Carly Woods, Founder of GetMyRefund and Host of the Financial Survivor Stories podcast, shares her top apps and podcasts that can help you achieve financial freedom.

In today’s digital age, Australian women are flushed with an abundance of resources designed to help them take complete control of their finances.

Before I got on top of my financial freedom, I was living paycheck to paycheck struggling to afford a single meal a day. Now I run the country’s top consumer remediation organisation and rally for women who face situations like I once did every single day.

From budgeting and investing to career development and entrepreneurship, I’ve picked my top apps and podcasts that are empowering Australian women to be their best financial selves on their journey to total financial independence.

My top app picks

• Pocketbook: Pocketbook is an Australian budgeting app that enables women to track their expenses, set financial goals, and gain a better understanding of their financial health. It allows women to categorise their spending and receive insights into their financial habits, making it an ideal tool for budgeting and saving.
• Raiz: Raiz is an investment app that encourages users to invest their spare change. It rounds up everyday purchases to the nearest dollar and invests the change in a diversified portfolio. This app is an excellent way for women to start investing with minimal risk and allows them to get started on their investment journey a dollar at a time.
• She’s on the Money: Created by Australian financial educator and podcaster Victoria Devine, the She’s on the Money app offers a wealth of educational content and tools to empower women with financial knowledge and confidence.

The must-listen financial podcasts

As a financial podcast host myself, I share the collective goal of all other female finance gurus looking to spread education and stories of financial empowerment! Here are some of my favourites:

• The Pineapple Project: Hosted by journalist Claire Hooper, The Pineapple Project is a thought-provoking podcast that delves into the often complex world of money. It covers a wide range of topics, from tackling debt to investing, and offers practical advice to help women take control of their finances.
• Ladies Talk Money: Ladies Talk Money, hosted by Australian financial experts and authors Melissa Browne and Lacey Filipich, is a podcast that focuses on empowering women to take control of their financial destiny. It provides insightful discussions on budgeting, investing, and wealth-building strategies.
• The Happy Saver: Hosted by financial expert Ruth van Vierzen, The Happy Saver podcast offers a wealth of information about personal finance and investing, tailored to the New Zealand and Australian audiences. Ruth shares her own experiences and interviews experts to inspire women to achieve financial success.
• Financial Survivor Stories: Hosted by me, Financial Survivor Stories explores the stories of incredible Australian women who have faced major financial struggles and come out the other end. From losing everything to domestic violence to building a six-figure business from scratch – the guests are nothing short of inspirational and leave listeners armed with knowledge to know that no matter the circumstances, they can have financial freedom.

Empowering women to achieve financial freedom is not only a personal goal but also a societal one. By absorbing the knowledge these tools offer,  women can gain confidence in managing their finances, invest wisely, and ultimately secure their financial future.

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Comedian Celeste Barber a three part series on the Australian fashion industry called The Way We Wore, on the ABC.

“I really loved working on The Way We Wore, it was such an eye opener and I’m excited for Australia to get a glimpse into the fashion industry and the role it has played over the course of history,” says Celeste Barber.

The show uncovers the cultural and historical significance of fashion in Australia, revealing how the clothes we wear provide intimate and surprising insights into the evolution of our country.

Brimming with rich archival material, and deeply personal interviews with some of the country’s fashion greats, The Way We Wore lays bare why fashion matters and its underestimated but deep impact on our social history.

Episode one traces the evolution of fashion media, unraveling how and why it’s had such a profound effect on how we see ourselves. Episode two uncovers the stories of Australia’s fashion pioneers as they revolutionise what we wear. Finally, the last episode tracks the ascent of Australia’s fashion sector and asks why this industry has been undervalued when it generates more income than the beer and wine industry, and employs more people than mining?

Director Nel Minchin (Firestarter, Matilda & Me, Making Muriel) probes Australia’s fashion royalty for personal experiences, wise musings and behind the scenes insights. Interviews include: designers Collette Dinnigan, Alex Perry, Catherine Martin, Akira Isogawa, Camilla Franks, and Paul McCann, Vogue Editorial Director Edwina McCann, model Charlee Fraser, actor and writer Nakkiah Lui and more.

The Way We Wore kicks off on Tuesday 21 November at 8pm on ABC TV and ABC iview, with all episodes available to stream on ABC iview.

