The strength of GIWL ANU is in our interdisciplinary nature – our team brings together leading gender equality experts and professional staff with a wide range of expertise.
You can find out more and get in touch with our people below. For general enquiries please email us at giwl@anu.edu.au. For media related queries, please contact Becca Shepard at rebecca.shepard@anu.edu.au.
Meet our executive team
Julia Gillard
Founder and Chair
The Honourable Julia Gillard was the 27th Prime Minister of Australia. She is the inaugural Chair of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at The Australian National University and King's College London.
In 2021 she was appointed as the Chair of Wellcome, a global charitable foundation which supports science to solve urgent health challenges. She recently completed her appointment leading the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care in South Australia.
Ms Gillard also serves as the Chair of Beyond Blue and is Chair of the global funding body for education in developing countries, the Global Partnership for Education.
Michelle Ryan
Director
Professor Ryan is a Professor of Social and Organisational Psychology. With Alex Haslam, she uncovered the phenomenon of the glass cliff. Since its discovery, the term ‘glass cliff’ has entered public discourse and informs and shapes debate, and public understanding of women’s leadership positions. Michelle is currently researching the way in which context and identity shape and constrain women's career choices. She also examines women's ambition in the workplace, work-life balance, men's support for gender equality, gender differences in risk taking, leadership succession, workplace intersectionality, workplace gender stereotypes, ambition and gendered status in the workplace.
Natalie Barr
Chief Operations Officer
Natalie is an experienced and strategic leader with qualifications in political science from ANU. Natalie brings a diverse range of experience to the role, having worked as a political adviser to the Hon. Julia Gillard AC from 2007 to 2010, as a Senior Policy Analyst at the HC Coombs Policy Forum at ANU and executive-level roles within the Australian Public Service for over a decade. Natalie has extensive experience in strategic policy development, project management, communications and stakeholder engagement.
Elise Stephenson
Deputy Director
Dr Elise Stephenson is a researcher with extensive experience across diplomacy, national security, government, entrepreneurship, and diversity and inclusion. Elise's research focuses on gender, sexuality and leadership in frontier international relations, from researching space policy, to diplomacy, national security, intelligence, security vetting, international representation, and the Asia Pacific. She is interested in how Australia engages with the world - as well as whom is at the forefront of that engagement.
Meet the GIWL team
Learn more and get in touch with our 'GIWLers' below. For general enquiries, you can contact us on giwl@anu.edu.au.
Contact
