From Assange’s lawyer to a supermodel: The 21 names you need to know from 2021
From Assange’s lawyer to a supermodel: the Australian women who have both inspired and defined the conversation in 2021.
There is no denying that this year has asked most of us to dig deep. 2021 has been shaped by challenge and awakening across all aspects of our way of life. To reflect back on a year that reshaped our views on almost everything, we have gathered 21 Australian women who have both inspired and defined the conversation in 2021, and will no doubt set the agenda for Australian women in 2022.
Yasmin Poole, Youth advocate
It’s hard to believe that Yasmin Poole has only just finished her university degree. The public speaker, writer and youth advocate sits on the boards of Oz Harvest and YWCA Australia, is the National Ambassador for Plan International and, earlier this year, was named the 2021 Youth Influencer of the Year by The Martin Luther King Jr. Center.
Poole is passionate about amplifying the voices of young Australians in the national conversation, and in particular improving the representation of young women and people of colour in politics.
“If you want to create systems that support Australians better, we need to include young people in the conversation. What I’m trying to push for is to give young people a platform that allows us not just to be heard for hope, but that actually gives us the tools to effect that change,” says the 22-year-old.
Despite the challenges 2021 has thrown at us, Poole is optimistic the events of this year have “shown young women people are listening”. “The way we’ve seen young women leading these conversations about race, climate change and sexual assault is really encouraging. That visibility shows us that when we speak out, we will be supported.”
Hope for 2022: “I really want to see patriarchy, sexism and especially issues surrounding sexual assault being top-priority voting issues in the next federal election.”
by Amy Campbell
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Liane Moriarty, Author
It’s been a momentous decade for the New York Times bestselling author Liane Moriarty. But 2021 has been especially eventful, in both a personal and a professional sense.
Shortly after delivering the manuscript for her ninth novel, Apples Never Fall, the beloved Australian novelist was diagnosed with breast cancer. She finished radiation therapy in August, just as the TV adaptation of her eighth novel, Nine Perfect Strangers, was about to premiere. “It was a very emotional, relief-filled, special moment,” says the author.
The series, starring Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy – whom Moriarty personally suggested for the roles of Masha and Frances respectively – and filmed on location in Byron Bay, set a record for the most-watched Hulu original series when it premiered.
“I take pride in the fact that all my novels are set in Australia, and that readers from all around the world seem to enjoy the ‘Australianisms’ in my writing,” Moriarty adds. “I also love meeting readers and hearing about what my books have meant to them. They are easy reads, so often are a distraction for people during difficult times. That means a lot to me.”
Hope for 2022: “Progress on women’s rights – especially in places where hard-won rights have been lost, like racial inequality and climate change.”
by AC
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Melanie Perkins, CEO Canva
Melanie Perkins, co-founder and CEO of design platform Canva, describes the company’s mission as a “simple” two-step plan. Step one is to build one of the world’s most valuable companies.
With her co-founders Cliff Obrecht (also her husband) and Cameron Adams, she is making great strides towards that goal, announcing a new funding round in September that valued the business at $55 billion. Canva boasts more than 60 million active monthly users in more than 190 countries, an incredible growth trajectory since its launch in 2013.
Step two is “to do the most good we can”. This year Perkins and Obrecht announced that they would commit the vast majority of their personal holdings in Canva to the Canva Foundation to do good in the world.
“We have this wildly optimistic belief that there is enough money, goodwill and good intentions in the world to solve most of the world’s problems, and we want to spend our lifetime working towards that,” says Perkins.
Hope for 2022: “We recently launched our first pilot program with GiveDirectly, distributing $10 million to some of the world’s poorest people in Southern Africa. Following this pilot, we hope to rapidly scale this more broadly and to contribute to the lives of as many people across the globe as we can.”
by Victoria Baker
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Adut Akech Bior, Model and refugee advocate
In the five years since Adut Akech Bior signed her first modelling contract, the South Sudanese-Australian, who turns 22 this month, has ticked off almost every modelling milestone spanning coveted runway exclusives, magazine covers and luxury campaigns.
But it’s her tireless campaigning for better representation and inclusivity on and off the runway that has seen her become a voice of a generation, her influence evident in her appointment as a global ambassador for beauty powerhouse Estée Lauder this year.
