For leading feminist changes in the public sphere
Marilyn Hatton has worked for gender equality in the Catholic Church for over 40 years, inspired to activism when Humanae Vitae (1968) denied Catholic women their right to control fertility with contraception. Thus began Marilyn’s fight for women’s equal participation in society.
The 1970s saw Marilyn become the first ACT Women’s Health Advisor. In the 1980s she worked for Federal Health to implement systemic change, and in the 1990s, as coordinator of Ordination of Catholic Women, she wrote Duty Bound to Lead, challenging the Church on women’s ordination. She has represented Australia as a Catholic feminist for many years, joining the leadership of Women’s Ordination Worldwide in 2014, and organising its 2015 conference.
Marilyn is a role model of leadership for women in the Catholic Church and beyond. While her recent advocacy has focused on making women’s equality mainstream in Church governance, she continues to lobby for an inclusive priesthood.
Photograph courtesy of Josh Garrard.
