We’ll be discussing Gender Quotas in the Workplace with…

Ruth Medd – Women on Boards

Ruth has been pursuing a career as a non-executive director since 2000. She is Chair of Australian Ethical Superannuation Ltd, Executive Chair of WOB Pty Ltd (Women on Boards) and a director of the National Foundation for Australian Women. She is a former director of The Infants Home Ashfield and the NSW Casino Control Authority.

Her NED experiences to date have enabled her to contribute her finance and business management expertise as well as her in depth understanding of the public policy, regulatory and business interface. Ruth is a builder of coalitions who influences issues in the national interest.

Prior executive roles include the Executive Director of the Australian Association of National Advertisers and senior positions with Telstra, the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal and the Federal government.

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Julia Newton-Howes – CARE Australia

Julia Newton-Howes became Chief Executive of CARE Australia in October 2007. As CEO she has focused on ensuring gender equality and women’s empowerment are central to CARE’s programs. She has emphasised the importance of measuring the impact of CARE’s work, on improving systems to ensure effective use of funds and on growing the number of Australians who understand the importance of supporting women to overcome global poverty. Julia is on the Board of CARE International and is Vice President of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID).

Julia joined CARE Australia from AusAID, where she was the Assistant Director General. While at AusAID, she was posted to Vietnam as Counsellor (Development Cooperation) and was an adviser for two years to Australia’s Executive Director to the World Bank, based in Washington DC.

Julia was born in India and spent her early life in Zimbabwe, leaving to attend Imperial College at London University, where she obtained a bachelor degree and PhD in science. After spending a number of years in scientific research in Australia, Julia decided to pursue her passion for development.

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Jessica Montague – Freelance Journalist (prev. Madison Mag)

Jessica Montague is a Sydney-based freelance journalist with almost 10 years’ experience working in print media. For most of her career, Jessica worked at madison magazine one of Australia’s most popular women’s fashion/lifestyle titles.

At the time of Madison’s closure in mid 2013, Jessica had risen to Acting Features Associate and was responsible for editing and producing much of the magazine’s content each month. At present, Jessica contributes to titles such as Cosmopolitan and Women’s Fitness, and works on copywriting and advertising tasks on a project-by-project basis.

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Carmel McGregor – Australian Defence Force

Carmel McGregor is the Deputy Secretary Defence People, Department of Defence. She was awarded a Public Service Medal earlier this year, Carmel is a highly respected leader who has worked across a range of departments, including the Australian Public Service Commission, Immigration and Citizenship and Centrelink.

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