Human First Podcast: Interview with girledworld Cofounder + CEO Madeleine Grummet

How do we lead teenagers into this complex age?

In this episode of the Human First Podcast, Penny Locaso talks role models, real innovation, and selfies with Madeleine Grummet, Cofounder and CEO of girledworld, and an authentic human being who shows up as she is. As an entrepreneur, investor, and startup mentor, Madeleine works across the innovation ecosystem bridging the gap between education and the tech industry.

LISTEN TO PODCAST HERE.

The podcast is a free-ranging conversation that explores:

• What innovation actually means, and is it solving real problems

• To whom do young girls look, and who is going to lead them into this complex age

• The misconception around STEM (or STEAM)

• The You Are Not Your Face Project and what it feels like to be a girl in the world right now

• What's happening with human connection in the next generation

• Who is the real selfie?

Where To Find Madeleine Grummet

LinkedIn

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

girledworld

For more Human First podcasts see here.

girledworld startup Founder story features in Duct Tape magazine from Startup Victoria

#Entrepreneurship is neither science nor art.

It’s practice, lived experience, and no-one knows what that wild ride feels like but the founders at the wheel.😬🚀‬ ‪

Ace to have the founder story of @girledworld + #FutureAmp featured in the inaugural issue of #DuctTapeMag - a magazine about founders for founders by @StartupVic and @victoriauninews👇🏽‬- and to read the amazing #startup stories of other amazing founders in the ecosystem.

Download the digital publication at ducttaped.co or pick up a copy at one of the #startup hubs across Victoria (details at Duct Tape site 👆🏽)

girledworld win 2019 TechDiversity Award for Education. Watch the Gala Dinner highlights!

It was a big moment for the girledworld team when we won a Merit Award at the 2019 #TechDiversity Awards, and then went on to be the overall winner in the 2019 #Education Category.

Watch the video above for our acceptance speech and some great highlights from the Gala Awards night.

The #TechDiversity Foundation is committed to amplifying diversity awareness and achieving a culture of #inclusion, through conversation, collaboration and action among a committed #TechDiversity community.

The initiative is spearheaded by a core committee of volunteers representing Mia Consulting Services, Method9, Nexec Leaders and MizTee and supported by a wider team representing a number of industry groups and businesses – including Australian Computer Society (ACS), AIIA, Vic ICT For Women Go Girl, Go for IT - Vic ICT for Women and the @Victorian Government.

With a focus on strengthening frameworks to increase the participation of women and minority groups in the #digital #technology industry, the vision is to build inclusion into all facets of the digital industry sector – specifically education, business, government, and media and advertising culture.

For more go to Tech Diversity Awards.

https://youtu.be/GoQhQ9Jd-RQ

Madeleine Grummet joins live global Webinar for University of Melbourne Careers Compass.

In a rapidly changing world of work, transitioning from tertiary study to establishing a career is a significant life change. I'm looking forward to taking the mic at the University of Melbourne next Tuesday November 26 at 7.00pm for a live webinar as part of Alumni Career Compass - a series of free events, panel discussions, live-streamed interviews and networking opportunities with industry experts.

Madeleine will lay bare the bones of life inside two fast-growing #startups - girledworld and Future Amp, and share her career journey from journalism to entrepreneurship. Read more below.

Other guests as part of this series include John Tass-Parker, Head of Politics and Government at Instagram in the US, discussing his career highlights, and Madeline Miller, whose legal career has taken her around the world and to the UK, where she recently worked as production attorney on the latest JamesBond film.

Whether you're planning an international career, running a business or keen to future-proof your skills, tune in for some tips, truths and career mentorship.

Alumni Career Compass runs from 25 November to 5 December, 2019.

girledworld delivers career education workshops to NSW high school students

We’re pleased to announce we’re now working with the NSW Department of Education to deliver best practice #career, #employability pathways and #futureofwork skills workshops to 1000’s of students across NSW.

Our workshops are led by the #girledworld team of expert facilitators, and allow students to be inspired by and learn from industry mentors, expand their knowledge and upskill in 21st Century, #entrepreneurship #leadership and #STEM core capabilities, and experience the real world of work through ‘Day In The Life’ experiential learning contexts.

