Pilot Deborah Lawrie won a historic anti-discrimination case in 1979 after Ansett refused to take her on.  The general manager of collapsed Australian airline Ansett described her as a “very nice person” who couldn’t possibly become a pilot because she was a woman.

Deborah had been flying since 16, aced the tests, outperformed her successful rivals, but when she first applied to Ansett in 1976, the airline had a policy of only hiring male pilots. Lawrie wanted that job, so she fought. She took the airline to court, while women around Australia held a 4 month “girlcott” against Ansett to support her.

BPW Australia did more than just boycott Ansett.  We stepped up in 1979 to support Deborah Wardley [her then married name] as an amicus curiae at her anti-discrimination case in the Supreme Court, which found Ansett Airlines could not discriminate against women pilots.

Deborah went on to enjoy a long career as a pilot including flying the Airbus A330, and was entered into the Hall of Fame – along with 50 men and handful of women.  Her citation for her AM in 2019 acknowledged: Deborah Lawrie AM is regarded as a trailblazer and standard bearer by all those women who have followed her lead.