“Being part of the Estée Lauder family is a dream come true,” says Akech Bior, who spent her early childhood in South Sudan and Kenya before her family fled to South Australia.
“To now be the representation in the fashion and beauty space I didn’t have growing up means everything to me.”
Hope for 2022: “It’s important that I use my position in the fashion and beauty industry to create meaningful change. I don’t take that for granted and I’ll continue to speak out about causes I’m passionate about.”
by Remy Rippon
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Jennifer Robinson, Human rights lawyer
2021 was a personal and professional homecoming for human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, who relocated to Sydney after 15 years in the UK. While still working for London’s Doughty Street Chambers across high-profile cases, she has turned her attention to matters closer to home.
“It’s made me more committed than ever to creating a more just Australia,” the 40-year-old says of the move. On her highlights of the year, Robinson lists: “Winning Julian Assange’s extradition case; supporting Amber Heard through Johnny Depp’s defamation case, which he lost because the judge believed her; spending time with First Nations communities; and working with the National Justice Project and Leetona Dungay [mother to David Dungay Jr] to take Australia to the UN over deaths in custody.”
In addition to her legal victories, Robinson launched the Acacia Scholarships in partnership with the Public Education Foundation and recently inked a three-book deal with Allen & Unwin.
“The first is about Me Too and the law, explaining how the law is being used to silence women around the world, including here at home in Australia.”
She also has her sights set on international climate justice. “I’m representing Vanuatu in its effort to get an International Court of Justice decision on states’ climate change obligations,” she continues. “[I’m] excited to be working on a Pacific-led initiative to address the climate crisis for nations disproportionately affected by a problem that was not of their making.”
Hope for 2022: “For Australia to adopt and implement the Uluru Statement. And for Australia and the international community to take decisive climate action to ensure that we can still have a future to hope to change.”
by Jessica Montague
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Jaguar Jonze, Musician and activist
When Jaguar Jonze became one of the first local artists to call out sexual assault within Australian music, she never could’ve predicted it would spark the reckoning it has.
“I was able to bring many voices together, to strengthen our power and actually instigate tangible change in our industry,” says the musician, whose real name is Deena Lynch. On national TV in May, she spoke about her own experience with sexual assault at the hands of two producers, and in September, appeared on ABC’s Four Corners’ report on Sony Music’s alleged toxic culture and former CEO Denis Handlin’s abusive behaviour. “It put my career in jeopardy, but I knew that this issue was bigger than me,” she says.
Lynch has spent the majority of this year fighting for cultural change on the frontline – her activism, which has helped to push some of Australia’s biggest record labels to launch their own internal investigations into inappropriate workplace behaviour, was recognised with an AIR (Australian Independent Record) Award for Outstanding Achievement in August.
In October, her advocacy and artistry collided on the comeback track Who Died And Made You King?, a takedown of the misogynistic culture that Lynch, and other brave women in the music industry, are striving to stamp out. “This marks a new chapter for Jaguar Jonze,” she says, “one unbounded by fear.”
Hope for 2022: “I want all women and vulnerable people to feel that safety as they create and push for their careers that they want and deserve.”
by AC
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Grace Tame, Activist and advocate
Winning Australian of the Year in January was in many ways just the start for Grace Tame. Her rape case was a catalyst for the creation of #LetHerSpeak Tasmania – created by journalist and sexual assault survivor advocate Nina Funnell in partnership with Marque Lawyers and End Rape On Campus Australia – and sparked a nationwide movement.
In a year of brave discussions about rape culture, Tame’s work couldn’t have been more valued. Tame, who turns 27 this month, wants to see prioritising of minority voices who face “even greater barriers to justice”, and less too-late political “interventions and responses, which are your Band-Aid solutions on paper, but aren’t necessarily effective”.
As for memorable moments, Tame mentions sharing a hug with a survivor, and later discovering he hadn’t even shaken another person’s hand for a decade. “The most valuable [interactions] to me are the ones where I can directly translate the impact of what this cause is bringing about.”
