Jeanette Cheah”s edtech startup HEX has forged a partnership with the Toyota Community Trust to launch Highway to STEM, a free program that demystifies STEM career pathways for female and non-binary students from regional schools. The project will offer free STEM career training to 1000 students across Australia. HEX founder and CEO Jeanette Cheah said the… Read more »
It’s 411 BCE, and Aristophanes is slaying his audience in the Theatre of Dionysius with a mix of laughter and tears. In his play Lysistrata, the title character leads the women of Sparta and Thebes in a bold and humorous campaign—a sex strike—to end the devastating war between their two cities. On the surface, it’s… Read more »
Nearly 50% of women have considered not attending their workplace Christmas party because of concerns about safety, poor behaviour, or harassment, according to a recent survey by Male Allies UK. Given that Australia is the worst-developed nation for workplace bullying and harassment, statistics here are likely similar or higher. If you don’t have your own… Read more »
Australia’s gender pay gap has been shrinking year by year, but is still over 20% among Australia’s private companies, a new national report card shows. But that gender gap is even bigger at 25% among chief executive officers, according to figures collected for the first time in 2023–24. And the widest gap of all is among… Read more »
AI, underwater drones, deepfakes and online gambling are some of focus areas for the five tech recipients of the 2024 Churchill Fellowships. Fellowship awardees are granted up to $35,000 to fund four to eight weeks of overseas travel to investigate a topic or issue of national interest. “Fellows return home ready to challenge the status quo… Read more »
The Tech Council of Australia (TCA) is hoping to address the industry’s “women problem” by launching a certification framework for the sector to address equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) amid lingering tension over the organisation’s response to former board member Richard White. The TCA is gathering in Melbourne this week for the three-day National Tech… Read more »
It’s been a tough time for women in tech, both financially and emotionally, over the past 12 months. It’s been a well-documented struggle to attract venture funding, despite the oft-stated best intentions of VCs. On top of that, governments have withdrawn support, with the NSW government killing off a $10 million fund to back female… Read more »
LinkedIn News Australia recently interviewed me about the underrepresentation of women in the startup ecosystem. At first glance, the statistics paint a bleak picture; according to the Q3 Cut Through Venture report, only 4% of total capital raised in Australia went to female-only founded teams, and just 13% to female co-founded ventures. These dismal numbers… Read more »
For those who missed it, the Senate Inquiry into the Impact of Perimenopause and Menopause came to a close last month, with the committee detailing their 25 recommendations to Parliament. Without a proper look-in for digital health across any of the recommendations, we’re probably in for a long hard slog to see any real change… Read more »
Jessica Baird-Walsh has founded two startups, and is an angel investor and advisor, so she knows the path ahead for women founders all too well. And that’s why she decided to to something about it, launching Capital X – a free, community-driven network of startup and tech professionals committed to supporting women founders to fund… Read more »
In the world of venture capital, numbers tell a story, but rarely the full story. When I recently shared thoughts on LinkedIn about gender equity in Australian VC, the flood of DMs revealed a stark truth: we’re grappling with a more complex issue than simple statistics can convey. It’s time to look beyond the numbers… Read more »
Twelve startups – with 10 having female founders – have been selected for the NSW government-backed Techstars Sydney accelerator. Artificial intelligence features heavily in the cohort, which spans health to sustainable fashion, parenting and support for women entrepreneurs, including Jamie, led by two female founders, which is developing an AI companion for women to assist… Read more »
Talk is cheap when it comes to backing women in tech. But the surprising thing is that investing in them isn’t that expensive. Accelerator and investor Startmate, winner of Startup Daily’s Best in Tech Investor of the Year, has supported more than 800 women through its Women Fellowship programs over the last four years and… Read more »
The axing of the Boosting Female Founders program this year has left a vacuum in dedicated federal funding for women. Let that sink in! As a long time senior policy adviser, advocate and mentor to many diverse female founders, I know the Government has missed something critical – how are we going to boost female… Read more »
If the belief that having more women in venture capital will help address the chronic underfunding of female founders, then a new initiative backed by the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) will make the Sunshine State the room where it happens. Getting more women in Queensland’s VC industry is the aim of 77 Venture Fellows, which… Read more »
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