To learn more see https://lnkd.in/gb7Q9kc and keep an eye on our socials to catch up on all our news. Instagram / Facebook / Twitter @girledworld #girledworld

We build BIG futures. 🚀

Access is everything in The Knowledge Age - Keynote at EY Melbourne

This month our Cofounder + CEO Madeleine Grummet dropped the F-Bomb at EY in Melbourne, calling for a commitment to #feminism and#equality for all, delivering a #keynote on the power of #education and the fact that access to #knowledge itself will be the difference between survive and thrive in the #knowledgeeconomy.

It's hard to fathom that in 2019, 15 million girls will still never set foot in school, and the disparities of the global #digitaldivide continue to be a barrier to access, #economic opportunities and financial security for women and girls in developed and developing countries.

Just this week IBM President #GinniRometty said "100% of jobs will change in the future" and we need to ensure we bridge the knowledge and #skillsgap to widen the net of #inclusivity, or we will leave people behind in a new age where new workforce #skills and capabilities are required, and will be driven by access to education.

Big thanks to Sian Gooden at Slack, Rebecca Dabbs and Phoebe Jones of Ernst & Young Melbourne and Cambodian Kids Can for having girledworld and Future Amp there to chat about our startup journey.

Role Models Matter. Find one, or be one!

THOSE WHO SURROUND YOU SHAPE YOU.
In 2018 we conducted research with Masters students at The University of Melbourne on the importance of access to industry #rolemodels for high school students in their future #career pathway development. .

Here’s what the research showed us: .

1. That for 74% of students, the most important part of career action planning was continued access to a tribe of strong, visible, diverse and capable female role models who can teach what they know 👈🏽, help that student to unearth her talents✨, build skills and find her own voice🎙 - and, fundamentally, that make her feel safe in trying new things. 🙋🏽‍♀️

2. The research also told us female high school students need visible female role models because when girls can identity their own unique strengths and skills, and then see similar abilities reflected in women leading companies, running countries and founding businesses, they are 73% more likely to shift their frame of reference to imagine this as their future selves.🙋🏼‍♀️🚀

Girls need to see what they could be.
Role models matter.
Find one or be one. 🙋🏿‍♀️🙋🏽‍♀️🙋🏼‍♀️

SIGN UP for our NATIONAL WORKPLACE MENTORING PROGRAM - happening right across Australia in March 2020 to coincide with International Women’s Day. FIND OR BE A ROLE MODEL!

How to break bad habits in small bites.

Kicking off a new week! 👟👟

Have you set your intention for what you want to achieve?

The truth is that big audacious hairy goals are much easier to achieve if you break them down into small steps.

@james_clear - superstar best-selling author of #AtomicHabits - says habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. They don’t seem much on any given day, but over the months and years their effects can accumulate to an incredible degree.

We all have habits we wish we didn’t. But if you’re interested in breaking bad or unhelpful habits this awesome book will teach you to:

1️⃣Build a system for getting 1% better every day.
2️⃣Break your bad habits and stick to good ones.
3️⃣Avoid the common mistakes most people make when changing habits.
4️⃣How to overcome a lack of motivation and willpower.
5️⃣How to develop a stronger identity and believe in yourself.
6️⃣How to make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy or hard).
7️⃣How to design your living/work/study environment to make success easier to achieve.
8️⃣How to plan and implement easy changes that deliver big results.
9️⃣How to get back on track when you get way off course.
🔟And most importantly, how to put all of these ideas into practice in everyday real life so your habits lift you higher. 🔝🙌🏽

Question: What’s your best 1% habit right now?

Action: Make a plan to make some 1% changes this week.

Female Founder Panel: Keep Cup, girledworld, Health Lab and One Girl

A couple of weeks ago girledworld Cofounder Madeleine Grummet sat down with a couple of deadset startup dynamos - KeepCup Founder Abigail Forsyth and Health Lab Founder Jess Thomas along with One Girl CEO Sarah Ireland - to moderate a fast-moving dialogue about the day-to-day realities of running a high-growth venture, embedding ethics in economic models, and how supply chains and brands are innovating to meet the needs of the growing health conscious consumer segment.

