Cathy Foley, Australia’s former Chief Scientist, on Tuesday received the 2025 Excellence in Women’s Leadership award. She pens an exclusive op-ed for Forbes Australia on the need to continue diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
A recent social media feed of a black and white photo from 1973 showed Afghan women in Kabul wearing miniskirts and walking independently. Five years after that image was taken, all the small hard-won gains by women in Afghanistan had disappeared – just as the rights of women in the country have been rolled back today.
I was in high school and then university during that period. While at Macquarie University, I could vote, wear short skirts, and had social freedoms that Afghan women can only dream of. Still, when I finished high school in 1975, the classic jobs for girls in Australia were teacher, nurse, secretary, or nun. At the Catholic convent school I attended, there was an expectation that women would leave the workforce and get married and have kids.
Choosing and leading the way on a different path
But at that convent school, I was also exposed to physics. I fell in love with it. Throughout my university years and early career as a physicist, I was too often the only girl. Still, I was fortunate to have a strong women’s education and became empowered to affect change where I thought it was needed.
In 2023, a call to effect change came from the Australian government. I was Australia’s Chief Scientist, and asked to undertake a national conversation asking Australians what science and research they felt is needed to be the country we want to be. To get the answers, I talked to hundreds of Australians young and old across the country.
The surprisingly, universally-agreed highest priority for the country was to undertake research to maintain our liberal democracy, and our values.
“This award comes to me at a moment when I plan to support an Australian approach to navigate DEI. Let’s not slip back as other countries have or may do.”
Cathy Foley, former Chief Scientist of Australia
What I discovered, is that Australians are proud of our desire to be an equitable country with strong multiculturalism. Time and again, I heard “we don’t want to be like the US”.
Over the fifty years of my career and education, I saw the recognition that women are needed, and broader diversity and inclusion is the pathway to better workplaces, better solutions and, as identified by the UN – economic growth. When women work, economies grow. Humanity is at its best when it embraces the full human potential.
21st-century challenges
And yet, there are still systematic barriers that make men more likely to be in the highest paying and most senior leadership roles. The last census told us women still take on more of the household responsibilities and caring, earn less, have less super and are more likely to be in insecure jobs.
2024 WGEA data tells us that only 21.9% of Australian CEOs are women – they hold only 33% of board positions. The last census told us women still take on more of the household responsibilities and caring, earn less, have less super and are more likely to be in insecure jobs. One in 4 boards in Australia have no women – when the evidence is that women on boards lead to improved KPIs.
The good, the bad, and the ugly in 2025
In 2025, work-life balance has proven to be of benefit for everyone. The last census told us women still take on more of the household responsibilities and caring, earn less, have less super and are more likely to be in insecure jobs.
At the same time, more young fathers are using parental leave. So while we have not reached parity yet, we are on a pretty good trajectory.
Unfortunately, however, three months into this new year, women in senior roles in the US are suddenly being identified as “diversity hires.” DEI has become a dirty acronym.
2025 is the year when we need to reframe DEI, as support is slipping post-pandemic, particularly from young men. Social media has created a dichotomy where the algorithms take you down an exclusive pathway to only hear one view.
The Australian award for excellence in Women’s leadership
I am honoured to receive the Australian Award for Excellence in Women’s Leadership at this critical time. In its 11th year, this Women & Leadership Australia initiative honours women leaders for their exceptional contributions to positive outcomes for women, girls and other disadvantaged groups with previous winners including a Prime Minister (Julia Gillard) and Governors-General (Quentin Bryce and Sam Mostyn).
This Award comes to me at a moment when I plan to support an Australian approach to navigate DEI. One that is a step towards positive change to benefit all genders. Let’s not slip back as other countries have or may do.
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Dr Cathy Foley will share her reflections on leadership when she accepts the National Award for Excellence in Women’s Leadership at the Adelaide Women’s Leadership Symposium on May 16. Find out more at www.wla.edu.au/adelaide.