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This year at Sculpture by the Sea, we have seen digital and physical worlds merge to produce an immersive new ‘ARt’ experience. Snapchat and Australian artist Mond Qu are behind the project, using hyper-realistic ray tracing technology to create a ‘secret’ sculpture that visitors can unlock at Tamarama Beach.

Melbourne-based artist Mond Qu designed a spectacular gleaming AR artwork that interacts with the physical sculpture. Titled ‘Chasing the Sun’, the AR technology extends the on-site sculpture high into the sky and surrounds.

The sculpture is installed in the sand of Tamarama Beach, featuring more than 1,000 glimmering circular light reflectors in a geometric design. The reflectors scatter sunlight in many directions to create a dazzling display that changes as the sun rises and falls.

Mond Qu said, “Working with Snapchat has given me the opportunity to take my “Chasing the Sun” artwork into another dimension to create a unique blend of interactive project and sculpture, which portrays our profound connection with light.”

“The sculpture consists of two complementary facets – the physical and the digital. This allows exhibition visitors to navigate through time effortlessly with their fingertips, witnessing the sculpture’s transformation throughout the day”

If you’re unable to make it to Sydney to see Sculpture by the Sea, you can still use the Snapchat AR lens. The lens places the sculpture into your own environment, scaling the work to fit on a table, the floor or in any location in their surroundings.

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Mika Koelma, Co-Founder of Hey Zomi, shares how femtech is transforming women’s healthcare and is breaking taboos.

You’ve heard of fintech, biotech and edtech – now the term femtech has become ubiquitous in our modern day vernacular. But what does it actually mean and why should we care? 

Western medicine has historically been looked at through a gender-generic lens at best. More often than not, it’s been skewed with a male bias simply because of the gender of those at the forefront of scientific innovation and medical diagnosis. This left little room for the complexities and nuances of female health. Worldwide, there are countless stories of women receiving sub-standard treatment by a medical industry who doesn’t understand them, or worse, doesn’t care. 

This has given rise to the term ‘medical misogyny’ – a fatal cocktail of social prejudice, medical ignorance and research exclusion. Thankfully, it was only a matter of time before emancipation. And this time, it came in the form of industry innovation known as ‘femtech’. 

Femtech is shaking up the collective industries of science, medicine and technology as fearless females are creating solutions for issues that have quietly troubled women for years, menstruation being one of them. And the revolution has come at just the right time.

Femtech: breaking the taboo 

Once upon a time, conversations about periods were taboo. Nowadays, we gladly share lived experiences of our menstruation in clear sight. The anonymity of social media has broken down many social barriers of shame and secrecy, helping to normalise the act of menstruation – and in turn, the femtech products that support it. 

Real life is playing catch up. Hushed conversations about periods were once consigned to the school toilets – now, schools are offering free sanitary products and beginning to educate about bodies (although we still have a long way to go). 

Brands are on board with ‘Mission Destigmatise’ too. In 2020, Pantone released Period Red in an attempt to normalise menstrual bleeding. More recently, Nike changed the colour of England’s female football team’s shorts from white to a more period-friendly dark blue. 

For change to happen at a deep societal level, we need to have the backing of legislators. And it’s comforting to see that in some countries at least, there is progress being made. 

Societal and product progress

In Australia in late 2022, a newly established government announced a National Women’s Health Advisory Council would be formed to address medical misogyny and look at a range of women’s health matters including menstruation, reproductive healthcare and menopause. Australia will also create the first Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Clinics across the country, providing some no doubt welcome support to the one in nine women who suffer daily. 

In parallel, the Australian femtech industry is booming with apps to relieve your menstrual cramps, products to aid with your monthly flow and underwear to let you bleed freely. There is a groundswell of female-founded businesses who are changing the conversation around menstruation – and investors are sitting up and taking note. 

The period care market in Australia is big business, being valued at $630 million in 2020 with a projected growth of almost double that by 2030. Modibodi founder Kristy Young knows this all too well having recently sold her brand of leak-free period pants to a Swedish health and hygiene company for $140 million. 

