“If it doesn’t make you grow, glow, or flow, it’s a no“; our new mantra care of Mel Jones OAM. 

Last week’s Australian Women’s Leadership Symposium in Brisbane was a powerful day of learning, connection, inspiration, laughs and tears.

We heard from incredible women across government, sport, community, and advocacy. Through real stories of authenticity, backing yourself and leading with empathy, the day was packed with valuable insights and meaningful moments.

Highlights from Brisbane were:

The Hon. Fiona Simpson MP Australia’s longest serving female member of parliament opened the day reflecting on new government initiatives such as the women’s economic security strategy women’s equality in her capacity as Minister for Women and Women’s Economic Security; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships; Multiculturalism

“Never allow anyone to put a ceiling on your expectations, particularly ourselves”, she implored.

Tricia Stroud’s keynote was packed with so much wisdom for the audience to take away and inform their journey, we’ll all be saying ‘excuse me?’ a lot more often.  

“There is a c-suite privilege that comes with the title – just like being white or a male. This is currency, spend it wisely” Stroud said.

Attendees then heard from a powerful panel discussion featuring some wonderful leadership advice from:

• Carina Nixon, Project Engineer, GPA Engineering: “I’ve never lost sleep at night because I’ve called something out, but I have lost sleep when I didn’t.”

• Geraldine Chin Moody, Non-Executive Director & Board Performance Principal spoke about thinking differently about leadership. “We really need to be thinking about how we run our organisations differently, and that’s about less hierarchy.”
• Sammy Herbert, Head of Developer Experience, SixPivot shared her experience changing culture and structures using storytelling and introduced us to the concept of Nemawashi.
• Gemma Lloyd, Co-Founder & CEO, WORK180 on empathetic leadership: “Just because a team member is quiet doesn’t mean they don’t have an opinion or expertise on it. We make sure we foster meetings that are conducive to the loud voices and quiet voices where we use virtual whiteboards and remember to say ‘what’s missing from this conversation?’”

A development session explored how leaders can integrate AI in organisations ethically.
“Recent data from the University of Melbourne shows that only 12% of AI researchers and 6% of software developers are women. AI is predominantly trained/developed by men, but its potential to disrupt jobs predominantly impacts women.” Dr Janet Smith told us.

We also celebrated the achievements of Anja Christoffersen, the QLD Winner of the 2025 Australian Awards for Excellence in Women’s Leadership.

Anja delivered a moving speech about being born with life-threatening conditions, leading and being an advocate for the disability community and her experiences of the Australian healthcare system and how she’s now helping to bring about change in healthcare policies and procedures.

 “Sometimes when you’re in the thick of it you can’t see the bigger picture…there comes a time when you need to trust the path you’re on, I encourage you to lean on your lived experience and ways that you can make a positive impact on your community too,” said Anja during her acceptance speech.

Winitha Bonney OAM spoke about focusing on ‘backing yourself’, to not rely on others, and giving permission to put yourself first.

We rounded out the day with energy and humour from Mel Jones OAM who had that gem advice: “If it doesn’t make you grow, glow, or flow, it’s a no.”

Thank you to everyone who joined us on stage, behind the scenes, and in the audience, for making this such a special day.

Advocacy Partner: Share the Dignity

Supporting Partners: Dreamworld, Stadiums Queensland, Cook Medical, Kanda