Women At Work

In all my conversations with women, the quote most often shared with me is this feeling we have as working mothers that we're expected to work as if we don't have children while raising our children as if we didn't have a job. And today's guest is none other than the original author of that quote, Annabel Crabb, who's influential book The Wife Drought brought words to what women across Australia were – and are still – feeling; that women need wives, and men need lives. Annabel's career spans journalism, television, writing, podcasting, speaking and generally being funny while she talks about smart things. And now she's written a new children's book called There's a Prawn in Parliament House, so all the women who read The Wife Drought have something by their favourite nonfiction author to read to their kids! Today's conversation is a meandering chat through how little has changed since Annabel wrote The Wife Drought in 2014, the progress that has been made, her take on shifting politics due to the influence of women, her new book, and maybe a bit of pop culture.  Enjoy the show!

Today's guest is Dr Ashley McGrath, a self-described eternal optimist, fun friend, mum, step mum, wife, and a woman after my own heart, lives her life seeking forgiveness, not permission. Ashley has a personal mission to have a positive impact on one billion lives. And she's well on her way. As CEO of CEO's for Gender Equity, she brings together over 100 leaders committed to driving change within their businesses, and through the ripple effect outwards from there. As a Doctor of Philosophy, she researched the inclusion of women in the mining industry, what really works, what doesn't, and now shares that insight across multiple industries. Today we're making gender equity personal. Enjoy the show!

Women retire with 28% less super than men on average. Women over the age of 55 are the fastest growing group of homelessness, driven in large part by lower or nil super balances. And that super gap is driven by all the barriers we talk about on this podcast all the time - women are paid less so their compulsory super payments are lower, they take time out of they have children and super paid on that is minimum wage level and zero for extended unpaid leave, they face the motherhood penalty that means their earnings suffer after children, they are more likely to work part time…, whether they have children or not they do the bulk of care, domestic and mental load labour which reduces their workforce participation rates and lifetime earnings, and they have a gender available savings penalty that means it's much harder to catch up with savings and retirement. Today's guest is determined to make a difference to the gender superannuation gap. Lucy Kough worked in advertising, with a superannuation fund client when she learned about the gender gap in super. And now shes come up with a solution. It's called Tap the Gap, and today we're going to learn what, why, and how it can impact you directly.  Enjoy the show!

Australia is one of the wealthiest nations on earth, but your gender can determine how much of that wealth you have. Australian women are almost twice as likely as men to experience financial insecurity, lower levels of financial wellbeing, and poverty throughout our lives as men. Today's guest is Jenny Rolfe-Wallace a qualified teacher and financial educator, and a former financial adviser. She stood for election as an independent in the 2025 federal election and on her own podcast, "It's Not About The Money", Jenny considers why we need to stop telling individuals to solve the problems they didn't create and start investing in systemic solutions. Today, we're talking about money myths, how the system disadvantages women, and what we can do about it. Enjoy the show!

What is a fire investigator? Is the first question I asked when a listener recommended I speak with Vithyaa Thavapalan. I don't know the answer yet, but I know it's a very male dominated industry. Women make up less than 5% of urban firefighters and cultures of toxicity have been exposed. How do you push against gender and cultural expectations to live a life that has meaning for you is another question that is central to my work, and Vithyaa has spent her life doing just that. Born in Western Sydney, to Tamil parents who fled Sri Lanka during the war, she had to defy their expectations to forge her career path – a path that often finds her the only women in the room. And that has also led to environments of sexism and discrimination. Wanting to follow her dreams without having to face toxic behaviour every day, Vithyaa founded her own fire investigations company in 2024, the first fire investigation company to be founded by a woman of colour in the world.  She also founded Brown Boss Babes, Australia's first women's empowerment organisation dedicated to uplifting South Asian women, and South Asian Foundation Australia. All of this, while raising a very energetic toddler and being open about the very real transition into motherhood. Through every challenge and success, Vithyaa has remained committed to breaking barriers, creating opportunities, and inspiring others to forge their own paths. And in her own words, this is only the beginning. Enjoy the show!

This year, the number of women in both houses of Parliament reached a record-making 50.5%, that's the highest number of women in Australian federal politics ever. And as Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, "Women belong in all places where decisions are being made." Today's guest, Licia Heath, shares RBG's sentiment, and has dedicated her work to getting more women into politics. Licia is CEO of not-for-profit, Women for Election, a non-partisan group committed to increasing the number of women in public office at local, state and federal levels. She ran in the high-profile Wentworth by-election in October 2018 and says that she didn't get elected, but she did win. And now she helps others to win. Licia has over 19 years' experience in the finance industry, established an asset management business, and does it all while raising two boys. Enjoy the show!

Artificial Intelligence has a gender gap - Women are being left behind and are up to 40% less likely to use AI. You know what else has a gender gap? Pay. The current gender pay gap in Australia is 21.8%, and every industry has a gender pay gap that sees men earning more than women – including women-dominated industries like retail, and healthcare and social assistance. Well, what might happen if you brought the two together, and use AI to solve your gender pay gap? Today's guest is Sorrel Kesby, and she's doing just that. She is cofounder of EvenBetter.AI, a start up using AI to help companies understand their gender pay gap drivers, and what to do to close the gap. In Sorrel's mind, changing the system is about top down – leaders, executives, and governments changing policies and behaviours, and bottom up – grass roots change and striving for things to be better in our own lives, which has a ripple effect outwards. Sorrel is a single mum with a background in advertising (notoriously difficult for women once they have children) and tech start-ups (also high pressure environments that are usually gender imbalanced) who's on a mission to create real change. Enjoy the show!

Laura Stewart had a big career. Then she had a baby. She went back to work, and it was a disaster – sidelined, treated differently, and a toxic workplace. So, like the rest of the 30% of women who leave their jobs within a year of having a baby, Laura left. But also like the rest of that 30%, she didn't leave the workforce, she just left a job that wasn't compatible with also having a family. She started up a consulting practice called Unravel – helping organisations Unravel complex challenges, and then at the beginning of 2025 joined forces with Vanessa Pilla and co-founded PathMaker – a female-led social enterprise helping organisations drive social value and impact This path, from big corporate to self-employed, is one that more and more women are taking. The number of female-founded small businesses has grown 77% since 1991, and the most-commonly cited reason is balance and flexibility. But it also comes with its challenges! Now, Laura's son is 2 and a half, her business is growing rapidly, and in this episode we're talking about shifting from big corporate to small business, becoming a mum, and what the juggle looks like in her life right now.  Enjoy the show!

Leah Ruppanner is the kind of person every single working mother wants to speak to, because she knows all about how your life feels, and how to fix it. She's debunking outdated gender stereotypes, like women are happier as 'homemakers' and men are bumbling caregivers, often stitching viral tiktok videos to explain, in layman's terms, what the underlying social issue really is. She's about to publish a book about the mental load and how we better share it, and her podcast MissPerceived is in the top 200 in the US and top 25 in Australia for the sciences. A research professor at the University of Melbourne, Leah was Australia's Top Gender Scholar in 2022 and 2023, is Director of The Future of Work Lab & The Gender Equity Initiative, and she's been cited on google scholar over 5000 times. Enjoy the show!

For some people, their authenticity shines through as soon as you meet them, and today's guest Aubrey Blanche-Sarellano is one of those people. With her pink and purple hair, a nose ring, and a big warm smile, she doesn't look like your typical tech person, but she's doing amazing work to embed equitable people & culture (more on what that is later) and responsible AI (more on that later too) into organisations. The world is changing, the workforce is changing, and Aubrey is doing work to make sure everyone can succeed. In this episode we're talking about what it means to construct your career and non-linear pathways, how we each have influence over ourselves and the people around us, and getting clear on what you need.  Enjoy the show!  

Every woman has a story about 'that guy' at work, the who says inappropriate things – or worse. And many women, myself included, have a story about making a complaint and then their contract suddenly comes to an end. In December 2022, Australia's Respect @ Work legislation came into effect, introducing a new positive duty for companies to proactively prevent sexual harassment, not just respond after the fact, and definitely not by firing the woman who made the complaint. Dr Anna Cody is Australia's Sex Discrimination Commissioner with the Australian Human Rights Commission, working at the frontline of how these laws work, where there are gaps, and what we can do about it. She has just released a new report titled Speaking from Experience – The HRC listened to women who have experienced sexual harassment or sex based discrimination, and created 11 recommendations. In the words of one of the woman interviewed, "talking is lovely, but action is what gets it done" So if you want to know what action your organisation can and should be taking, and you want to know what you as an individual can do if you come across 'that guy', alongside lessons in leadership from Dr Cody, this episode's for you! Before becoming the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Dr Cody had a distinguished career as an academic, as a lawyer specialising in discrimination and as a passionate advocate for human rights. She was previously Dean of the School of Law at Western Sydney University, has worked in human rights in Mexico, international development in East Timor and Indonesia, at the Centre for Economic and Social Rights in New York, in community legal education in El Salvador, and worked with Indigenous women in Alice Springs establishing a domestic violence service.   

Here's a career pattern you'll recognise: first, you're young, ambitious and driven, then kids arrive and you step back. A Nobel prize was actually awarded for research into that step back - so it's officially very common.  Side note, Your husband's career carries on uninterrupted while you manage everything. Then as the kids get older, you step forward again. And if you had school-age kids during the pandemic, that was a huge couple of years of homeschooling and – generally – pretty difficult work experiences. This path describes today's guest perfectly. Sarrah Le Marquand is Head of Entertainment at News Corp Australia, founding editor-in-chief of Stellar, and host of the award-winning podcast Something To Talk About. She's also an ambassador for Women's Community Shelters, supporting women and children experiencing domestic violence. Now, she's got teenage kids and is navigating separation - all while running this incredible career she's built back up. She's here to talk about those distinct career chapters, and what comes next when you're not starting over but you are starting fresh.  

This conversation with Susanne Legena exceeded my expectations, and I obviously only invite people on who I expect will be interesting in the first place! Susanne has dedicated her life to supporting equality and rights for girls, as CEO of Plan Australia. Susanne is a passionate feminist and champion of young people, and is navigating her big career whilst raising her own 12 year old daughter. We covered so much in this conversation – from climbing 10,000 steps in Sri Lanka and the life lessons she took away about wanting to stop, taking small breaks, and the value of encouragement and support, to putting herself forward as CEO of Plan so that she would at least be the worst candidate, to the fact that whatever is for you can never really be lost to you – opportunities and the right thing, will come back around. Susanne is enthusiastic, incredibly knowledgeable, and so relatable in the way she shares her passion. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did…

"The truth is you do need to be a superwoman to have a successful career and be a present parent and we need to be honest about this". Wise words from today's guest, Stacey O'Dea. This honesty is exactly what I want to bring to this podcast. Because when you hear that in order for someone to have a big job and a family, they're dropping balls all over the place that you just can't see, then it makes you feel less alone in your own juggle.  Stacey has a few non-negotiables to support her blend of work and family, and – maybe more importantly – to help change things for other working mothers around her. She loudly works flexibly. No hanging a jacket on the back of her chair and pretending she's in a meeting She's honest about the trade offs, and the compromises she's chosen to have a big job and be a present parent She picked (and kept) a partner who supports her career ambitions and does plenty of heavy lifting at home – and she's not afraid to ask, well what is their partner doing at home? When a woman steps back from work I'm so excited to be talking to COO of PWC for the past 5 years, and now Head of Clients and Markets for the firm about what it honestly takes.  

Sally Hasler took a new job when she was 36 weeks pregnant, then immediately went on maternity leave. Far from being the career handbrake we've been led to expect from a move like that, she's now CEO of Women's Health Victoria. And women's health is in focus. Almost $800m was committed in the last budget to fill the gaps in women's healthcare – and let's be honest we all know there have been plenty of gaps! Sally's a first time CEO, on the Board of Lifeline, and a St Johns Ambulance volunteer, all while raising three young kids, so she really gets what it's like to navigate career and family, while also working to positively change things for all women. She's refreshingly honest about the challenges, but also incredibly optimistic about what's possible when you get the right people around the table. In this episode, we're diving into everything from why Australia's women's health system still has massive gaps, to how Sally's approaching leadership differently, to what it's actually like trying to change the system whilst managing school drop-offs.

I tried to cheat and get ChatGPT to help me write today's intro, and it gave me a bunch of waffle about how Chief Executive Women sounds like a group that comes together to drink champagne and whinge about their husbands.  That tells you everything we need to know about AI bias.  In reality, CEW's 1300 members oversee more than $750 billion in revenue, and they're the most senior women in corporate Australia.  Today's guest is their CEO, Lisa Annese. Lisa came on the podcast previously in her role as the CEO of the Diversity Council of Australia, where she spent a decade creating the first National Index on Workplace Diversity and Inclusion, conducting seminal research into the economics of the gender pay gap and so much more.  Now she's working directly with the women who have the power to drive change. Lisa has been named one of the AFR's 100 Women of Influence. She's on the board of non-partisan organization Women for Election. She served on the New South Wales Women's Advisory Council and the Respect@Work Council. She's been awarded a medal for significant contribution to the Australian Public Service and is a member of Chief Executive Women alongside being their CEO. Chief Executive Women's mission is simple: women leaders empowering all women. If you've ever wondered what happens when you put 1,300 of Australia's most successful women in a room together, you're about to find out.