Hey Zomi is another example of femtech in action, as the first menstrual disc to be designed and made in Australia, the disc is designed to fit bodies better than cups or tampons for a more comfortable flow, thus furthering this product innovation to eradicate the hassle and burden of periods. But what makes Hey Zomi any different from other reusable players in the market? Listening to women, and leaning into innovation. 

Hey Zomi have taken a deeper look at anatomy. Millennial sibling founders, Zoe and Mika, are of a generation raised on tampons and pads, and feel that women are still not educated enough on what goes on behind closed doors.

By looking at how and where the device sits in the body – cupping the cervix fully, rather than using suction – the Hey Zomi disc has revolutionised this space. Held in place by the pubic bone, the disc sits neatly tucked away, moulding to the individual’s unique body shape. Users are also raving about how it has relieved their menstrual cramps while going about their day with the device completely unnoticed. Wearers can even have intercourse with the device in place – mess free. 

Made from medical grade silicone means it has a life expectancy of up to 5 years, which also taps into other issues of today: cost of living, convenience and sustainability. So, the tide is changing. But is it more of a slow flow than a sudden surge? 

Are we there yet? 

Because for all the good stuff happening in culture and commerce, there is still a fair amount of pushback around femtech from society at large. A recent headline from a popular mainstream media outlet in Australia said it all: “Aussie’s gross idea bought for $140 million”.

In order to ensure the strides made by femtech companies can continue within the next generation, education is of paramount importance. Whilst menstrual education is happening more than it was 20 years ago, it is being taught inconsistently. Our governments need to mandate better, more inclusive menstrual health education beginning in primary schools, continuing throughout puberty and including boys.  

Socially, we need to think about how we use language. We need to ditch the old-fashioned stereotypes, cliches and euphemisms and call it what it is: simply bleeding, menstruation or periods. Language should be inclusive, reflecting the lived experiences of all menstruators. 

We should continue to support the reusables market as this combats period poverty and sustainability issues. Reusables can play a big part in tackling the expense of period care products, as can proper legislation like the removal of the tampon tax on all period products. Getting current and future menstruators to skill up now in the areas that matter is crucial, not just for those who menstruate, but for society at large.

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Iconic Australian fashion house Aje presented their Resort 24 collection ‘Element’ at Fashion Week this month in partnership with Samsung. The collection was showcased at Sydney Modern Project at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and paid homage to the brand’s 15 incredible years since it was founded.

To celebrate the anniversary, Aje integrated its signature early design elements, such as ivory denim with hand-embroidered patchwork, exaggerated whip stitching across necklines and seams; and floating silhouettes with plissé pleats, wire hems, and gathered ruffle accents.

We spoke to Aje founders Edwina Forest and Adrian Norris to hear more about their design inspiration for Australian Fashion Week, how they are embracing technology in their business, and their commitment to supply chain sustainability.

Could you tell us about the inspiration behind the Resort 24 ‘Element’ collection?

Edwina: This collection is truly a celebration and culmination of the last 15 years of Aje. While designing Resort 24, Adrian and I kept returning to the design codes that have shaped the brand since it began. In other words, the elements that make Aje, Aje—our appreciation for raw beauty, femininity with an edge, artisan sentiment and our Australian heritage. With ‘Element’, we sought to reinterpret these founding codes for who we are today, and will be in the future.

What signature design elements define the essence of Aje, and how was this showcased at Australian Fashion Week?

Edwina: Intertwined with the aforementioned elements, an intrinsic sense of undone elegance and a ‘barefoot luxury’ sensibility are very much at the heart of Aje and deeply infused within this collection. Every piece speaks to our love of craftsmanship and considered deconstruction, envisioned for the Aje Woman who gravitates towards versatile pieces that set her apart.

Congratulations on Aje’s 15-year anniversary! How did you pay homage to Aje’s history at Fashion Week? How has the brand evolved over the years? What is some of the feedback you get that you enjoy most?

Edwina: Our 15th anniversary is very much a proud moment to celebrate, and showing at AAFW this year is particularly special. We are incredibly proud of our Australian roots, so it is a privilege to pay homage to our heritage and reflect on how far we’ve come in preparation for this runway. Looking back at our archive with this collection, it’s been humbling and heart-warming to see all that we’ve created over the years, and how we’ve been embraced by both customers and local industry alike. 

