Women in STEM

Why is innovation important to you?

I love driving change for impact, be that economic, social, political environmental etc. That’s what innovation is. It can take you places no-one else has been, gives you freedom to experiment, is universal and inclusive, & connects you with amazing people.

What drives you to make a difference?

It’s in my DNA – there is so much need for improvement, adaptation and transformation in almost everything we do that I can’t stand by and watch the status quo take root.

Do you have any advice for getting more women into the innovstion ecosystem?

Show more women DOING innovation as well as telling their stories. We also need to develop a framework for impact – what happens to girls and women when and how relating to study and career choices – what’s working, what’s not and what’s missing.

Why is innovation important to you?

With innovation, we can make a better future, this project I’m working on will be beneficial for our future fashion pollution and future small businesses. People in the same position would be able to mass customise, mass manufacture. This will help prevent unfair trade overseas, stop land fill pollution within the fashion industry. The list goes on.

What drives you to make a difference?

For the future of our fashion industry to make a change in climate change. For the present time, we can create pieces that fits you perfectly to your dimensions, no more standard sizing no more one foot being bigger than the other. WE HAVE THE FUTURE OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN OUR HANDS!

Do you have any advice for getting more women into the innovstion ecosystem?

What you do today will benefit the future for tomorrow.

Why is innovation important to you?

A business that is thriving must be adopting innovative ideas or coming up with them themselves. No business will survive without this built into their culture. So, the reason it is so important to us, is that without it we would not have been operating for 26 years.

What drives you to make a difference?

I enjoy a challenge and I love working with the right team that are keen to rise and meet a challenge too. I get a thrill from seeing us set goals that seem incredible and then achieving them!

Do you have any advice for getting more women into the innovstion ecosystem?

If you don’t intend to embark on an innovation strategy start working an exist one!

Why is innovation important to you?

Innovation is important in breathing life into old ideas or helping new ones develop. It’s important because even though I spend the majority of my life at work I never get bored. Its always new and inspiring work.

What drives you to make a difference?

I know how much satisfaction I derive from my work and its an opportunity I had to fight really hard to build for myself. Being able to help others skip the hard parts and and to build on my experiences is incredibly important. That is a huge part of what drives me to train and educate young women and fellow entrepreneurs.

Do you have any advice for getting more women into the innovstion ecosystem?

Many of the greatest opportunities came from the smallest conversations and referrals. The innovation ecosystem is build on networking, so my advice would be to always take the time to talk, its great for your mental health and even better for you business prospects.

Season 1

Why is innovation important to you?

Innovation leads to improvements, which leads to better lives for all. I find innovation a great driver for change and change means we are continuously doing better not only for ourselves but for everyone. You know – getter closer to world peace

What drives you to make a difference?

My drivers are to create a better world for all; every piece of knowledge and innovation leads to better understanding which in turn leads to further improvements. We must not forget that every bit counts no matter how minor in concept!

Do you have any advice for getting more women into the innovstion ecosystem?

She for she! He for she! Everyone for everyone! We have a tendency to become competitive and actually there is enough of everything to go around – give each other a helping hand! If you get an opportunity to assist a woman in innovation please take it – we all need supporters and people on our side!

Why is innovation important to you?

Innovation has the potential to progress gender equality and reduce the gender pay gap. With equal access to opportunities and the jobs of the future, women will be able to better engage in leadership opportunities and increase their economic participation.

What drives you to make a difference?

I am driven by a commitment to social justice, underpinned by the knowledge that gender equality benefits everyone. No one country can say that they’ve got there, even Australia has a long way to go to address gender inequity.

Do you have any advice for getting more women into the innovstion ecosystem?

It’s crucial to support women by having visible female role models and a diversity of pathways into leadership. It’s important to make visible those women who are trailblazers to show the way. Employers and large organisations have power in this area, to recognise women and create pipelines. It’s not just a government responsibility.

Why is innovation important to you?

Innovation is the key to business success in today’s highly competitive and diverse world. At Intelledox, innovation is in our DNA. We are highly adaptive and continuously reinvent ourselves to keep up with the fast-moving global tech industry.

What drives you to make a difference?

I have always been fascinated by people, culture & technology. I enjoy the challenge of bringing together the best of these elements, to drive success for Intelledox and for our clients. Taking inspiration every day from Jim Collins’ philosophy: ‘Preserve the core and march it forward every day’ drives me to achieve personal goals, and is also a massive influence on the way we run our software business which is all about helping our clients succeed in the face of digital disruption all around them

Do you have any advice for getting more women into the innovstion ecosystem?

