The judges of the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award today announced a stellar lineup in the Australian shortlist for the 2012 award.... I'm sure you'll agree it's going to be tough to choose just one winner amongst these entrepreneurs who span sectors ranging from fashion to food to industrial products.  The finalists are:  Read More

This one came through on my TEDx talks newsletter this morning... and it touched me with words and images every woman can relate to.  Inspired by Aung San Suu Kyi’s call to action, Morley composed this song and presented it to TEDxWomen.  Thought you might like it too... Read More

Australian businesswomen Gail Kelly, CEO of Westpac Group (Number 12) and Gina Reinhart, CEO of Hancock Prospecting (number 27) have made it onto the 2011 Financial Times Women At The Top list - alongside other leaders of enterprise from across the Globe.  The list is somewhat of a United Nations of business - with the top spot this year going to USA's Irene Rosenfeld, CEO of Kraft Foods, followed by Turkey's Gula Sabanci, CEO of Sabanci Holding and India's Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo. Read More

Last week I spent the better part of two days with Christine Nixon at a course called Women Achieving and Flourishing put on by Our Community in Melbourne.  If you get the chance to attend one of these programs in the future (register at OurCommunity if you’d like to be informed), I can highly recommend it.   Read More

Ronni Kahn is the founder of OzHarvest, a former Australian of the Year and a very dear friend of mine.  She is one of the few people I know who simply doesn't take no for an answer, and that goes a long way to explaining how and why OzHarvest has been able to rescue 8,131,939 meals (as of today!) that have been redistributed to those in need. Read More

Over the years, opinion on gender quotas for boards and senior leadership positions has been like a pendulum swinging from one side to the other.  Until relatively recently, many senior women in business were on the record saying an emphatic “no” to quotas.  The view by many educated, experienced and talented women had been that they want to make it to the top under their own steam.  But that seems to be shifting and it seems more and more now support the position of enforced targets and mandated quotas to address the massive gender imbalance.  Though it must be said, not everyone agrees. Read More

A special thank you to Karen James and the team at Women in Focus for inviting me to their official website launch party last week.  Held in a funky antique inner-city warehouse, it was a great chance for me to meet new women who are serious about business, reconnect with some friends and associates, and of course taste the decadent Champagne Jacquesson on offer (ahhhh, the Champagne!)  Read More

Gloria Steinem paved the way for feminism around the world and now, at age 77, she's as committed as ever to the belief that women deserve an equal footing to men... but according to Steinem we're not there yet.

In this interview Australia's own Belinda Luscombe, an editor-at-large of TIME magazine examines how Steinem has shaped feminist opinions and what she's learnt along the way...  Read More

This is a guest post from Catherine Porter at Linen Lifestyle who writes "I was fortunate to be invited to attend the Macquarie Women Work and Management Conference last week. From the start to the finish, the conference was organized to exceed our expectations." Read More

Last night at The Sydney Institute's lecture series Premier Anna Bligh delivered her key takeaways on the role of social media and our communities, in particular the role social media played during the Queensland floods and Cyclone Yasi disasters earlier this year.  Sitting in a small audience with the Premier I couldn't help being impressed by this articulate, calm and well informed leader - traits that we all observed in the wake of the Queensland disasters early this year.  Last night's speech is available as a podcast - you can listen to it here. Read More