brierley brings decades of engineering, maintenance and operations leadership across the oil and gas industry, having worked in New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia and Scotland (and a stint in the USA).
He’s also the author of Please Don’t Tell Me To Man Up, a book that curates gender equality research and makes it accessible for anyone wanting to understand the issues that matter. A long-standing NAWO contributor, Matthew has served on the board, co-chaired the WA State Committee, and was a founding member of the Intersectionality Advisory Committee. He also volunteers on two other not-for-profit boards and is an active STEM volunteer and mentor.
Academically, Matthew doesn’t do things by halves. He holds an Honours degree in Chemical and Process Engineering, a Bachelor of Business Studies in Economics, a Bachelor of Arts in History and English, an MBA, and is a Chartered Engineer, Fellow of the Institute of Chemical Engineers, and graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. As if that weren’t enough, he’s currently working towards a PhD researching men’s support for gender equality at Edith Cowan University.
About NAWO’s ‘Tuning into the Nine Dials’ sessions
NAWO’s Nine Dials for Gender Balance outline the areas we know can ‘turn the dial’ on gender balance in operations. Each month we’ll be exploring a Dial in detail, starting with a deep dive session on the first Thursday of the month. These online events will focus on what organisations can do to ‘turn up’ the dial, and how NAWO can support.