Technology and Innovation are both fantastic platforms that offer a great mix of creativity and challenge. I live by the mantra: Take Risks & Keep Reinventing Yourself. I would advise other women to take a good look at the many opportunities available in the ever-emerging innovation ecosystem. Be fearless.

Why is innovation important to you?

Innovation has the power to change the way we do everything, including employing people, which helps achieve social change. It’s particularly important in providing access to people, not just to information, but to jobs and opportunity to people who ordinarily would be unable to access the financial inclusion that working ensures.

What drives you to make a difference?

My own experience as a person with a disability looking for work drives my determination to innovate in the way we include those who cannot access traditional work opportunities, and being raised by a determined mother drives my determination! I have like-minded people with me at Enabled Employment, we drive each other.

Do you have any advice for getting more women into the innovstion ecosystem?

Don’t be afraid to get into what seems to be a male-dominated field. The more women we involve, the more we innovate. Be determined, be bloody-minded if you have to. Believe in your idea, and don’t let anyone tell you it can’t be done. It can, and it can be done by women!

Why is innovation important to you?

Innovation allows us to explore and find new opportunities and options to improve our community. We won’t be able to make progress and solve our problems without creative people innovating.

What drives you to make a difference?

Belief in humanity and our ability to work together to make the world better and safer, and life a richer and more rewarding experience for everyone.

Do you have any advice for getting more women into the innovstion ecosystem?

Supporting each other through active networks that connect women with people who can help them realise their dreams. And we need to help each other be clear about the problems we’re trying to solve: what purpose will our innovation serve? We need to be able to answer that key question.

Why is innovation important to you?

I’m interested in creating a more fair, just, healthy, sustainable and equitable society. The social challenges that we face to achieve this are mammoth. To overcome these challenges, we need to make sure that we are constantly innovating and learning from the experience and evidence of what works and what might work.

What drives you to make a difference?

The motivation for my work has always been the inequity that exists across our communities and within our community. I want to make sure that I can say to my daughter that I’ve done all I can to create a better community.

Do you have any advice for getting more women into the innovstion ecosystem?

Significant legal and structural reform is needed if we are genuinely committed to gender equality. It is not enough to just say that we care about equality – we also need to create a better environment for this. Organisations like YWCA Canberra in the ACT do amazing work in progressing this policy agenda.

Why is innovation important to you?

I love innovating because it upends the status quo with better ways. It fuses art and science. It’s equal turns creativity, experimenting, and building something tangible, bit-by-bit.

What drives you to make a difference?

Breaking down the barriers to positive social change. Social innovation drives me.

Do you have any advice for getting more women into the innovstion ecosystem?

There is no better time than ‘now’ to test that idea that won’t stop tapping on your shoulder. If you want the world to look a different way for women and men, your daughters, your sons, then don’t wait for someone else to do that thing. Be the one.

Why is innovation important to you?

The word is full of problems that are hard to solve and aren’t going away. There are more Black Swan, random and unpredictable, events that can’t be anticipated and require us to acknowledge that we cannot solve with the same thinking we used when we created them. We need new ways of responding and adapting to them, and their impact, when they happen. In a word Innovation.

What drives you to make a difference?

The globalisation of the world economies has also meant the marginalisation of women and girls. And that must change. I’ve spent most of my life and careers trying to effect change on behalf of my gender.

Do you have any advice for getting more women into the innovstion ecosystem?

Three things:

1. No matter what happens in your life: Get Up, Dress Up, Show Up and Never Give Up.
2. Have an internal compass and never let anyone else determine your self-esteem
3. Have Fun – you only live once, live it right and once is enough

Why is innovation important to you?

Innovation is important to me because we can’t keep doing things (eg: science, education) the same way and expect different results. The world is complex, our problems are complex, so we need innovative solutions.

What drives you to make a difference?

Communicating complex ideas in an accessible way, inspiring people, and fundamentally making the world a better place (via the wonders of science).

Do you have any advice for getting more women into the innovstion ecosystem?

We need more female role models and a range of businesses – there is still a misconception that the CBR Innovation Networks is for tech geek males! I think some support for more family friendly events (eg: childcare) would be helpful too.

Season 1

Why is innovation important to you?

For me, innovation within the fashion industry is long overdue. I want to see more diversity and inclusivity in model choices and in options for customers. I also want to see changes in how we consume fashion and a move away from fast fashion for the sake of our planet.

What drives you to make a difference?

Seeing my customers looking confident and fabulous in one of my dresses, regardless of their dress size, body type or gender, and the fact that they, in turn, will help someone else become more confident to be who they are is what keeps driving me to make a difference.

