Women At Work

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 evolving hybrid work practices to support workplaces and employees, and flexibility that supports career growth and family. You can find her on Linked In at https://www.linkedin.com/in/majapaleka

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 taking positive action and focusing on what we can control. Hugely inspiring and educated, this is a great conversation to follow along.

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 of women - causing a media storm around a previous defence minister, refusing to finalise Board appointments until there was a woman, and her activism in membership committees. She believes that when you have the power to drive change, you have a responsibility to get women to the starting line, and she has certainly lived that in her career.

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 is something mothers feel no matter what they do - and Liz says every family should be free to make choices that work for them.

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 and purpose, and that her purpose includes being a mother but goes far beyond that. She shared the Wheel of life tool to check in on her life and where she's at. Here is a Wheel of Life template for you to use: https://samanthasutherland.com.au/wheeloflife/ Jinan talked about what self care looks like (and it's not about painting your nails), getting support, and that elusive balance. And she shared some of the ways she advocated for gender equity throughout her work and life.

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 keep every single employee on and reinventing her business to make that possible. Now with two small children and a growing business, she is working to balance her family and her business, and all the competing responsibilities.

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 when they become mothers, and is passionate about sharing the truth about our lives, how we're impacted by policies and legislation, and how it all shows up in our relationships and families. Wendy is hugely knowledgeable about our lived reality, this is a fascinating conversation.

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 personal IVF story in this episode. She wants to normalise the conversation about IVF, but also about anything important that is happening in our lives. Work and life are so intertwined that we can't separate them, and we can't possibly show up authentically if we feel we have to hide a part of ourselves. Charmaine's bright, bubbly energy and her passion for supporting women really shines through in this recording.

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 incredibly important listening, but it's also upsetting at points, and we discuss family violence and child abuse.