The Real Women Unreal Stories podcast celebrates 25 years of Women in Technology and is a gift to you from our 2022 major partners Optus and the Queensland Government and our 2022 Powered By Partners  CSIRO, QUT, Data#3, Auto & General and RSL Queensland

Hosted by Award winning journalist and podcaster Nance Haxton, you’ll learn the inspiring stories of six women from the heart of the WiT community whose impact has created ripple effects felt across Australia’s digital world.

During this inspiring interview, you’ll hear from:

WiT founding members Sonja Bernhardt, Ann Uldridge and Bernadette Hyland-Wood who reflect on WiT’s humble grassroots beginnings when a small group of 10 female technology pioneers got together in 1997 to brainstorm how to better support each other and amplify the achievements of other Queensland women like them working in the emerging yet male-dominated technology industry. They also reflect on how the organisation and community has evolved over the past 25 years to become one of the biggest communities for professional women in Australia that is dedicated to advancing, connecting, empowering and uniting women from across all fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

2022 WiT Board Director Bronwyn Venus reflects on the harsh challenges faced growing up in rural Australia, her unconventional pathway into the world of science and the ‘sliding doors moment’ that made her truly appreciate her impact on others and the world around her – further fuelling her drive, passion and confidence to drive change as a science leader and advance into board leadership to extend her impact and influence.

2022 WiT Chair Iyari Cevallos reflects on growing up in both Australia and Mexico. She also discusses why the annual WiT Awards play a crucial role in empowering women and why it is important to continue having conversations with advocates, change-makers and influencers in organisations, to highlight the additional barriers and bias people from culturally and linguistically diverse can face in the workplace.

WiT Member Lynore Close shares her journey from working as a farm hand in the Adelaide Hills to becoming the first female indigenous ICT trainee in South Australia and building a career in IT – a pathway Lynore thought was not even an option for her. Lynore talks about the loneliness she felt during the early years of her IT career and why it is important to have community support from other people who have faced similar challenges. Lynore also shares her aspirations to give back to her community by being a role model and leader for young First Nations girls and women like her to consider careers in IT.

Click the media player below to listen to the Real Women Unreal Stories podcast interview

Or click here to listen to the interview in SoundCloud

Thank you to our 2022 Powered By Partners

We are grateful for the generous support received from our 2022 major partners Optus and the Queensland Government as well as our 2022 Powered By Partners CSIRO, QUT, Data#3, Auto & General and RSL Queensland so that we can continue to deliver the programs, events (including our flagship WiT Awards) and initiatives that are critical to our purpose of unlocking the potential of women in technology and across the wide world of STEM in meaningful and exciting ways.

The Real Women, Unreal Stories podcast interview was produced for WiT by Wings Public Relations and hosted by Nance Haxton.