IWD #ChoosetoChallenge: Migrant Women Leading from Every Level

IWD #ChoosetoChallenge: Migrant Women Leading from Every Level.

Professional Migrant Woman wants to commemorate International Women's Day with a panel discussion and networking event.

IWD 2021 Theme:

A challenged world is an alert world.
Individually, we're all responsible for our own thoughts and actions - all day, every day.
We can choose to challenge and call out gender bias, discrimination and stereotypes.
We can choose to seek out and celebrate women's achievements.
Collectively, we can create an inclusive and more gender-equal world.
From challenge comes change, so let's all choose to challenge.

PMW's focus:

We want to celebrate migrant women that have chosen to take a leadership role in their communities, providing visibility, aspirations and inspiration for other diverse women.

Migrant Women in leadership and visible positions, can lead the way and challenge stereotypes, discrimination and gender bias, making way for a more inclusive and gender-equal world.

About the Panel:

Panel Facilitator: Fabiola Campbell

Fabiola is the founder and principal mentor at the Professional Migrant Women, an organisation created with the aim to reduce the gap between migration and professional employment for women in Australia.

Fabiola is passionate about the role of women in our society and their humanistic leadership qualities. She believes in creating significant connections that build strength in our differences, value our uniqueness and include our rich and culturally diverse community.

She is a passionate advocate for inclusion and intersectional feminism

She is enthusiastic, creative, resourceful and resilient. Experienced and talented in human behaviour, community development and facilitation and training. She has worked in the community sector both in Australia and overseas.

Panel Member: Vivienne Nguyen
Being a passionate advocate for genuine community engagement and diversity is Viv Nguyen’s greatest talent.  This is something Viv was involved in not long after arriving in Australia as a 12 year old refugee. 

For over 25 years Viv has worked as a business executive and a community leader in corporate, community and government settings agencies applying her business knowledge, leadership and technical expertise to help organisations with funding, governance, risk management, stakeholder relationships and to advance their social objectives.  Viv has held roles at the AustChoice Financial Services, AMP Asset Management and ANZ Banking Group where she led the global organisation’s diversity strategy.

Viv’s contribution was recognised and as a result, she was recorded on the Victorian Honour Roll in 2002 for advocating for women in leadership and work with Vietnamese young people.  In 2003 she was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal in 2003. 

Along with her corporate career, Viv’s community activities span across many different cultures to provide input into public policy on asylum seekers, civic engagement, participation, anti-racism and human rights.

In her first year as the Chairperson of the VMC Viv has sought to provide a platform for communities to voice their opinions despite the challenges that 2020 presented and now hopes to partner with community to promote and inspire Victorians to continue embracing and celebrating our diversity and differences.   

Panel Member: Div Pillay

Div Pillay wears multiple hats but steers towards a common purpose of inclusion. She is the CEO of MindTribes and Co-Founder of Culturally Diverse Women – both award-winning businesses, named as Westpac 200 Businesses of Tomorrow and Telstra Business Award Finalists.  

Her work is backed by her expertise in behavioural psychology and economics, cultural intelligence, data and evidence to drive measurable outcomes.  Div is also the National Chair of D&I committees for the American Chamber of Commerce, is a Board Director at STREAT and a Plan International Ambassador - giving 10% of MindTribes revenue to empowering girls. Div is named as one of the 100 Women of Influence by the AFR & Qantas, 2018-2019 and is a State Judge for the Telstra Business Women’s Awards, 2020

Panel Member: Laura Moreno

Laura Moreno Madrid is from Medellín, Colombia. Before coming to
Australia she studied a bachelor degree in Environmental Engineering and a Diploma in Environmental Laws. She came to Australia to study English and also completing a Diploma in Program & Project Management.

Her professional experience started as an Environmental Auditor in a Hydroelectric Power System and as an Environmental Technician in an Environmental Protection Authority. It continues here as the
Environmental and Sustainability Lead of the Supply Chain and Logistics Association of Australia (SCLAA).

Laura is a young and proactive leader, who in 2020, founded the Environmental Professional Community of Australia (EPCA), as a way to unite, develop and support environmental professionals across Australia. Today, EPCA has members from all over Australia and all walks of life. EPCA has delivered events ranging from Networking, Sustainability Industry and Regulatory. 

She believes in "being open and honest" and "together we do better" it is for that reason, she likes helping others and volunteering for different organisations, with the primary purpose of having a positive impact on the environment and humanity.

Thanks to our sponsors for their valuable contribution: