We are privileged here at WOB to have many STEM leaders as members, including our Face of WOB Ambassadors Dr Marguerite Evans-Galea and Dr Bronwyn Evans PhD AM.
In tribute to these inspirational women, let’s take a look back at some of the podcasts and articles featuring the stories and insights of these trailblazing scientists.
Lab Notes: Why science, leaderships (and music) in in Dr Marguerite Evans-Galea's DNA
Dr Marguerite Evans-Galea is a leading gene therapy scientist and NED who has had a distinguished career in Australia and the USA. She is Director of STEM Careers Strategy with the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, co-founder and co-chair of Women in STEMM Australia and Honorary Fellow at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. In this podcast Marguerite and Claire talk falling in love with molecular biology, why women in STEM need role models and what ‘boffins’ can bring to the boardroom. Listen
Taking Charge: Engineering's First Lady Dr Bronwyn Evans PhD AM
It’s no surprise Dr Bronwyn Evans PhD AM sticks by the mantra ‘everyone’s an engineer’. As CEO of Engineers Australia, she can’t understand why everyone doesn’t want to work in her chosen field. A passionate advocate for getting more women into STEM, it's Dr Evans belief that all children have the potential to become engineers. In this podcast, Dr Evans talks about why it’s time to get the gender balance right in STEM, how COVID has paved the way for more technology reforms and why problem-solving engineers are the perfect fit for the boardroom. Listen
Lil Bianchi: Bringing the tech perspective to boards
Lil Bianchi is not your box-ticking director. As a highly-experienced Non-Executive Director, Chair Audit & Risk Committee, former CEO and tech entrepreneur working across data analytics, fintech, risk and customer value Lil thrives on innovation and loves being around curious people. In this podcast, Lil says there’s space in every boardroom for “weird and whacky ideas” and talks about the importance of Boards having a tech perspective. As she puts it: “Don’t get bamboozled or sidetracked - just dig, dig, dig for non-technical people –really make the experts talk to you in normal business talk.” Listen.
Dr Wendy Craik AM - A woman of many firsts
Dr Wendy Craik is often described as a woman of many firsts - the first female head of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the first woman to lead the National Farmers' Federation and the first woman Chief Executive of the Murray Darling Basin Commission. So how does someone who started out with an arts degree and PhD in zoology wind up on the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia? Never one to turn down a challenge, Wendy admits it has been a steep learning curve but says it has been a fascinating journey along the way. Listen
Mentoring women in STEM: I don't want girls to make the same mistakes I did
Fiona Hall on being a female trailblazer in space engineering, renewable energy and mining. WOB member Fiona Hall admits she has a cool job. With a background in space engineering, mining and renewable energy she has blown things up, sent things into space, and traveled underground.
As a leader in space engineering and mentor to women in engineering, ACT-based Fiona has developed projects to track space debris and asteroids for NASA and the Australian Government and worked as a hazardous and explosive area specialist and high voltage asset auditor for Defence.
Fiona had a love of electrical engineering at an early age and was inspired by her mother who was one of the first programmers for IBM. But, she tells Women on Boards, working in science wasn’t always seen as a ‘cool’ job when she was growing up in Germany and later studying Engineering at university in Darmstadt.
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