Hope for 2022: “A culture of accountability that starts from the top. There’s a responsibility for all major political parties to demonstrate how to approach these issues – to completely condemn domestic violence, child sexual abuse and sexual assault – and I’d like to see harmony between the states and territories on legislation, and overhaul legislation.”
by Jonah Waterhouse
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Vanessa Pappas, Global COO of TikTok
“Stepping into the global COO role has been a rewarding highlight of the past year,” says Australian Vanessa Pappas of her ascension at the short-video platform, which reached the milestone of one billion active monthly users in September, cementing its position as a cultural (and sometimes controversial) force in the countries in which it operates.
The Queensland-educated executive lives in Los Angeles with her wife and two young children, and cites daily flat whites and a Peloton bike for getting her through the rigours of working and schooling at home. “What’s become clear to me this year is that there is a shared desire for people to connect with communities through common experiences,” says Pappas.
“Day in and day out, I have been inspired by the TikTok community who have started cultural movements, kept their small businesses afloat, and kept us entertained.”
Hope for 2022: “I believe much of the change we’re witnessing today, with a greater desire to drive empathy and connection with one another, will continue in 2022 and beyond. I imagine a world where we can each take a minute to better understand a co-worker, family member, friend or neighbour. The impact of this alone will have a profound effect on the world around us.”
by Victoria Baker
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Chanel Contos, Consent advocate
Chanel Contos has had a year. In March, the 23-year-old’s petition for young women to share their sexual assault experiences yielded thousands of testimonies within weeks – helping spur a parliamentary reckoning and acquainting countless Australians with the idea of an omnipresent ‘rape culture’.
“2021 was ‘we have a problem, a big fucking problem’, and 2022 should be ‘what are we doing about it and how are we moving forward?’” she says. Contos has pushed for more all-encompassing sex education in schools to halt the problem in its tracks. She launched ‘Operation Vest’, a way for survivors to anonymously report perpetrators, and recently held a consent roundtable with political stakeholders to spark nationwide legislative change.
“There was a survivor in each room, who started the conversation by telling their story, and then giving their input about how they think education could’ve helped them.”
The former Sydneysider works from London, but with so many virtual interactions, a moment that personified her work’s significance was going to lunch with Julia Gillard. “She invited me to her 60th birthday party … I literally screamed.”
Hope for 2022: “I hope in 2022, gender equality is at the forefront of political issues, a driving force in the election, and causes people to really step up.”
by Jonah Waterhouse
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Yalda Hakim, Broadcast journalist
On the day of Kabul’s fall to the Taliban in August, Afghanistan-born, Australia-raised journalist Yalda Hakim picked up a call live on air from the Taliban’s spokesperson.
She kept Suhail Shaheen on the phone for 45 minutes as he detailed the group’s plans to the world. For Hakim, the moment was the result of a life’s work reporting on Afghanistan and beyond: from working on renegade stories as a cadet at SBS (“I didn’t tell the network what I was doing,” Hakim says, laughing), to hosting Dateline, and now presenting the BBC’s World News.
Since the takeover, she has also been working to evacuate students, journalists and people at risk from the country: “It feels like my whole career, everything that I’ve ever done was for this point.”
But through all her work, as a journalist and beyond, the pursuit of a greater truth has been Hakim’s driving force. “My job is to hold people accountable, no matter who they are,” she says. “As far as I’m concerned, if it’s the truth, I’ll broadcast it.”
But the truth also has a moral compass. “We shouldn’t believe objectivity means sitting on the fence, and therefore saying nothing, and allowing things to happen.”
Hope for 2022: “Awareness. Sometimes people think that something going on somewhere else is not their issue.”
by Divya Venkataraman
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Samantha Maiden, Political journalist
Political correspondent Samantha Maiden has always been a writer, and has always loved politics. Winning a 2021 Walkley Foundation Award for her breaking reportage for News.com.au on Brittany Higgins, and her allegations of rape at Parliament House, is testament to her 30-year career pursuing answers and holding our structures of power to account.
“I don’t think I or Brittany ever expected that her story would unleash a national reckoning,” she says.
Within Maiden’s words is her admiration of Higgins and a fresh generation of “fearless” survivors reclaiming their stories as a result of her reporting. These are revelations she’ll continue to examine in an forthcoming book charting Christian Porter’s high-profile defamation suit against the ABC.