You have made an exciting partnership with Samsung for Fashion Week this year, could you tell us how you incorporated technology as accessories into the Aje show?

Adrian: It was fantastic to collaborate with Samsung for the Aje Resort 24 runway. The fusion of fashion and technology was prominent among our guests at the show; with many accessorising their Aje looks with the addition of their sleek Samsung phones. The same was glimpsed backstage, where I saw lots of our incredible models capturing their own content with their Samsung phones.

What can we expect to see from Aje going forward? How is tech assisting these future endeavours?

Adrian: Our sights and movements are set towards global expansion. Following our first international presentation held in New York in September last year, and pop-ups in London and Paris with leading department stores, it’s the logical moment to continue exploring our opportunities abroad. With this in mind, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 has proven to be a reliable and luxury smartphone whilst travelling overseas. Besides being incredibly sleek in design, the high-quality camera has been great for content capture, and the widescreen display makes working on the go a breeze.   

How does tech impact your business?

Adrian: At Aje, technology is far more than just our systems and applications—it’s also our way of connection. It helps us stay in touch with our teams across 26 Aje and 15 AJE ATHLETICA stores, enables a deeper understanding of our customer and allows us to support them anytime, anywhere. We’re currently working on projects across AI, VM and loyalty, all of which will help our teams deliver exceptional experiences for our customers.

In what way has Aje adopted sustainability in its business?

Edwina: As a brand, we hold Aje Aware pillars as our guiding principles and recognise that sustainability is a journey that requires ongoing commitment and investment, with our team focused on driving positive social and environmental change through our supply chain. 

In 2022, we commenced our journey towards becoming a B Corp-certified company within the next three to five years. As such, we are always working to minimise our environmental impact, from utilising recycled and organic materials—which are among our preferred fibres—to constantly re-evaluating our practices and processes to emphasise recyclability and reusability where possible. 

Additionally, Aje is proudly a member of the United Nations Global Compact. This strategic policy initiative aligns our operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. 

For more on fashion, check out:

From Fashion To Farmer: Meet Vanessa Bell

5 Best Fashion Apps For A Sustainable Closet 

VAULT Showcases Vintage Designer Pieces At Melbourne Fashion Festival

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Apps are the perfect tool for making our day-to-day lives that little bit easier. Here, busy professional Penny Owens shares her favourite apps that she can’t live without.

Penny Owens is the Marketing and Brand Manager at Edenvale, Australia’s leading alcohol removed wine brand, globally recognised and exporting to NZ, UK, US, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, China, Korea, Taiwan and Canada.

With her entrepreneurial spirit and expert understanding of the commercial environment, Penny believes in the value a strong marketing strategy can bring to a brand and dedicates herself to breaking new ground through innovation and creativity. At heart, she’s a passionate foodie and a lover of all things culinary.

Penny’s favourite apps:

The Iconic

App Store

Google Play

Who doesn’t love this app? The Iconic is a great place to find all your favourite fashion brands in the one spot. With quick and reliable delivery and regular sales, it’s an app that’s hard not visit on a regular basis!

Woolworths

App Store

Google Play

The Woolworths app is probably one of my most used as it’s so convenient and saves time. On those busy days when you just can’t make it to the store, it’s a great way to quickly stock up on all the essentials…like a bottle of Edenvale.

Zoom & Microsoft Teams

Zoom: App Store, Google Play

Teams: App Store, Google Play

I know many people might be over this one after lockdown, but I still see the value of Zoom. I can do all my meetings from the one spot and not have to waste time travelling or stuck in traffic and you still get see the other person smiling on the other side of the screen.

Uber Eats / Menu Log

Uber Eats: App Store, Google Play

Menulog: App Store, Google Play

As you may have read, I am a very passionate foodie and love trying new things. On Uber Eats and Menu Log, I can get a quick snapshot of what’s around, new menu items at my favourite dinner spots or any new venues that have opened that I might have missed. Plus, the convenience and ease of having it brought to me is a plus! It’s also great for groceries in an emergency.

My Fitness Pal

App Store

Google Play

My Fitness Pal is great! Super handy if you want to keep a food diary, save meals and recipes or set yourself some health and fitness goals.  It can even help with things like activity tracking, so the number of steps you do in a day or if you want to record a workout.

