Women At Work

Padma Raman's CV is impressive, to say the least. Currently Executive Director of the Office for Women (OFW) at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, previously CEO of Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety Limited, Chief Executive of the Australian Human Rights Commission and CEO of the Victorian Law Reform Commission, all while raising two daughters with her hu...

Catherine Fox  is a Walkley Award–winning journalist who has spent two decades writing about women at work. In 2022 she was made a member of the Order of Australia for services to journalism and gender equity.   She is mother to two adult daughters, and is a beacon of a woman opening as many doors as she can for the women following behind her. 

Cathy Ngo is an entrepreneur, sought-after keynote speaker, and presenter. As the founder of Keynoteworthy , she is on a mission to add more minority voices to speakers and events. She is a mother to two human babies and two fur babies and is open about the peri-natal mental health challenges that have led her to be an ambassador for the Gidget Foundation. A vulnerable, honest discussion, Cathy op...

Yolanda Beattie is a leadership and high-performance team coach and facilitator. She's a career feminist and self-confessed growth junkie and brings personal development and the inner game into her work creating high-performance teams.  Her recent report, Path to Parity, looks at the state of play for women in investments, with insights that reach beyond the industry. Find out more about Yo and he...

Sally Moyle has over 30 years experience in gender equity. She helped introduce paid maternity leave across Australia as part of her work at the Human Rights Commission. She contributed to the HRC's It's About Time research into how men and women spend their time - who works, who does the caring, and how government policy still supports a male breadwinner model. Sally has a lot of energy for gende...

Louise Davidson AM is the CEO of the Australian Superannuation Council of Investors, and has had a huge impact on increasing the number of women on the Boards of Australia's largest companies, from 3% in 2023, to almost 40% today. We discuss merit, the power of collective action, the barriers that working mothers face, and the value of networking. We also talk about her foundation, the Mother's Da...

The tables have turned in this episode, and Lisa Corduff is interviewing Samantha about her Beyond the 9 to 5 research, and the experience of working mothers right now. Sam shares what the research is all about, and how sharing stories helps us feel less alone in our challenges. Sam explains the motherhood penalty and shares stories of women being sidelined after they have children. She shares the...

The number one policy that keeps women connected to the workforce is flexible working options, and Emma Walsh defines that as having the autonomy to manage your work around your family, and your family around your work. Through her work as Founder and CEO of Parents At Work, she is a passionate advocate for improving parental leave rights for families, helping employers navigate the changing expec...

Amy Taylor-Kabbaz is an activist, changing the way the world supports mothers - in the board room, the birthing suite and the living room. When I first came across her work I had a giant chip on my shoulder, and the more we talked the more I realised we're fighting the exact same fight, we're just using different language for it. Amy understands that the system is rigged and we can't 'self care' o...

Angela Priestley is co founder of Women's Agenda, which takes a gender lens to mainstream media.  With a broad view of diversity and the trends over time, she has a lot of insight into women in the world.   You can find her on Linked in  https://www.linkedin.com/ in/angela-priestley/ or writing and editing at Women's Agenda  https://womensagenda. com.au/

Unequal sharing of cognitive and mental load is a huge barrier to equality within relationships, and leads to increased inequality in the workplace.  Maja Palenka is a certified organisational coach and a flex leader, with passion for understanding why this inequity happens and how we can respond to it so women aren't operating with reduced cognitive capacity at work.  She's passionate about evolv...

Mel Wilson is a journalist, author and host of the juggling act podcast. She shared the stories she hears from women and the weight of the mental load that women still carry. We talked about keeping focus on what we enjoy and want our of life, so we're not wishing time away, and that when you have clarity about what you want the universe works to help you make it happen.  Mel shared the value in t...

Kate Gunn is an entrepreneur and a feminist who has done what she can throughout her career to support other women. In her life stage now she's looking at what makes her happy and how to find meaning in her work beyond traditional 'success' (while acknowledging that her previous success and privledge are part of what enable that). She shared stories of making waves throughout her career in support...

Liz Budnik has spent her career in small businesses, and remembers taking the car seats out of her car before job interviews so that no one would judge her as less ambitious. Despite being more ambitious than ever before! She shared her views on the changing world of working families, available care options and that workplace dynamics have been very slow to keep up with these changes. Mother guilt...

Jinan Budge is a woman working in a man's world. She's sometimes one of 6 women in a room full of 5,000, and she uses her position of authority to agitate for gender equity wherever she can. As a grassroots activist, she challenges male-only panels, companies' committment to gender diversity and why the conversation only seems to consider women. She shared the importance of defining your values an...

Carolina Giraldo was eight months pregnant, facing the prospect of giving birth alone at the start of the pandemic and about to lose her business as retail sales completely stopped with the uncertainty of COVID. With 180 employees across Colombia and Australia, people were relying on her for their livelihoods when things started to shut down. One of the proudest moments of her life is managing to...

Wendy Tuohy is a journalist and columnist focusing on gender equality, women and work, women's safety and social issues. This is a fascinating conversation with someone who understands what's going on by speaking daily with women who are impacted by systemic barriers, unfair workplace practices and inequality in the home and outside it. She saw what an impossible situation women are put in at work...

Koa Beck on White Feminism

Having stuck it out in a workplace where she was disrespected and shut down to the extent that it was detrimental to her health, Charmaine Loratet won't do that again, and she doesn't want anyone else to live through that either. She is passionate about supporting women to be the most authentic version of themselves, so they can show up fully at work and in life. Charmaine also shared her very per...

Investigative journalist Jess Hill wrote the award-winning See What You Made Me Do, about the national emergency of domestic abuse in Australia. It's a riveting but deeply distressing look at the real-life stories of women and children, how the justice system enables abusers, and hope for reducing violence through community intervention. Please note there is a content warning on this episode. It's...

Diversity Council of Australia CEO Lisa Annese is a self-described feminist and activist, working to improve gender equality in Australian workplaces. She is passionate about the connection between the gendered roles we still expect at home with a lack of progress for women in workplaces.  Lisa shared research from the DCA that shows men's mental health and wellbeing benefits from being in gender...

Welcome back to Women at Work Podcast! After a bit of a hiatus that included a global pandemic and extreme homeschooling, we're back with this season themed women speaking up. The impacts of COVID on working women have been shocking but unsurprising. Women everywhere are saying they're burnt out, overwhelmed and overworked. This season we're talking to women who have something to say about gender...

What We Cover: How Larissa made her way to senate. The impact of breastfeeding in parliament How Larissa's life is set up to manage a full career and family How Australian workplaces are structured with regard to supporting families. What can people do to change this paradigm Dated beliefs in parliament The impact of politics on everyone's lives How to stay engaged with the political system. What...

The infrastructure you need to have a big job and a family Relationship dynamics when the woman is the primary earner Letting go of mother guilt Giving yourself permission to receive support How to fit self care into a busy schedule Stepping back and getting perspective in life

The speed of change with the gender equality, and changes that contribute to hope The Persisterhood The seven myths of women at work The four stages of gender equity awareness The male breadwinner model in Australia and how it impacts progress The importance of financial freedom for women, and teaching that to girls Invisibility of older women and statistics around homelessness How can we make cha...