“It’s designed to be like a thriller,” she shares, “about what happened behind the scenes.”
Hope for 2022: Maiden’s dreams for 2022 rest with our youth. “My hope is that the women who took to the streets in the wake of Brittany Higgins don’t stop, and they don’t give up.”
by Gladys Lai
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Teagan Cowlishaw, Design and CEO of First Nations Fashion + Design
From being behind the first-ever Welcome to Country and all-First Nations runway to be held at Australian Fashion Week, working on her label Aarli, and becoming a mother, it’s been an extraordinary year for Teagan Cowlishaw.
As CEO of First Nations Fashion + Design, which she co-founded along with creative Grace Lillian Lee, Cowlishaw nurtures Indigenous talent and was part of the team behind a show that had the industry questioning why First Nations fashion had been largely left out of the spotlight.
Understandably, it was filled with emotion, not least because she hadn’t seen Lee in 15 months – Cowlishaw lives in Perth and Lee, Cairns.
“Grace is my tidda[sister]; we have a shared dreaming … when we finally hugged, I don’t think either of us wanted to let go,” she recalls. Together they’re using fashion as a force for change. “I believe First Nations fashion is a vehicle for reconciliation,” she says. “Fashion has the power to educate.”
To her, it can change people: she’s seen young girls, who walk in FNFD shows, transform. “At the beginning of the process, there is an almost crippling lack of self-confidence … but by the end of the mentorship, heads are held high, game face is on …”
Hope for 2022: “We are fighting for the day when our independent designers have access to economic opportunities and national platforms, which create development opportunities for this and all future generations.”
by Alice Birrell
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Robyn Denholm, Chair, Tech Council of Australia
“I’m a pretty optimistic person,” says Tesla chair Robyn Denholm. “I don’t think you can be around technology companies for 30-odd years without that.” 2021 has been enough to test the mettle of even the most optimistic souls, but Denholm focuses on the upsides.
Her punishing pre-pandemic travel schedule disappeared allowing her to engage more fully with the Australian tech ecosystem. She joined venture capital firm Blackbird as an operating partner, to “help, mentor and guide” start-ups to achieve their ambitions.
She has also been vocal this year about the nation-building opportunities offered by the move towards renewable energy. “I hope we really embrace the renewable energy era and that we as Australians actually stand up and play a significant role in that as we move forward,” she says.
She is the inaugural chair of the new Tech Council of Australia, launched in August. There, she will lead a focus on growing the tech ecosystem and ensuring a strong voice to government. “Encouraging the next generation into roles that have a large tech component is an important part of our mission,” she says.
Hope for 2022: “That as Australians we embrace technology as a core strategy for growth for our economy, and that conversation happens at the boardroom level, at parliament and government levels and at kitchen tables.”
by Victoria Baker
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Madeleine Madden, Actor and activist
For Madeleine Madden, art and activism have always been linked. Her mother is curator Hetti Perkins, her aunt filmmaker Rachel Perkins, and her late grandfather the legendary Indigenous activist Charles Perkins. Madden’s own passion can be found both in advocacy and acting.
After starring in local productions including Picnic At Hanging Rock and Mystery Road, in 2021 she took that passion global with a lead role in the blockbuster Wheel Of Time, holding her own opposite Rosamund Pike. The lavish fantasy epic is a reset for a genre that never traditionally prioritised racial or gender inclusivity.
“In the Wheel Of Time world, it’s not radical for women to be powerful and to follow their dreams,” Madden shares.
Her work on the series took the actor far away from her home in Sydney for most of 2021, which led to a side effect that the 24-year-old is very proud of.
“I really got to enjoy my own company and enjoy my alone time,” she reflects of the past year. “I’ve learned a lot about myself.”
Hope for 2022: “Our collective conscience around climate crisis changes in Australia and that First Nations’ voices are brought to the forefront of this conversation.”
by Hannah-Rose Yee
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Magnolia Maymuru, Model and actress
“It has been beautifully overwhelming,” reflects Maminydjama (Magnolia) Maymuru, the actress, model and Yolngu woman of the response to her monumental September cover for Vogue Australia this year.