Spotify

App Store

Google Play

Spotify, which I am sure everyone is familiar with, is also great. I love being able to listen to all my favourite artists, Spotify playlists and all of my go-to podcasts when I am out for a walk. Nothing puts you in a better mood than a walk in the fresh air with your favourite tunes.

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Dr Geoffrey Hinton, known as ‘The Godfather of AI’, has quit Google to speak up about the impending dangers of artificial intelligence.

He says that now he partly regrets his life’s work.

“I console myself with the normal excuse: If I hadn’t done it, somebody else would have,” said Dr Hinton during a recent interview in his Toronto home.

Dr Hinton’s career journey

75-year-old Geoffrey Hinton was an artificial intelligence pioneer throughout his career, greatly contributing to the technology’s development and success.

In 1972, as a University of Edinburgh graduate, Dr Hinton was one of the first to conceptualise the neural network – a mathematical system that is modelled on the function of the human brain. Neural networks recognize patterns in data, learn from that data, and use that learning to make decisions and predictions. While researchers at the time were skeptical of this idea, the neural network became a foundational building block of artificial intelligence as we know it today.

Dr Hinton proceeded to become a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University. However, during the 1980s, the vast majority of artificial intelligence research in the US was funded by the Pentagon. Dr Hinton was opposed to using AI for warfare and hence moved to Canada to continue his life’s work.

In 2012, Dr Hinton and two of his graduate students, Ilya Sutskever and Alex Krizhevsky, developed a neural network that became a breakthrough for AI. The technology was able to analyse large volumes of images and could teach itself to identify common objects like cars, dogs, and flowers. The level of accuracy achieved by the neural network had been previously deemed impossible.

The company founded by Dr Hinton and his students was acquired by Google for $44 million, and resulted in the subsequent development of more sophisticated AI technologies than ever before, such as ChatGPT. They went on to receive the Turing Award, which is often termed “the Nobel Prize of Computing”. Dr Hinton’s graduate student Ilya Sutskever is now the Chief Scientist of OpenAI, the company that developed ChatGPT.

In 2012, Dr Hinton did not have the same concerns that he has today. While AI could learn from patterns and generate powerful results, humans possessed far more intelligence at the time.

This gap in ‘intelligence’ is now closing.

Dr Hinton quits Google

On the 1st of May, Hinton resigned from Google after working there for almost a decade. He quit in order to speak freely about his concerns in the field and warn people about the dangerous speed at which generative AI is progressing.

This marks a crucial moment in the technology industry. Dr Hinton, who is a trailblazing expert in AI and who contributed substantially to its development over the years, has now become one of its biggest skeptics.

His departure from Google comes at a time when the usage of AI in our daily lives is at an all-time high. ChatGPT has sparked countless conversations around the ethics of AI, and with Bard and AI-powered Microsoft Bing racing to hit the market, skeptics question whether the aggressive rollout of these features will result in a myriad of unintended consequences.

After ChatGPT was released, over 1000 tech leaders signed a letter which advocated for a 6-month moratorium on the ethical development of new AI systems. A few days later, leaders from the Association for the Advancement of AI released their own letter about the risks of AI. Hinton signed neither of these letters at the time because he did not want to criticise Google while he was working there.

“I want to talk about AI safety issues without having to worry about how it interacts with Google’s business. As long as I’m paid by Google, I can’t do that”, Dr Hinton told MIT Technology Review.

So, what is so dangerous about artificial intelligence?

As AI systems rapidly evolve, Dr Hinton believes that they are becoming increasingly dangerous.

“Look at how it was five years ago and how it is now. Take the difference and propagate it forwards. That’s scary”, Hinton remarked.

“The idea that this stuff could actually get smarter than people — a few people believed that,” he said. “But most people thought it was way off. And I thought it was way off. I thought it was 30 to 50 years or even longer away. Obviously, I no longer think that.”

We already know that generative AI has issues regarding academic integrity, facilitating misinformation, and perpetuating historical biases. However, in the future generative AI could become a risk to jobs, completely transforming people’s livelihoods. It could replace manufacturing roles, paralegals, and customer service workers, among others. “It takes away the drudge work,” Hinton said. “It might take away more than that.”

