FW March Newsletter

March 2024

The big news this month is that we have just launched our first in-person events for the year (with a live stream as well, hoping more of you can join us) on an emerging concept in the workplace – authentic leadership: the idea that we can turn up to lead projects, teams and organisations in a way that is true to our authentic selves.

We chose this event topic because it was very personal to many of the FW team, and I dare say, for many of you too.

You see, I can still vividly remember the day early in my career when someone told me that I was ‘too smiley’ to be taken seriously and that my happy personality would get in the way of my career goals 🧐. So, from that moment on, I tried to morph into ‘someone else’, hoping this would increase my chances of career success. Over the last few years, I have eagerly watched on as role models have emerged who look, and act, more like me. This has given me the confidence to own my uniqueness, and I have slowly begun to realise my personality is what sets me apart, not what holds me back.

For this event we have brought together some amazing women, representing different career levels and organisations, who are leading their way.

I hope you can join us for this important conversation. Until then, please enjoy this month's newsletter where we share stories from women who are each role models in their own rights – from making bold career moves, to navigating unpaid caregiving roles and championing inclusion for those who are hearing impaired.

Happy reading,

March 8th was International Women’s Day!, with the important theme – Invest in women: accelerate progress
Congratulations to the recipients of our 2024 Round 1 Carer’s Scholarships! Applications for Round 2 are now open, and you can read more about the impact of these scholarships later in this newsletter
Applications for Nature’s 2024 Inspiring Women in Science Awards are still open, closing on 8 April
An interim report on the findings and recommendations of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Industry Reference Group was released, with a call to invest in systems change
EoIs are open for the 2024 Soapbox Science events in Sydney and Melbourne, bringing research to the streets and accessible to all (organised by our friends at STEM Sisters!)
Science and Technology Australia President Sharath Sriram delivered a National Press Club of Australia Speech on Australia's future
NHMRC and Consumers Health Forum of Australia are collaborating to review the 2016 Statement on Consumer and Community Involvement in Health and Medical Research, with the Australian Health Research Alliance conducting a number of engagement workshops over the coming months
Congratulations to the two new 2024 Snow Fellows!
Applications opened for the NSW Government 2023–24 Investing in Women Program
Australia's first national Centre for Sex and Gender Equity in Health and Medicine was launched! Applications for the Centre Director close on 1 April
Registrations opened for the Telstra Health Brilliant Connected Women in Digital Health Network webinar on 18 April 2024, on the topic of pathways to professional peace
EoIs opened for the HCF Research Foundation Health Services Research Grants 2024 Program, for funding from 1 Jan 2025
The NSW Women of the Year Awards were held – congratulations to all the finalists and recipients!
Applications opened for the 2025 Australian Academy of Science honorific awards and funding opportunities
The findings of the #EndGenderBias survey were released, including that two-thirds of women reported they experienced healthcare-related gender bias or discrimination

I lead the Social Inclusion research program – my work focuses on increasing understanding of the role that social determinants play in the prevention, treatment and ongoing management of mental ill-health, particularly in the early stages for young people. As part of my work, I’ve developed a measure of social inclusion, the Filia Social Inclusion Measure (F-SIM16) that is now being used and validated in different countries and languages around the world.

As a research fellow, attending conferences, presenting findings and networking are all important parts of my role, helping to build connections and increase the visibility of my work. As a caregiver, attending conferences can be a logistical nightmare. I hold multiple caregiving roles – all important, all emotionally and practically exhausting but rewarding. These roles make attending conferences particularly challenging – who can step in and be the multiple me’s that I have to be?

Thanks to the 2023 FW Carer’s Scholarship, I was able to attend the 2023 Society for Mental Health Research (SMHR) conference. It was a ‘local’ conference – across the country – which required a few days away but without the extensive travel time of an international trip. I presented findings from a key piece of work and also received the 2023 Professor Helen Herrman award for social mental health research, an award that I would never have applied for had it not been for the FW Carer’s Scholarship providing the support for me to attend. Beyond these achievements, I had time to connect with colleagues, I made new friends. I met existing collaborators in person and formed new relationships with people that I’m now working with to shape exciting new opportunities. I came home feeling refreshed and energised.

