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Celebrating International Women's Day

March 9, 2015

Celebrating International Women's Day

To mark the event of International Women's Day, we asked women from various areas of expertise to tell us more about what motivates and inspires them.


Associate Professor Karen Charlton (far right) with Shawn Burns from Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts and Dr Karen Walton from Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, who each spoke at the the 2014 UOW Community Engagement Symposium.

Associate Professor Karen Charlton

Associate Professor Karen Charlton is passionate about improving health, especially in disadvantaged communities. At UOW, Professor Charlton teaches the Nutrition & Dietetics programme. She is an accredited practising dietitian but has worked in research and teaching positions for more than 25 years. Asked what she values about higher education, Professor Charlton said: “The opportunity to shape people’s thinking about new ways to approach old problems. Whether it be improving food security in African communities, advocating for food companies to lower salt in their products, or ensuring unborn babies are exposed to enough iodine in the womb to optimise brain development we need critical thinkers that are not scared to step out of the box and try something new.”

Professor Charlton, a mother of three, said her father has been a big influence on her.

“Despite poor beginnings in the North East of England - and no tertiary education - my father has become a successful business man. His kind and generous nature has shown me that honesty and social responsibility can be applied in the business world. And, of course, coming from South Africa, I also have to say Nelson Mandela. He showed the world that forgiveness conquers all.”

Associate Professor Katina Michael

Associate Professor Katina Michael (@katinamichael) researches the social implications of emerging technologies and is a sought-after voice in the public debate about related issues.

Professor Michael said: “I do what I do because I get a buzz and a kick and a zing out of life. Living each day to the max means you can look back and have no regrets. Each day is not a draft - it is the real thing.”

Inspiring students

Professor Sarah Miller

Professor Sarah Miller, Head of the School of the Arts, English and Media, says she is passionate about many different things: “Respect for and recognition of Aboriginal rights, feminism and rights for all women, environmental protection (particularly marine conservation), real food grown sustainably, social responsibility, the role of education, and the importance of the contemporary arts, particularly the emerging and the experimental.”

Success, according to Professor Miller, is something that can be claimed by people who work to benefit society, the planet we live on and the species we share it with, and do it with generosity, kindness and wit.

This belief is informed by her past experiences.

“My education was in the humanities, but most of my working life has been in the arts. I've experienced firsthand the difference that the humanities and the arts can make to people's lives, whether as artists, spectators, readers, or audience members, and no matter what their cultural or socio-economic background. It's all about the opportunities.” 

Dr Julia Quilter

Dr Julia Quilter (@jquilter3) is a senior law lecturer conducting research into criminal justice issues, including alcohol-related violence and the “one punch” law. She is a key instigator of the School of Law’s District Court Judges Program and a staunch supporter of the Lucy Mentoring Program.


Dr Julia Quilter talking to the ABC's 7.30 program about one punch laws.

“I love researching and writing about criminal justice issues because I feel like I can make a difference to the myriad ways that ‘bad’ criminal laws impact on marginal or minority groups,” Dr Quilter said, adding that she finds herself drawn to and inspired by smart, passionate people who want to change life for the better.

“My mum was my first inspiration. She is a feminist and social justice activist involved in women’s causes, labor politics and the environment. I grew up in the 1970s and she was always taking my sister and I on a march whether for Reclaim the Night or Labor Day. She took us to women’s refuges where we slept on the floor. She installed a sense of social values and the importance of working to make things better. But Mum is also incredibly loving, kind and good fun. At 70, she still takes the train from Sydney each week to look after and laugh with my kids. Why? Because she loves her grandchildren but she is also keen to see her daughter thrive in her career.”