As the fourth First Nations woman to front Vogue, the power-punch of visibility, albeit overdue, is hitting the almost 25-year-old. “The reaction I’ve been getting has opened my eyes to how many people I inspire and represent.”
She knows steps like these will have an impact on the world her daughter, Djarraran (Tili), born this year, is entering and it has added a layer to her work as a model. “I have bigger responsibilities now not only as a Yolngu woman but as a Yolngu mother,” she says. “I just hope I teach Tili to be the best human being for this world.”
Originally turning down an offer to model to finish her studies, her star has been rising since becoming a Miss World Australia finalist in 2016, and then winning the AACTA award for best supporting actress in 2019’s The Nightingale.
All of this, however, never gets in the way of her deep-rooted connection to Country in Yirrkala in East Arnhem Land, also known as sunrise country. As for her family’s thoughts on their Magnolia fronting Vogue? “Everyone loved it and is waiting for more …”
Hope for 2022: Maymuru wants to teach her daughter about her culture along with the people who see her modelling work: “I hope that they understand how much we really appreciate any acknowledgment to our different cultures, languages and land because it has been a very long time since we’ve had any real recognition.”
by Alice Birrell
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Madison de Rozario, Dual Paralympic gold medallist
Heading into her fourth Paralympics, Madison de Rozario had achieved everything in wheelchair racing – world titles, world records – except a gold medal. But 2021 was her year, with victories in Tokyo in both the 800 metres (T53) and marathon (T54).
“I didn’t know how it would feel to check it off, whether I’d have closure,” the 27-year-old says. “But honestly, I just want to do it all again.”
De Rozario is a passionate advocate for people with disabilities, whose prowess on the track and marketability off it is creating tangible change for the next generation. Inspired by how Australians fell in love with para-athletes and sport following the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games (which featured a few hand-picked events), de Rozario is aiming to compete in another three Paralympics so that she can maximise the visibility of competing in a home Games in Brisbane 2032.
Hope for 2022: “We have so much potential in Australia to be one of the most authentically inclusive and diverse countries, but we’re not cohesive in our approach. When one movement moves forward, it can leave others behind. I belong to a few minority groups – I’m a woman, a person with a disability and a person of colour – so I see three separate movements using the same language, fighting for the same things, but with no communication between them and at very different rates. That kind of dynamic shift in how we approach things could make a huge difference.”
by Jessica Montague
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Sharri Markson, Journalist and author
“My New Year’s resolution was to have a slower year, to take things a bit easier … and then I did the exact opposite,” says Sharri Markson with a chuckle. As investigations editor at The Australian, Markson found herself breaking story after story about the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. Her relentless focus led her to working on something else she hadn’t anticipated: a book that she wrote in a matter of months. Markson says it was the lack of answers around Covid-19 that motivated her to write What Really Happened in Wuhan.
“It needs to be investigated. We need to know how this virus started, particularly to prevent the next one – it’s such a crucial question,” says the journalist and mother of one. “It’s quite shocking that it’s taken nearly two years before any investigation that properly looks into a lab leak is starting.”
In September, Markson’s documentary of the same name became the most-watched Sky News program of 2021. A podcast that delves further into her research also premiered recently, which goes to say that her New Year’s resolution didn’t quite go to plan, but then neither did 2021 for anyone.
Hope for 2022: “I’d like to see an independent international inquiry into the origins of Covid-19 and I’d like to see the New South Wales government invest properly in healthcare including funding more paramedics and ambulances.”
by Amy Campbell
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Ariarne Titmus, Olympic champion swimmer
When Ariarne Titmus collected gold in the 400-metre freestyle at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, she not only made her way into the history books but also into the hearts of millions of Australians who tuned in to support the 21-year-old amid lengthy lockdowns.
“Because of the situation of everyone back home and over half the country in lockdown, I feel like the Olympics really lifted people’s spirits,” says the Brisbane-based swimmer. “I feel really privileged and happy that my performances were able to do that.”
Titmus soon added a gold in the 200-metre freestyle – toppling American rival Katie Ledecky – as well as a silver in the 800-metre freestyle and a bronze in the women’s freestyle relay: extraordinary personal achievements only matched by the camaraderie and spirit among her fellow athletes.