The panel also unpacked the fundamental role of education and lifelonglearning (both formal and informal) in each of their business journeys thus far, acknowledging the incredible global work of One Girl whose mission is to bridge the gap for the 130 million girls across the planet who are denied access to an education. #DoitinaDress

What was clear from the conversation and shared stories is that every female founder and CEO has a different path and startup journey.

But the common grounds are grit, guts, a willingness to fall down, get up, keep learning, keep asking questions - and to keep going, even when you have absolutely no idea how, or where you’re going to land!.

For more on One Girl see www.onegirl.org.au - and to support and celebrate the achievements of the world's girls get behind the United Nations InternationalDayoftheGirl happening this Friday October 11, 2019.

girls take giant leap and bring up the numbers in Australian Rules Football

In 2010 the Australian Football League @afl commissioned a report into the state of women's football around the country.

Along with findings concerning grassroots and junior football, the report recommended the AFL Commission begin working toward the establishment of a national women's league.

@aflwomens (AFLW) - Australia's national Australian Rules Football League for female players - was finally established in 2016, and the first season of the league began in February 2017 with 8 teams, expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season, and will expand to 14 teams in the 2020 season.

Females 🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏿‍♀️🙋🏼‍♀️ now make up close to a third of a record number of Australian football participants, and recent figures show a 14.2 per cent spike in female participation was a major driver in the 6.5 per cent growth of the game to a total of 1,649,178 players in 2018 (with 530,166 of them female players).

Onwards and upwards!

(And sideways, as per this amazingly athletic leap by Erin Wardrop @stgeorgeafc 🙌🏽🤸🏻‍♂️)
@aflwomens

Do what you say.

It’s what you do, not what you say you’ll do, that matters.

Research shows you are 42 per cent more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down and commit to them. 📝🙋🏽‍♀️

Writing your goals down not only forces you to get clear on what, exactly, it is that you want to accomplish, but doing so plays a part in motivating you to complete the tasks necessary for your success.✔️

So save your words. 🗣

And if you want to make a change/start something/stop something?

Don’t say it. Do it.👊🏽

For more on our goal-setting and leadership workshops for high school students see here.

What's your problem? girledworld asks 700+ students for #DIF19

Problem-solving is in high demand across the planet right now.

In an age where technology and automation mean there’s an increasing chance a robot may one day take your job, today’s world of work is changing rapidly, and young people are predicted to have up to 17 jobs across 5 different industries, which means the single, linear ‘job for life’ is a thing of the past.

Digital disruption has played a large part in reshaping our world, and because technology is taking over menial tasks it means HUMAN SKILLS are rising in importance.

Skills like communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity and one of the most in-demand skills - problem-solving.

But how do you learn to problem-solve?

Problem-solving is about learning by doing, and building your problem-solving muscle means getting hands on with solving real-world problems, getting on your growth mindset and thinking through roadblocks.

We recently spent time running Problem-solving For The Real World and Future of Work sessions with 700+ Victorian students as part of the @digitalinnovationfestival which just activated in 1000’s of workplaces, schools and minds across Victoria.

Backed by the #VictorianStateGovernment, #DIF2019 celebrates the 'Victorian Difference' that drives industry, #startups #entrepreneurs and our thriving #innovation ecosystem to not only be different but make a difference through #digital technology.

#girledworld are proud to have played a small part in #DIF2019 to scale #innovation #designthinking #thefutureofwork and PROBLEM SOLVING to students in outer metro regions.

The future starts with learning.

And we can’t wait to see these students unleash their problem-solving soon!✖️✖️

Get your gig on! The new freelance workforce is here to stay.

How good are you at managing yourself day to day?

How would you rate yourself at making decisions, self-organising, completing tasks, turning up on time?

Research shows teenagers today will need to develop competencies in these skills to survive (and thrive!) in the new world of work, which will see many workers self-employed, abandoning 9-5 employment and working independently on a project-by-project basis as freelancers.

