Dr Irina Vetter in her lab.
Dr Irina Vetter in her lab.
8 March 2018

From running business schools or improving safety in our cities to studying witchcraft or saving the Great Barrier Reef – women at The University of Queensland are creating change in every field.

To celebrate International Women’s Day (March 8), the University will be highlighting some of the many outstanding women in our community.

Read about a graduate’s journey through motherhood and breast cancer, a PhD student who overcame her fear of spiders to study their venom, an urban planning expert who wants women to re-write the rule book and create safer cities, and a conservation scientist who is breaking glass ceilings.

We’ll be sharing their stories and more this week on the Small Change blog, and because celebrating women shouldn’t be relegated to just once a year, we’ll continue to post about a new woman each week until International Women’s Day 2019.

All of these outstanding women are working to create equality, raise the profile of women and support one another while tackling issues like:

  • improving agriculture in Africa
  • developing board games to inspire children to study science
  • working with spiders to find cures for diseases
  • saving the world’s threatened species
  • helping Solomon Islander women in the fishing industry
  • establishing a network of women scholars to battle sexual harassment
  • saving the Great Barrier Reef
  • studying ghosts
  • improving mental health research
  • increasing the role of women in sport
  • tackling neuroscience issues
  • improving Indigenous health.

Follow their stories and add your own using the #uqwomencreatechange tag, and keep up with our posts at Small Change.

UQ is actively working to improve gender equity across the University. Part of our commitment includes being an active participant in the SAGE Pilot of Athena SWAN, which aims to meaningfully improve gender diversity and inclusion through a rigorous accreditation framework.

Media: Katie Rowney, 3365 3439, Katie.Rowney@uq.edu.au