On International Women’s Day (IWD) Macquarie is celebrating the exceptional academics whose work is shaping the world in truly amazing ways and leading us to a sustainable future.

Under the UN theme ‘Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow’ we are putting the spotlight on women from disciplines as diverse as Science, Law, Medicine and Finance whose cutting-edge research seeks to solve some of the most pressing challenges society faces.

“International Women’s Day is an important day for celebrating our progress in gender equity, as well as keeping focus on our ongoing actions to create sustainable change, for the benefit of all members of the University community,” says Nicole Gower, Vice-President People and Services.

As joint Executive Sponsors of Macquarie’s Workplace Gender Equity Strategy Nicole and Professor Sakkie Pretorius, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), are both proud of the work achieved so far by Macquarie. Our ‘fixing the system’ approach to tackle the underlying systemic and cultural drivers of inequality inherent in the University’s structures, policies, processes, and culture has come a long way.

“I am excited to recognise and celebrate the tremendous achievements of women leading the charge to a sustainable and equitable future while also recognising that we should remain focused on what still needs to be done,” says Sakkie.

Distinguished Professor Lesley Hughes, Interim Executive Dean, Faculty of Science and Engineering and Co-Chair of the MQ Inclusion Committee reflects that sustainability is fundamentally an equity issue.

“While we know that ‘women hold up half the sky’ we also know that women and girls are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation,” says Lesley.

“However, no single discipline or sector of society can improve the situation alone – we need scientists, lawyers, economists, everyone, working together.”

Macquarie is proud to boast that many of our notable women are making a difference today for a sustainable future for us all. Here is a snapshot of just a few exceptional women from across our campus.

Professor Martina Linnenluecke

Martina is a Professor of Professor of Environmental Finance and leads the Centre for Corporate Sustainability and Environmental Finance. Research conducted by the Centre focuses on the transition from the corporate world’s over-reliance on environmentally unsustainable practices to a sustainable economy. Martina has extensive experience in working with government and industry and has authored the book The Climate Resilient Organization.

Martina says COVID-19 has introduced a whole new set of social challenges. “Our research is therefore focusing on the role of business in society and of corporate decision-makers, investors and policy-makers in identifying pathways towards creating positive outcomes for society through investments into the transition to a more sustainable future.”

“Gender Equality is one of the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations. It is important for many reasons – the involvement of women is important to address global health issues and population growth, to improve financial security and a more prosperous future, and harness the enormous female talent to support economic prosperity. Humanity cannot thrive and prosper if half of humanity is left behind”

Dr Rachael Dudaniec

Rachael is a Senior Lecturer in Genetics and Conservation Biology and leads the Landscape Genetics Lab  in the School of Natural Sciences. Rachael is an evolutionary and conservation biologist with a passion for applying genetics to solve problems that benefit the environment. This involves research across the animal kingdom, with a focus on insects and how they evolve under different conditions, such as under climate change, during invasion, as pests or as pathogens. Rachael conducts research across the globe, having published with dozens of collaborators and institutes across 20 different countries.

“I have always been inspired by the capacity of science to answer questions about how humans impact biodiversity and species’ responses to changing environments. This is the key driver behind my research questions, which will help us to navigate the environmental challenges we face”

Dr Michelle Lim

Michelle is a Senior Lecturer at Macquarie Law School. Michelle’s interdisciplinary scholarship occurs at the intersection between biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihoods. Her work focuses on futures-oriented biodiversity law research aimed at advancing equity and sustainability under conditions of unprecedented environmental change. Michelle is the Deputy Chair of the Biodiversity Law Specialist Group of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law.

“Novel current and future challenges mean that we need plural and rich ideas and inclusive processes to enable a thriving planet for people and nature,” says Michelle.

“All genders need to be able to bring all of themselves to think about the worlds beyond the current inequitable and unsustainable status quo.”

Associate Professor Seema Mihrshahi

Seema is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Sciences. Seema has a background in global health, epidemiology, public health nutrition and women’s and children’s health.  Her current research focuses on population-based approaches for improving healthy eating,  including sustainable healthy diets and dietary approaches to improving mental health. She is currently the convenor of the Determinants of Health unit in the Master of Public Health Program. Seema is a founding member of the Macquarie University Planetary Health and Equity Research Network (PHERN).

“Making diets more sustainable and reducing the pressure that the food production processes and agricultural practices place on the environment, water supply and land use is essential. Healthy sustainable diets have low environmental impacts, protect biodiversity and are nutritionally safe and adequate. At an individual level we could adopt a planetary health diet which not only means eating more fruits and vegetables, but less processed foods , eating seasonally and reducing waste.”

Renee Cawthorne

Renee is a Master of Research student in the School of Natural Sciences investigating Indigenous Science knowledges within University Curricular.  A Wiradjuri woman and the Manager of Aboriginal Education and Engagement at the Royal Botanical Gardens. She is responsible for leading projects within the Aboriginal Education and Engagement team and developing partnerships with local First Nations communities and organisations.

“Women, especially First Nations Women, are extremely underrepresented in STEM leadership positions,” says Renee.

“As a First Nations person I have a responsibility to look after my Ancestors scientific knowledge and care of the natural environment that has sustained this landscape for over 65,000 years. We can learn from First Nations people’s knowledge, and care for Country and use these sustainable practices to address the issues associated with climate change and discover new knowledges and ways of doing things.”

Professor Kirstie Fryirs

Kirstie is a Professor of Environmental Sciences in the School of Natural Sciences. Kirstie describes herself as a ‘fluvial geomorphologist’ meaning she studies how rivers work, how they have evolved, how they have been affected by anthropogenic disturbance and how we can better manage them using nature-based solutions. Kirstie is best known as co-developer of the River Styles Framework www.riverstyles.com that is used in many parts of the world in river management.

Kirstie says if rivers are in poor health, then the environment, society, economy and culture suffer. “My research and teaching philosophy aims to make an impact on the current and future sustainability of rivers and train the next generation of river warriors and practitioners”.

Kirstie reflects that in the academic area of geomorphology, the promotion and retention of women into middle-career and leadership positions is very low. “This means that diverse voices and views are not being heard. If we are to reverse the trends in river health and water resources quality being felt around the world, we need all people to work for a more sustainable future.”

Dr Sara Deilami

Sara is a Senior Lecturer in Electrical Engineering and Co-Director of the  Macquarie Sustainable Energy Research Centre in the School of Engineering. She is also a member of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Working Group at the Faculty of Science and Engineering. Her research interests are Grid integration, Electric Vehicle Charging, Renewable Energy Integration, Power Quality, and Power System Protection.

“Sustainability, is important as it helps quality of life without compromising our future generations’ resources, improve the environment as well as our health system,” says Sara

“For example, switching coal to renewables and petrol cars to electric vehicles can be a great solution to achieve net zero emission targets and decarbonisation.”

Get inspired with more women’s stories

Macquarie University is hosting an International Women’s Day Address today (Tuesday 8 March), and it’s not too late to register to attend via Zoom. The Address will be presented by Natalie Isaacs, founder and CEO of 1 Million Women – a global movement that inspires and empowers women and girls to tackle climate change by taking practical action in their everyday lives.

Register now for the Zoom event live, or to receive the recording after the event