In fact, this ‘gig economy’ is already here with many Australian ‘giggers’ earning income from digital and sharing economy platforms like Uber (22.7%) Airtasker (34.8%) and Freelancer (11.8%), and new marketplaces popping up in the digital economy every day, creating increasing opportunities for Australia’s future freelance, distributed and in-demand workforces.

To learn more on the gig economy see this article.

The new leadership is soft AND strong

In a world struggling to shift the #leadership paradigm, we celebrate women like @brenebrown @michelleobama @jacindaardern and @honjuliebishop who are continuing to carve out a new leadership style that is soft and strong, authentic and consultative, and built on human stuff.
Authenticity wins. Every time. ✔️✖️✖️.

Which other leaders should we celebrate today? 👇🏽

Strengthening Diversity In Victoria’s Digital Tech Sector: girledworld win Education Category Tech Diversity Award 2019!

Victoria’s leading entrepreneurs, innovators and start-ups have been recognised for creating positive change for under-represented groups in the digital tech sector at this year’s TechDiversity Awards.

Minister for Jobs, Innovation and Trade Martin Pakula last night joined leaders from across the sector at a ceremony to present the awards, which have been backed by the Andrews Labor Government since 2015.

Acknowledging the importance of diversity in industry and workplaces across Victoria and Australia, the TechDiversity Champion Award was presented to Vic ICT for Women, which was recognised for its work in helping girls and women at all levels become leaders in the digital tech and ICT industry.

Vic ICT for Women hosts networking events and provides career advice and a free resource of female tech speakers.

Other winners demonstrating the values of diversity across industry included Project Evolve at NBN (business category), girledworld (Education Category), CSIRO FindHer (government) and Go Girl (advertising and media).

Victoria’s tech and ICT sector is booming and employs more than 137,900 people across more than 19,300 businesses, generating $36.6 billion in annual revenue.

The Labor Government recently hosted the Digital Innovation Festival promoting diversity and equal opportunity with events including RoboCup, Social Innovation Summit and the Women in Security Conference. girledworld were proud to be part of #DIF2019 delivering Future of Work sessions to 700+ students in outer Melbourne, and a Girls in STEM forum for parents and female high school students with City LLEN at Engineers Australia.

Minister for Jobs, Innovation and Trade Martin Pakula said:

“Victoria is Australia’s tech and innovation heartland and it’s important that all Victorians have the same opportunities to develop and grow and succeed in this thriving sector.”

“The TechDiversity Awards are a great way to recognise and celebrate the organisations and individuals that are making such important contributions in this space.”

TechDiversity Foundation Cofounder Deirdre Diamante added:

“This year we had the highest number of nominations ever from entrants who are truly aware of the value of diversity and what it can do for businesses and organisations.” 

“From neurodiversity and indigenous programs to CALD communities and the LGBTIQ+ community, this year’s entrants show just how far-reaching the impacts of diversity reach across Victoria and Australia.” 

Thank you to the Victorian State Government and the Tech Diversity Awards for supporting this important initiative. girledworld are proud to have won the Education Category, and congratulate all the other Merit Award winners and Finalists.

girledworld wins Victorian State Government 2019 Tech Diversity Awards!

WE WON!!!!!!😱🍾🎉

girledworld has come a long way from Melbourne Business School Faculty of Business and Economics, The University of Melbourne edtech startup to last night making it through to the finals, winning a TechDiversity Merit Award, and then winning the 2019 TechDiversity Awards Education Category!

Edwina Kolomanski and I are so proud to have built girledworld from the ground up, and last night was a chance to celebrate our business journey, and that of many of Victoria’s leading entrepreneurs, innovators and startups who were part of the ceremony, and recognised for creating positive change for under-represented groups in the digital tech sector and innovation ecosystem.

Big thanks to the Victorian Government Martin Pakula IBM REA Group AIIA RMIT Alumni Avanade and our congratulations to all other winners including Mikaela Jade Microsoft Project Evolve nbn™ Australia (Business Category), CSIRO FindHer (Government Category) and Go Girl, Go for IT - Vic ICT for Women (Advertising and Media Category and 2019 Champion).

We don’t need awards to make our work matter, but they make the blood, sweat and tears of startup all worth it!

Onwards and upwards! 🚀🌏
There is much work to do.

