The She Loves Tech Oceania Regional Pitch Finals is on in Melbourne this Monday and is set to be a landmark event, showcasing some of the most innovative women-led and women-impact tech startups from across the Oceania region. As the world’s largest community and acceleration platform dedicated to closing the funding gap for women in… Read more »
Australia’s first dedicated pre-seed venture fund, Maxine Minter’s Co Ventures, has closed its first fund after hitting its $5 million target. Co Ventures Fund 1 is the result of nearly two years of work by Minter, who started fundraising in September 2022, before announcing the launch of her fund in April 2023. The support from… Read more »
The federal government’s Boosting Female Founders (BFF) grant program was secretly killed off in the federal budget, with only two-thirds of the $52 million allocated spent. The program’s end with $17 million still in the kitty was reportedly the result of an internal review by the federal Department of Industry, Science, and Resources (DISR) that… Read more »
If the belief that having more women in venture capital will help address the chronic underfunding of female founders, then a new initiative backed by the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) will make the Sunshine State the room where it happens. Getting more women in Queensland’s VC industry is the aim of 77 Venture Fellows, which… Read more »
More than 30 startup founders and execs, including Zonely’s Alicia Nagle and Stephanie Bofinger from FemPro Armour, have been recognised among the 100 most powerful women in Australian sports innovation. The second edition of the ‘Women in Sports Innovation’ report, which recognises the outstanding contributions of emerging and established leaders in sports innovation, was released… Read more »
The award-winning US documentary Show Her The Money, about venture funding for female founders, will have its Australian premiere later this month, with screenings in Sydney and Melbourne. The film is being presented by SheBacks.Me, a community organisation which has emerged out of SheEO to support Australian female founders and investors to close the gender… Read more »
Last week, Science and Industry Minister Ed Husic announced with little fanfare that the position of Australia’s Women in STEM Ambassador would be discontinued, effective three days later. The role was created in October 2018 “to encourage girls and women to study and work in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields”. Astrophysicist Lisa Harvey-Smith… Read more »
Nearly four months after the landmark Pathway to Diversity in STEM Review, handed its final recommendations to industry and science minister Ed Husic and his department, the sector is still waiting for a formal response from the government. But this week, Husic implemented the first change in the wake of the report, calling time on the… Read more »
Press Play is a pre-accelerator program for women looking at stepping outside their corporate, scaleup or startup jobs to become a startup founder. It’s designed to take them from employee to entrepreneur in 12 weeks. Thanks to the support of LaunchVic and several other supporters there are 100 scholarship, valued at $4,700 each, available for… Read more »
Data engineer and artificial intelligence expect Claire Southey is back in Sydney after six years in the UK and US working for Amazon and Google, at ecommerce marketing platform Rokt. Southey, who collected her swipe card as senior VP of engineering this week, is one of three new hires for the Australian arm of the US-based,… Read more »
There’s no shortage of debate around venture funding for female founders, but if you’re looking for a veteran canary in the coal mine, Women Who Code, which kicked off in 2011 in San Francisco as a community group of female engineers seeking connection and support in the tech industry, is shutting down. The board made… Read more »
Startmate has taken its support of women in startups to the next level. The “Ladymates” initiative – a term was coined by Startmate’s team in the accelerator and investment program – will support more women to work, found and invest in startups. They’ve set a goal of equal gender representation in the ANZ startup sector… Read more »
Women launching startups in South Australia will have access to government funding in a new grants program launched at _SOUTHSTART in Adelaide today. The Fearless Innovator Grants Program will offer funding to women-run early stage startups. The Malinauskas government has committed $110,000 from the Research and Innovation Fund to support Women in Innovation (WINN) to… Read more »
Men continue to outstrip women in the salary stakes, with men’s median annual salary $11,542 greater than women’s, according to newly released data for Australian private companies. It’s a gap of 14.5%, down from last year’s 15.4%. Men’s median annual base salary in 2022-23 of $79,613 compares to $68,071 for women. When bonuses and overtime… Read more »
NSW Treasurer Matt Kean wants to “level the playing field” for female founders when it comes to access to capital for their startups. In a speech to the COSBOA National Small Business Summit today, Keen focussed on the role of women in business, their underrepresentation “in our trades, our offices and our boardrooms” and improving… Read more »
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