The technology industry has a persistent gender gap. And according to RMIT university, the biggest single opportunity to close Australia's digital skills gap is (drumroll please)… women.  But here's the kicker - this isn't just about tech. This is about power, money, and who gets to shape the future. When women make up only 30% of the technology workforce in an industry that's literally building tomorrow, we're all missing out. And with a critical shortage of skilled workers in tech, fixing this gap isn't just nice to have - it's economic survival. That's exactly what today's guest, Emma Jones, spends her time fighting for. Emma founded Project F with the express purpose of reducing the number of women abandoning technology mid-career - because yes, they're leaving in droves, and it's not because they can't code. She launched Australia's first national industry standards for the tech sector, the T-EDI standards, alongside the Tech Council of Australia. And as a busy mother of four, she embodies the balance between career and family life that she advocates for in the workplace But Emma's not here to give you the usual "get more girls into STEM" speech. This passionate advocate is moving the conversation beyond blaming the pipeline to tackle the real question: why are we losing talented women who've already made it into tech? What are the invisible barriers that push them out? And most importantly - what does this mean for all of us living in a world increasingly run by technology? Whether you work in tech or just live with it every day (spoiler alert: that's everyone), this conversation will change how you think about who gets to build our digital future.

Having a favorite podcast episode is like having a favorite child, so officially I loved all conversations equally, and learned so much from all of the guests. Consistently the guests on Women at Work reject that notion that we need to fix the women and instead agree we need to fix systems and cultures. But while we wait for that to happen, we are individually trying to cobble together solutions and need support with that. What I want from this podcast is for you to feel less alone in the juggle. The topics this season ranged from leadership, to why confidence isn't he solution, to collective action, every woman knowing one of 'that guy', to structural support like childcare, parental leave, flexible working and politics, to anti-racism and intersectionality, to real life stories of managing it all and how we support ourselves through the juggle. Guests this season (in order of appearance) were: Jane Caro, Joy Adan, Dr Charlotte Middleton, Dr Rae Cooper, Allegra Spender, Georgie Dent, Katherine Boicuic, Lael Stone, Karina Kallio, Kate Thwaites, Dr Amanda Stirling, Annika Freyer, Libby Lyons, Claire Harvey, Dr Leonora Risse, Sophie McCarthy, Nareen Young, Louise Baxter, Khayshie Tilak Ramesh   Enjoy the season! 

The first time Kayshie Tilak Ramesh experienced racism was in year three. Later, despite being born in Griffith, NSW and raised in Bendigo, VIC, when she was the multicultural youth commissioner she was asked to share her refugee story. Now, she's changing systems, one conversation at a time. In this conversation, Khayshie will share her recent experiences representing Australia at the United Nations Commission on the Status of women, how workplaces represent our greatest opportunity for systemic change, and we'll dig into conversations about meaningful antiracism. Khayshie's resume is impressive - Senior Industry Fellow with RMIT FORWARD: The Centre for Future Skills and Workforce Transformation Multicultural Youth Commissioner of Victoria Inaugural Youth Mayor of the City of Greater Bendigo, Young Citizen of the Year, Law Student of the Year, Premier's Volunteer Leadership Award and Victorian Multicultural Award for Excellence for Service to the Victorian Community Now, she runs her own consultancy, alongside a number of board and committee positions.

Louise Baxter had a very successful career in advertising, when she hit a moment of truth, and realised she wanted to do something more meaningful with her life. Fast forward, and Louise has now been CEO of Starlight Foundation for 16 years, proving through action (and results) that a culture of positivity doesn't just feel good — it drives every business metric that matters. Under her leadership, Starlight has topped the AFR's MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES list, landed in the Top 20 Great Places to Work, and built a workplace so relentlessly positive that one team member confessed she kept waiting for the façade to drop… four years later, she's still waiting. Louise also knows the juggle — she's a mum, a leader, and someone who's managed to balance impact, ambition, and the everyday chaos of real life. This is a conversation about values, leadership, workplace culture, and the kind of optimism that's less about slogans and more about systems that actually work.