There are also more dire concerns that AI could become a risk to humanity, with uncertainty surrounding how much control humans will have over AI as it becomes more sophisticated, and dangers associated with the development of autonomous weaponry.

“It is hard to see how you can prevent the bad actors from using it for bad things,” he said.

Dr Hinton has now made it his mission to promote the responsible use of AI. His vision is to encourage leading scientists worldwide to collaborate and explore ways to effectively manage the technology, ensuring that it doesn’t gain an upper hand over humanity. Hinton is advocating for regulations to keep up with AI innovation, and is urging Big Tech companies to thoroughly comprehend the potential risks of their technology before releasing it to the public

For more from Women Love Tech on AI, visit:

Professor Cath Ellis: ChatGPT And The Controversy Surrounding Student Cheating

What Does Google’s Answer To ChatGPT Really Mean?

Canva Introduces AI-Powered Design Features

Snapchat Joins The AI Chatbot Craze With ‘My AI’

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Snapchat recently announced a range of new features coming to the platform. This includes bringing the My AI chatbot to all Snapchatters, plus releasing other super nifty tools to help you get the most out of Snapchat.

Here’s everything you need to know about the updates:

My AI is now available to all users

My AI, Snapchat’s AI-powered chatbot, will now be available to all Snapchatters. My AI’s new capabilities can make recommendations for Snapchatters, from suggesting weekend activities for your family to getting the perfect lens recommendation to wish a friend a happy birthday. On top of this, you can @mention My AI in your group chats with family and friends, and ask it questions on behalf of the group. Soon, Snapchat+ subscribers will even be able to get generative visual snap replies from My AI.

New Programs and Features for Creators

Snapchat has unveiled new monetisation programs to help creators grow on their platform. Through Snapchat’s revenue share program, creators can have ads placed within their stories which will provide them with a recurring source of cash payouts. Creators with at least 50,000 followers, 25M monthly snap views and who post at least 10 stories a month can be eligible to join the Stories revenue share program.

Improved Calling Lenses

Social media is an indispensable tool when it comes to staying in touch with our loved ones, and Snapchat recently announced new updates to the platform to make staying in touch with friends and family easier than ever. One of these updates is the improved calling lenses. Calling lenses will let you appear in one frame together during calls, making you and your friends (literally) closer than ever. Soon, you’ll even be able to play games and puzzles while on a call together.

Making Snapchat Your Most Personal Camera

Snapchat is making it easier for the community to find the most helpful, relevant Lenses at the right time — making Snapchat feel like the most personal camera in the world. Using generative AI, Snapchatters can now transform themselves and the world around them into an animated sci-fi scene through the Cosmic Lens.

Snapchat is starting to make recommendations for lenses that fit within the context of a photo or video you capture. By analysing the camera’s view and using APIs that understand factors like the local weather forecast and time of day, Snapchat can provide you with the perfect lens for every moment. Over the next few months, Snapchatters will find more Lens recommendations when
people or pets are captured in the frame

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In Australia, women make up only 15% of the workforce in STEM-qualified positions. Senior management and CEO positions have even lower female representation, sitting at 23% and 8% respectively, emphasising the importance of mentorship programs.

Jess Box, Senior Director of Product Insights & Analytics at Linktree, and previously the Managing Director at Girls in Tech Australia attributes her success to her mentors and aims to pass on those lessons to future generations. As a woman in tech, she recognizes the significance of mentorship in reducing the gender gap in STEM and hopes to empower more women to work in the industry.

We spoke with Jess to find out more about her career journey so far, why mentoring has played a vital role in her success, and her advice to young women aspiring to pursue a career in tech.

1. Could you tell us about your career journey so far?

I’m someone who is driven by wanting to have an impact on the world through bringing together smart people. That’s always what’s tethered me when making decisions throughout my career journey.

I spent the first decade of my career working with some of the most prolific brands locally and globally (including Toyota, Slack, Australia Post and Sportsgirl) and growing VC funded startups like Finch. I learnt so much about what it means to build an obsession with customers and solve their problems from the breadth of companies I had the pleasure of working with.

I also ran Girls in Tech Australia for the last 6 years from its early days in Australia through to being nationwide. I’m passionate about changing the game for women in tech and business by creating deep communities, opportunities and connections that didn’t exist before.