I love knowing that other women have this same opportunity through the FW Carer’s Scholarship. Not only does it provide practical support, but it helps to feel seen by someone (or a group of women), for our efforts to achieve all we can in our careers, despite our caregiving demands. We all deserve recognition for the juggling act we perform daily. It’s so important for us to celebrate our achievements, and by shining a light on what we can achieve despite our busy lives, we will hopefully pave the way for a more inclusive and supportive research community.

Where do you come from? This is a common question I receive after meeting someone new. I was born in Australia and raised in Australia yet people think that I have an accent. My accent is a speech defect – I have had profound hearing loss since I was a young child.

I was raised in a small country town (Balranald) in southern NSW. When I was 3 (early 1970s) I was in hospital for 3 weeks with a life-threatening illness. When I recovered enough to go home, I was placed on strong antibiotics while my body healed after having had an open wound for a prolonged time. Those antibiotics likely caused my hearing loss.

Growing up in an isolated country town has many benefits but also disadvantages – access to medical specialists is one. By the time I was diagnosed with profound hearing loss (I have no high frequencies), I was 8 years old. The specialist told my parents there were no hearing aids that were suitable for me. Between the ages of 12 and 19 I did not have any hearing assessments. I did not have any assistance at school, teaching myself to lip read. I love learning and obtained the marks to do medicine but chose to do a science degree. I also love music and sang in two school choirs (our seven-person madrigal choir won eisteddfod competitions against adult choirs!).

I fell in love with blood cells in my second year of university, and in 1995 I became the first person from Balranald to receive a PhD. Today I am one of the most senior women in blood cell research in Australia and I have made significant contributions to my field, for which I am internationally recognised. I am also very open about my disability – having a disability does not mean that we are not able to make major contributions to academia – we can and we do.

I received my first pair of hearing aids when I was in my second year of university. Hearing aids are not perfect and, in my situation, they provided minimal benefit – without lip reading, I could only repeat 6% of words. In 2018 I underwent my first cochlear implant. There were no guarantees that I would adjust – the longer you have had hearing loss before undergoing a cochlear implant, the less likely it is to succeed. Mine did succeed and I received my second cochlear implant in 2021. I can now repeat 80% of words confidently without lip reading (and thankfully, while it sounds a bit different, I still love music!).

Improving accessibility for people with hearing loss! Did you know not all people with hearing loss know or use sign language, and unfortunately, sign language is not universal and differs in many countries? Here Louise shares some suggestions for us all to help improve accessibility for people with hearing loss:

Many virtual platforms (such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex) have free closed captioning available. You can enable it when setting up a link, and this allows people to turn the closed captions on at their end. While automated captioning is not perfect (especially when scientific terms and jargon are being used), it does make a difference.
When giving a presentation, make sure you have sufficient text on each slide to enable people with hearing loss to understand what you are presenting. One way of testing this is to present your slides to someone else without speaking. If they cannot follow your presentation it's highly likely that a person with hearing loss will not be able to either.
Always use a microphone for presentations when one is available, I guarantee there will be at least one person in the room who needs it.
When planning events, try to avoid rooms that are very echoey – these are a nightmare for people with hearing loss! Likewise, noisy environments are virtually impossible for people with hearing loss to hear/network in. A quiet (and safe) place available close by might offer a solution.
If someone does not respond to your questions in a way you would expect, do not automatically assume that they are rude – they might not have heard you (or understood you). Try and make sure that they realise that you are speaking to them. Not all people are comfortable with declaring their hearing loss.
If someone with a hearing loss is giving a presentation and you are aware of their hearing loss, ask them if they need assistance with questions. Having someone closer to the presenter repeat the question can often make a huge difference in their ability to hear and respond to the question. I often ask people who are chairing the session to do this for me and it does make a difference.

Thank you, Louise for sharing these recommendations!

Til next month, I will leave you with this story to put a smile on your dial, your Newsletter Curator, Amy.