Do you have any advice for getting more women into the innovstion ecosystem?

Dream out loud! The world of start-ups and innovation isn’t just about tech businesses and aps. If you have a kick ass idea, talk about it, and find your local start up community. There is so much guidance and help available to help you get started. You won’t regret it.

Why is innovation important to you?

Innovation is important to me as a critical tool for social change. Solutions to complex and intractable social challenges can only come from fresh approaches that innovation can provide. Aside from social innovation, innovation in technology is also proving a powerful enabler for social change.

What drives you to make a difference?

My drive is deeply connected to my identity, as a working mother, as someone who experienced childhood poverty, and with experience as a family mental health carer. Everyone has a valuable contribution, with their talents and within their constraints. As a social innovator I am creating more space for these contributions.

Do you have any advice for getting more women into the innovstion ecosystem?

Innovation is not only about technology start-ups. Of course, we want to see more women and girls in technology innovation too. But we also need to broaden the conversation about innovation to enable more women to see themselves as innovators and see how they can fit within the innovation ecosystem.

Why is innovation important to you?

Innovation is daring to see the world as it could be. To innovate you need to take risks, be creative and create something that wasn’t there before. That is important to me.

What drives you to make a difference?

Quizling was solving my own problem- engaging kids – inspiring them to be curious and creators. So seeing that every day through Quizling means we are doing the right thing! It’s exciting!

Do you have any advice for getting more women into the innovstion ecosystem?

For other women… Don’t be intimidated by what you think an entrepreneur is! I have one phone and zero stilettos! For the men we work with… Women have amazing strengths that are essential for innovation. We are great communicators, networkers, creative problem solvers and have extremely high pain thresholds!! Too often in women these traits are called other names “gossipers, chatterbox, talkers, socialising, interfering”. And as the Chinese say “we hold up half the sky” – ignore that at your own peril!

Why is innovation important to you?

Innovation is progress towards a better world. It’s so easy to accept the status quo as being the best we can do for ourselves, but that’s stagnation. It takes imagination to see beyond, and once you’ve imagined other possibilities, progress towards them must be made.

What drives you to make a difference?

I’m driven by making an impact, and by doing something for myself. Exploring your potential is the most fulfilling thing you can do.

Do you have any advice for getting more women into the innovstion ecosystem?

If you have an idea, just start. Find out who can help you make it happen, listen to them and get involved. Accept and make peace with not knowing everything about whatever you’re doing – you’ll learn what you need as you need it. And CBRIN is the most supportive, engaged network of positive, knowledgeable and diverse people I’ve ever found. If you’re passionate about anything, you’ll fit right in.

Why is innovation important to you?

Innovation expands the realm of possibility and enables creative solutions to the world’s problems. Without innovation there is stagnation.

What drives you to make a difference?

Making a positive difference in the world creates a fulfilling and purposeful life. As Jane Goodall says “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make”.

Do you have any advice for getting more women into the innovstion ecosystem?

Do customer interviews with a wide diversity of women to find out what works for them and what it would take to get them involved in the innovation ecosystem. Provide part-time accelerators and incubators. Women are disproportionately over-represented within the part-time work force and need opportunities that account for this. Empower women to recognise their strengths and believe in their ideas then support them financially and socially.

Why is innovation important to you?

In my current role, on the face of it you could argue that there is not a lot that would be considered innovative. My team is focused on trouble shooting and fixing difficult problems in often tense, difficult and crisis situations. A lot of what we have to do is by the book, rigid and strict to get positive outcomes for our customers in the shortest possible timeframe. However, the truth is that in highly tense and crisis situations this is when innovation and creative thinking is of the upmost importance. It is often the new idea or the out of the box thinking that ultimately fixes a crisis situation.

What drives you to make a difference?

I still find it amazing that in Canberra, Australia, we can be the backbone and so important to many truly global scale applications and companies. To know how capable we are here and what we have built in such as short time frame is sometimes unbelievable. What really drives me is the realisation that we can not only compete with other companies in this space, but that when it comes down to it, we are truly leaders in this industry and on a global scale. I love making a tangible difference to our customer’s businesses and contributing to their success.

Do you have any advice for getting more women into the innovstion ecosystem?

It is pretty simple really, follow your heart. If you fundamentally believe in what you are doing and you have a passion for it, then go for it. The truth is that no matter what, success equals hard work but having a passion and belief means that hard work doesn’t necessary feel like “hard work”. There are no barriers, if you are passionate and good at what you do then you can truly achieve great outcomes in this new world of innovation, creation and technology.