I then joined Linktree (where I am currently!) as one of the first leadership hires outside of the founders and have seen the company go from 2M users to over 35M. What a ride it’s been!

Outside of Linktree I’m passionate about advising companies on growth, product and insights including being on the board of Banjo Home Loans, a coach at Folklore’s Product Chapter and many early stage stealth startups.

So, what has been the through line of all these experiences and continues to light a fire in my belly? Incredible teams built with empathy and a strong sense of belonging. I’m excited to continue to obsess over up-and-coming talent and provide pathways for them to step up and achieve things beyond what they could have imagined.

2. How has empathy played an important role in your leadership style?

Immensely, is the short answer. But I’ll give you the long one!

I’m naturally very empathetic so I lead from that place. I have cultivated my leadership style which is to ensure I see my team as whole people, creating clear goals that I hold them accountable to, but at the end of the day we’re all driven to have an impact – I lead from that shared understanding.

I come across bias everyday, so my personal approach is to call it out and acknowledge it when it happens (including when I do it!). It’s so important to give others feedback as they often don’t know they’re doing it and you can be the one to create change.

3. Vulnerability is often mistakenly seen as a sign of weakness in leadership. How have you utilised vulnerability to build trust with your team?

Great question. I do think this is a bias that exists in society based on the expectations that work and life are separate. This is no longer the case and I absolutely see vulnerability as a strength, not a weakness.

How can you expect to get the most out of your teams if you don’t share your own weaknesses and own up to mistakes?

A great example of this is leading a remote team. Most of my team are in the US and I’m based in Australia so we don’t get much face-to-face time directly, but we spend our virtual time sharing and going deeper on who we are as individuals. To kick off our team meetings we share how we’re feeling out of 10 and what we’re grateful for. This ensures that I put my hand up when I’m not feeling so great, but we’re also there to celebrate when there’s wins too.

This approach cultivates deeper relationships and trust, so when there’s challenges nothing is taken personally because you know people as ‘whole people’ not just who they are in their Slack profile.

4. Who are your leadership idols, and how have they influenced your leadership style?

I’m going to limit this to 3 because I could go on for days (and you’ll see there’s a theme on my passion for empathy!):

1. Brene Brown – the work of Brene has shaped the foundations of how I think about leadership and draw from everyday, particularly as a woman in tech. She pushes for candour as a way of being kind, using courage as a way to push for greatness and ultimately holding others to a high standard around you.
2. Jacinda Ardern – Jacinda’s approach to leadership looks and feels different to so many in politics that I absolutely idolise she was able to push to the top and stay there, but also know when is her time to bow out. Her grace, poise and clarity is what makes her a great leader.
3. My Mum – I had to include my Mum, she’s a superwoman! She never put a ceiling on me and opened so many doors and opportunities I never would have thought of. I take a lot of my care in leadership from her.

5. How can mentorship help with reducing the gender gap in STEM fields?

The challenge I see in the tech industry for women in particular is the lack of role models. This stems from underrepresentation of course which we know given women are only on  34% of ASX 200 boards. The concept of “you can’t be what you can’t see” is something I always share with people I mentor and also wider leadership teams in the companies I work with. How can you know what opportunities look like if you can’t see them? We need to get much better at this and mentorship plays a critical role.

For me, being a mentor is about being a champion for others. I see my role as shining a mirror up to what people already know, rather than crystal balling their future for them. This looks different for each person as everyone has different needs, desires and goals, both in their professional and personal life. I pride myself on leading with empathy, and remain committed to creating an open, comfortable and safe space for people of diverse backgrounds to share, while I listen.

6. What final advice would you give to young women aspiring to pursue a career in tech?

The best advice I’ve received is “run fast and break things”. It was said to me by a male champion early in my career who has continued to champion me in any room he enters. What this advice meant to me was to never set a ceiling for myself and always push for greatness. I have taken this on throughout my career (it’s particularly helpful in startup and scale up environments!) and regularly push for the same in others, so I’d encourage all young women to not put a ceiling on their goals and dreams.

The post Why Mentors Matter: The Power Of Women Supporting Women In STEM appeared first on Women Love Tech.

Samsung has announced their latest AV lineup today, and yet again, the brand has continued to revolutionise the home electronics industry. The launch includes a new range of Samsung OLED TVs joining its premium Neo QLED 8K & 4K TVs, Q-Series soundbars, and lifestyle display options.

