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Well, May has been quite the month...

I’ve laughed, I've cried, I’ve felt immense gratitude, I've cried again! You know that rollercoaster... 

Much of the laughing and gratitude has been at the 3 fabulous events the FW team held this month. The first was our In Conversations event with Digital Health CRC CEO Annette Schmiede, then our virtual members connect meetup with Dr Mei Ling Yap on the path (or rather, lack of a path) as a clinician researcher and, finally, the launch of our 2025 Mentoring Program at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney.

At each of these events I was struck with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for this wonderful community that FW has become over the last 9 years. No matter the event type, the format, the people who are there, or their role within the health and medical research ecosystem, there is always a genuine sense of comradery, support and ambition. A special mix that is rare to find.

The tears... well, they have had little to do with our events but rather were in response to the massive learning curve I have gone on over the last few months, culminating in an important FW Advisory Board meeting and then a Strategy Day in May. In these meetings I was challenged, professionally and personally (in the best possible way), which, despite the tears, has given me a clear focus on navigating the direction of FW into the future.

I hope you enjoy this month's newsletter and the fabulous stories shared by some of our community, covering everything from empowering women and girls in sport, to advocating against medical misogyny on Tik Tok and Wikipedia and the Paralympics! And don’t forget to scroll to the end for everything we are loving right now...

Happy reading,

I’ve spent many years dreading doctor’s appointments. I always had this feeling like I had to justify being there in the consult room, that I was experiencing real symptoms, and not just being dramatic. This stemmed from negative past experiences – there was my heart condition that was initially dismissed as anxiety attacks, and daily pelvic pain and bleeding that was initially ‘normal’ and then later considered to be endometriosis.

When I spoke to my family and friends about this, it seemed like almost every woman had their own story about not feeling seen or heard as a patient. And when I did some more research, I realised that across Australia, women and men are treated very differently in our health system...

I have been involved with the Wikipedia’s Paralympic Project since 2011. Paralympic sport was not something I knew much about then – I just happened to be in the right place at the right time! Since then, I have travelled the world, attending various Paralympic competitions – especially those of my favourites, the Aussie women’s wheelchair basketball team (the Gliders). As part of the collaboration between Paralympics Australia and Wikimedia Australia, thousands of Wikipedia articles have been written that garner millions of page views each year.

My role as Wikipedian in Residence with Paralympics Australia has evolved over time...

The Writers Festival! We’ve been filling our month with Writers Festival events – (including one all about women in STEMM)! Here are some of our current favourite read recommendations inspired by the festival:

Till next month, your Newsletter Curator, Amy

Thank you to the University of New South Wales, Faculty of Medicine for investing in Franklin Women and our mission to create a health and medical research ecosystem where women thrive.