Where are the women at the top?

So here’s the thing.

In Australia we have open access to education 🎓 and employment ✅ opportunities, but when we look to the top tiers of business, government and top performing ASX200 companies, women just aren’t there.

Currently, women hold just 6% of #ASX200 CEO roles (from 7% in 2018) 🤷🏻‍♀️; women hold only 16% of ASX200 CFO roles 🤷🏻‍♀️; 17 companies in the ASX200 have NO women in their executive leadership team 🤷🏻‍♀️; 114 companies in the ASX200 have NO women in executive leadership line roles 🤷🏻‍♀️; and only 24 companies in the ASX200 have gender balance (40%-60% women) in their executive leadership team ... ⚖️⁉️

A report just released from the Chief Executive Women (CEW) ASX200 Senior Executive Census 2019 shows just 12 of Australia's top listed companies have a woman chief executive, a drop from 14 last year.

And the number of women running top ASX-listed companies has gone backwards with women being appointed to only TWO 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ of 25 new chief executive positions in 2018.

How do we shift the dial?
How do we balance this out?
How do we level the playing field?

This needs to change.

We’d love to hear your thoughts below. 👇🏽

Like, is social media ruining our lives?

Breaking news is, like, @facebook is considering removing ‘Like’ 👍🏽 totals on the platform.

Josh Constine of @techcrunch reports: “The idea is to prevent users from destructively comparing themselves to others and possibly feeling inadequate if their posts don’t get as many Likes.”

Facebook’s move might signal that @instagram’s recent experiment in 7 countries with a similar feature is succeeding. The era of the Big Like could be ending and it’s a welcome sign that the #technology world is responding to the growing realisation about what technology is doing to humanity as we live our day to day lives out on #socialmedia.

Evan Spiegel, Cofounder and CEO of @snapchat, has also weighed in on the dark side of social media.

“The personalized newsfeed revolutionized the way people share and consume content,” he wrote in Axios.

“But let’s be honest: this came at a huge cost to facts, our minds and the entire media industry.”

He also acknowledged the fundamental paradox (or contradiction) of social media: “This is a challenging problem to solve because the obvious benefits that have driven the growth of social media – more friends! 🙋🏼‍♀️ more likes! 👍🏽 more free content! ✅ – are also the things that will undermine it in the long run.”

What do you think about the social media LIKES currency?

Should it stay or go? 👍🏽👎🏽

The unknown art of unlearning.

We’re living in The Knowledge Age, an age where we have information on tap, and compulsively jam our brains and eyeballs with knowledge every waking hour.📲🤯

A recent article from Atlassian says that whilst technology aids this information quest with answers available instantly at our fingertips, we are struggling with “knowledge obesity” = too much knowledge that we simply can’t use.

Atlassian suggests you should try unlearning - the art of stopping a habit or ritual. To unlearn, you must identify the information, beliefs, or behaviors that you have been acting upon that are not valuable to you anymore, and actively forget them.

Unlearning helps you free up space for newer information and insights.

According to Dom Price, Work Futurist at Atlassian, “unlearning isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing more, with less”.

“Unlearning is incredibly beneficial from a neurological perspective. Too much information can bog the brain down and prevent it from making decisions, which is the brain’s ultimate goal when it comes to information acquisition.

Some researchers now argue that forgetting information is healthy because it allows our brains to free up the space to be able to make decisions faster.”😇✔️

What will you unlearn today?

For the full article see Atlassian’s Work Life blog here.

What does equality mean to you?

Messages of inclusiveness, unity and equality are being shared by #MWF19 authors and artists at the Melbourne Writers Festival Schools Program this week, Australia’s largest literary festival for students.

But when we think - or talk - about equality, we each have a different view of what it really means to be inclusive, and valuing others equally.

By definition, equality means “the state of being equal”.

Equality is one of the ideals of a democratic society, and so the ongoing societal movement to attain different kinds of equality, including racial equality, gender quality or equality of opportunity between rich and poor, is often associated with progress toward that ideal of everyone in that society being of truly equal status.

We’re a long way from that in the world right now.

Have a think about it.

What does equality mean to you when you look around you?