The products were developed based on three fundamental principles:

1. Bigger is better when it comes to TVs. Samsung has found that when customers purchase a large-screen TV, they are highly unlikely to regret their decision. They have also found that the number of customers interested in purchasing large TVs is growing rapidly.

2. Large-screen TVs need big picture quality and big audio experiences.

3. Samsung TVs deliver more than their core promises. Through smart home features, Samsung’s goal is to seamlessly deliver more efficiency into the daily lives of their customers.

Jeremy Senior, Vice President – Consumer Electronics, Samsung Australia, said “Samsung understands that technology should empower and enhance every person’s life. That means making big screen experiences more accessible, more intuitive, and more personalised to Australians. In combining our market-leading TV innovations with unique software solutions such as SmartThings, we’re ultimately transforming our TVs from being entertainment units to sitting at the centre of Australian smart home experiences.”

Here’s a rundown on what you need to know about the new features:

Samsung Smart Home Features

Via Smart Hub, the new range of QLED and OLED TVs has SmartThings and the Zigbee & Matter Thread One-Chip Module built in. This means that you can easily integrate all of your home’s smart devices and appliances through the TV, providing more convenience in your day-to-day routine.

SmartThings allows you to connect your TV to your air conditioner, dryer, lights, blinds, and more. For example, if you are wearing a Samsung smart watch and your resting heart rate gets to a point that signals that you have fallen asleep, this will switch off the lights and turn the bedroom TV off. Another example is that your TV can alert you if your fridge has been left open accidentally. This not only makes your life easier, but it also increases the energy efficiency of your home.

“Samsung is paving the way for smarter homes via support for Matter,” said Jeremy Senior. “Thanks to this collaborative mindset and the open nature of the SmartThings platform, Australians can build a network of connected devices that makes their home smarter and their lives easier.”

Samsung Neo QLED 8K & 4K

The new Samsung Neo QLED 8K and 4K televisions offer stunning picture and design, dynamic audio, and seamless connectivity with other smart devices. They are the perfect choice for bright living spaces due to the Samsung Quantum Mini LED technology which powers over 33 million pixels, providing over a billion shades of colour. Thanks to the advanced Neural Quantum Processor, the TVs automatically upgrade content to 8K or 4K resolution, making details clearer and more vivid than ever before.

The 8K and 4K QLED televisions are offered in incredibly immersive screen sizes, ranging from 43 inches to a massive 98 inches. The anti-glare and ultra-wide angle features ensure that the television content can be viewed in vivid colours at any angle or light.

Samsung OLED Range

In addition to the Neo QLED 8K & 4K televisions, Samsung has launched two new products in the OLED range: the S95C and S90C. These televisions are also powered by a Neural Quantum Processor, and contain 8 million self-illuminating pixels comprising 3 subpixels for an incredible colour display.

Motion enhancements have been included in this range to ensure that high-speed games and movies appear consistently crisp. Both models boast blazing-fast speeds up to Motion Rate 200, while Game Motion Plus achieves up to 144Hz 4K VRR.

Perks for Gamers

The new range of premium QLED and OLED screens also come with added benefits for gamers. This includes the integration of Xbox Game Pass with the TVs, which provides console-free cloud gaming. Additionally, gamers can now fully immerse themselves in their gameplay, as the Neo QLED 4K uses high-performance graphic cards that support 4K resolution at a fast pace.

Cinematic Audio

If you want to want to get cinema-quality audio in your living room, the new Q-Series and S-Series soundbars are the perfect addition to your setup. Samsung TVs, including the Neo QLED 8K and 4K, Samsung OLED, The Frame, and The Serif pair seamlessly with these new soundbars. SpaceFit Sound takes the personalization of the home cinema experience to another level, by automatically calibrating the TV and soundbar to the specific size and layout of the room. By emitting test tones throughout the space whenever the TV is turned on, SpaceFit Sound optimizes the audio settings for a truly immersive viewing experience.

For more on the latest developments in smart home technology, check out:

Smart Home Designs Trending Now!

Smart Home Hacks To Keep Your Home Safe When You Are Away

Make Your Smart Home Smarter: Invest In The Right Devices

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