The University of Western Australia’s Professor Helen Milroy, a prominent child and adolescent psychiatrist, is the recipient of the 2022 Momentum Most Inspiring Woman of the Year Award.

The announcement will be made today at an International Women’s Day lunch in support of the “Kiss Violence Against Women Goodbye!” campaign, through Momentum for Australia Charity which supports worthy causes through new health awareness and prevention campaigns.  

Professor Milroy said children were our nation’s greatest asset and bringing about their wellbeing throughout life and development should be our highest goal. 

Image: The University of Western Australia’s Professor Helen Milroy.

“We owe it to future generations to lay the foundations for healthy, happy, safe, and nurturing childhoods,” she said.  

“To be prepared to do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to provide the best path possible to ensure every child gets the opportunity to excel in life and development.”

The award is presented to an inspiring woman with a passion for her beliefs and a vision for achieving goals by overcoming challenges along the way. Professor Milroy, Australia’s first Indigenous doctor, believes everyone can make a difference.

“Be passionate, committed and keep your eye on the long game which requires persistence and effort,” she said.  “Be courageous and prepared to stand up for what you believe in. If you don’t, who will? It was only by speaking up that I was given the opportunity to contribute."

A proud descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara region, Professor Milroy said what we made of our own journey was what counted. 

“Each one of us can forge our own path, made that little bit easier by those who have gone before us,” she said. “That is why these events and awards are so important. Being able to hear the stories and benefit from the collective wisdom that has gone before us is inspiring.

“Women have a lot to offer in life, society and in any industry or pursuit we choose to take on and we should be very proud of our individual and collective achievements.”

In addition to being Stan Perron Chair of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at UWA and the Child and Adolescent Health Service (funded by Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation), Professor Milroy is co-director of Embrace and an Honorary Research Fellow at the The Kids Research Institute Australia and was the 2021 WA Australian of the Year.