Deborah Lawrie: The Fight to Fly
Deborah Lawrie | Sarah Malik
2025 International Women’s Day
Over 40 years ago, Deborah Lawrie broke barriers to become Australia’s first female commercial airline pilot. Her path wasn’t easy — she battled a landmark High Court case to challenge gender discrimination in employment and prevailed, all while facing blatant prejudice and unapologetic misogyny.
Deborah’s determination didn’t just open cockpit doors; it helped pave the way for equal opportunity across male-dominated industries, opening economic doors for women Australia wide.
This International Women’s Day hear Deborah Lawrie in conversation with journalist Sarah Malik, on her story and how we can accelerate action for gender equality through education, allyship, and the dismantling of systemic barriers.
Following the talk please join us for afternoon tea to celebrate International Women's Day.
Presented by the UNSW Centre for Ideas and supported by UNSW Aviation.
LIVE EVENT & VENUE INFORMATION
The Roundhouse is located at UNSW Sydney's Kensington Campus. Please note this is a live event only, and will not be available via livestream.
TICKETS
ACCESS
Wheelchair Access
The closest accessible drop off point to the Roundhouse is the north entrance via High Street, Gate 2, follow the road to Third Avenue and turn onto 1st Avenue West. More information on getting there can be found via our interactive accessibility map available here.
Assisted Listening
The Roundhouse has a hearing loop. Patrons wishing to utilise this need to simply switch their hearing aid to the T (Telecoil) setting to pick up on the wireless signal.
Auslan
This talk will be Auslan interpreted. Please select an Auslan ticket when you register for your tickets. Front of house staff can assist in identifying Auslan seats on arrival at the venue.
Captioning
Live captioning can be provided for selected talks upon request.
Contact
To book and discuss access services, please call the Centre for Ideas on 02 9065 0485 or email centreforideas@unsw.edu.au.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT & PARKING
The Roundhouse is easily accessible via public transport and the closest light rail stop is UNSW Anzac Parade (L3 line). The closest bus stop is UNSW Gate 2, High Street (348, 370). For more information, call the Transport infoline on 131 500 or visit transportnsw.info.
Paid casual and visitor parking is offered via the CellOPark App and ‘pay by plate meters’ in all UNSW car parks. For more information head here, and the closest car park is the Western Campus Car Park is located here, on Anzac Parade next to NIDA. This car park can be accessed via Western Campus Drive through Day Avenue.
CONTACT
For all the other enquiries, please email centreforideas@unsw.edu.au or call the Centre for Ideas on 02 9065 0485.
The Centre for Ideas is happy to receive phone calls via the National Relay Service. TTY users, phone 133 677, then ask for 02 9065 0485. Speak and Listen users, phone 1300 555 727 then ask for 02 9065 0485. For more information on all other relay calls visit here.
Deborah Lawrie
In 1979 Deborah was the subject of the first contested equal opportunity anti-discrimination case in Australia. After fighting for more than a year she won the battle against Ansett in the High Court. She joined Ansett Airlines to become the first female airline pilot for a major airline in Australia and in 1992 published her book Letting Fly.
After the Pilot’s Dispute in 1989, Deborah relocated to The Netherlands to fly with KLM Cityhopper. She held the position of Flight Safety Manager for four years and was the Chief Flight Safety Investigator for eight years. Deborah was chair of the European Regions Airlines Association Air Safety Working Group from 1998 –2004 and she was a member of the IATA Aircraft Accident Classification Working Group.
Deborah currently flies the B737 with Virgin Australia. Deborah was inducted into the Victorian Honor Roll of Women in 2001. She received an award as Master Air Pilot in 2017 and was appointed as a Member (AM) in the General Division of The Order of Australia in June 2019 for significant service to aviation as a commercial pilot, and to women in the profession. She was inducted into the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame in 2022 and in November 2023 Sydney Airport named a flyover that connects the International and Domestic terminals in her honour.
Sarah Malik
Sarah Malik is a Walkley Award-winning Australian investigative journalist, author, and TV broadcaster. Her work explores asylum, surveillance, technology, and their intersection with gender and race, with a focus on domestic violence, gender inequality, and migration. Sarah graduated from the University of Technology, Sydney, with degrees in Law and Journalism, and has taught journalism at Monash University.
She published her debut memoir, Desi Girl: On Feminism, Race, Faith and Belonging in 2022, and her second book, Safar: Muslim Women's Stories of Travel and Transformation, in 2024. Sarah co-hosted and co-produced award-winning SBS podcasts, including Let Me Tell You (Gold Best Arts/Culture podcast at the 2022 Australian Podcast Awards).
Her writing has appeared in outlets like The Guardian, The Sydney Morning Herald, The New York Times, and The Saturday Paper. Sarah has also contributed investigative stories for The Guardian and The New York Times, including the long-running case of Egyptian asylum seeker Sayed Abdellatif, which led to his release after nearly 12 years in detention. She’s worked on high-impact investigations such as the use of spyware in domestic violence and the challenges faced by Muslim women in accessing religious divorce in Australia.
In 2019, Sarah co-executive produced In My Shoes for ABC Radio National, examining racism and the challenges of representation, and also worked on the Majnoon and Kismet podcast series. She has presented documentaries exploring white supremacy and hate in Canada and was awarded three Walkley awards in 2018 for a series on domestic violence and faith communities.
Verity Firth
IntroductionVerity Firth is the inaugural Vice-President Societal Impact, Equity and Engagement at UNSW Sydney. She has over 20 years’ experience at the very highest levels of government and education sectors in Australia. Prior to her role at UNSW, Verity was Pro Vice-Chancellor Social Justice and Inclusion at UTS (2015–2023), CEO of the Public Education Foundation (2011–2014) and NSW Minister for Education and Training (2008–2011). Verity is a member of the Commonwealth Government’s Implementation Advisory Committee for the Universities Accord.