"I feel insanely lucky every day at work, because my job is at the greatest workplace- the woodlands and wetlands trust. Not only do we get to work on cutting edge science (such as the reintroduction of extirpated species), but we get to teach the public about science in the sanctuary and wetlands. At the trust we epitomize girl power: our whole office sits on the shoulders of eight passionate and talented women. These women inspire me, with the way they dedicate their lives to long term ecology projects that will help inform policy decisions, and they are committed to improving the ecological literacy of Canberrans who visit Mulligans Flat and Jerrabomberra wetlands. We are powerful thinkers. We are gifted organizers. We are formidable field researchers. We are an unstoppable team. 

"I think that campaigns to encourage young women and girls to engage in STEM at the school and tertiary level need to be incredibly cautious in their approach. It is undoubtedly essential that aspiring girls in STEM are not held back by conservative views on gender roles. But likewise, the projects that attempt to support girls need to ensure they do not unwittingly perpetuate the issue. This can happen if campaigns reduce a woman's success in STEM to being a woman. Reducing their achievements to their gender is detrimental in two key ways. Firstly, it belittles the immense contribution of women to science, whose innovations are important in their own right, not just because they came from a woman. Secondly, this suggests that the glass ceiling exists at the low bar of "being a scientist", rather at the leadership, policy, and academia levels. Girls absolutely need to be encouraged in STEM, but this encouragement cannot come at the expense of authentically representing our achievements."