“We really worked together as a team and because of the circumstances and how hard we worked in that extra year to get to Tokyo, we felt appreciative of the position we were in,” she says. “That’s why we had our most successful Olympic Games ever.”
Hope for 2022: “Next year, it’s about people reuniting with the people they love. I really hope that everyone will be in a position to live their life the way they want, do the things they love, and appreciate their livelihoods again.”
by Remy Rippon
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Tu Le, Lawyer and community advocate for Western Sydney
Tu Le had no idea of the tinderbox she was sitting on. The 30-year-old was hoping to run as the Labor candidate in the Federal seat of Fowler in Sydney’s south west, but in mid-September was pushed aside in favour of Kristina Keneally.
The solicitor and daughter of Vietnamese immigrants suddenly found herself thrust into the centre of a long-overdue national conversation about diversity and representation in politics – a role she handled with grace.
“It might have been easier for me to stay quiet and let things die down,” she says. “But with the platform I’ve been given, I will continue to fight for my community and stand up against reinforced systems of oppression.”
And, like any good politician, in the midst of the chaos, Le spotted opportunity. “One of them being the renewed public discourse about cultural diversity and representation in Australian politics,” she reflects. It’s fitting, then, that next year is an election year, and Le is only just getting started.
Hope for 2022: “I will continue to have the audacity to fight for a fairer, more cohesive and inclusive Australian society. And I hope I won’t be alone in this fight.”
by Divya Venkataraman
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Virginia Tapscott, Writer and advocate for sexual violence survivors
When Virginia Tapscott lost her 32-year-old sister and fellow survivor of childhood sexual abuse last year, the freelance writer felt propelled to shine a light on the injustices facing those carrying similar traumas.
“Every day I look at my kids running around, and I actually can’t not do anything with the knowledge that it’s estimated one in five to seven children under 18 will experience some form of sexual violence,” says Tapscott, who was nominated for this year’s The Australian’ s Australian of the Year Award and has since provided a voice for survivors of child sexual abuse via her reporting for the publication.
That commitment to upend the system that has historically protected perpetrators also saw Tapscott create a private online support group for fellow survivors, and for the past year work on My Sister’s Secrets, a podcast in partnership with the national newspaper examining sexual assault within her own family.
“I’m going to say exactly what happened even though it is hard for people to hear, because if we can’t even read about these crimes or listen to someone talk about what’s happened to them, then how are we ever going to address the problem?”
Hope for 2022: “I would love for the national conversation around the issue of sexual violence to become more solution-orientated. We’ve come through a period where victims are becoming more open about their experiences so we’ve got a much better idea of what the problem is, and now what we have to do is make a concerted effort to start talking about the solution.”
by Remy Rippon
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Ash Barty, Tennis champion
When Ash Barty beat the Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova in three sets to take the Wimbledon single’s crown in July, she created tennis history and inspired a nation as the first Australian woman to achieve the feat in more than four decades.
A few months on, Barty is still processing her victory. “The whole thing still feels surreal. Winning Wimbledon was my dream and I can’t really believe that I have done it,” the 25-year-old says.
The achievement was all the more meaningful given it marked the 50th anniversary of her mentor Evonne Goolagong Cawley winning her maiden title at the iconic tennis club; Barty wore a bespoke scalloped tennis dress from Fila that paid homage to her hero.
“The stars aligned,” she continues. “Like Evonne, I hope I can help inspire kids to pick up a tennis racquet and have the confidence to chase their dreams … I received some beautiful letters and drawings from kids all around Australia. The support from the whole country has been amazing. I feel very grateful.”
Barty recently returned to Australia for the first time since March and is relishing some downtime back home in Queensland doing the simple things she loves most. “Like going for a morning walk with the dogs, picking my niece Lucy up from school, having a family barbecue and just being in my own house.” But equally the tennis champ has her sights set on a future goal: “The Australian Open is next for me. I would love to win a Grand Slam on home soil.”
Hope for 2022: “For my loved ones to be happy and healthy. I would like to see travel around Australia and the world become easier so everyone can be with their family and friends.”
by Jessica Montague
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