Panel event with Anne Summers (AO), Verity Firth (AM), Anna Bedford, and Tarunna Sebastian (chaired by Bronwen Dalton). We discussed the exceptional leadership contributions women are making in various fields, and the strategies to support gender equality. 

This is part of my ARC DECRA project, and will examine women and business history, broadly conceived. Contributions included women in leadership, women entrepreneurs and small business owners, women in professional work, the representation of ‘corporate’ or ‘business’ women, and the connection between women workers and corporate capitalism. 

Does history repeat itself in meaningful ways, or is each problem unique? How can a hands-on approach to Australian history enhance our understanding of the present and prepare us for the future? Myself and Dr Zora Simic in a thought-provoking discussion inspired by Lessons from History – a new collection of essays that shows how the past provides insight that can guide us in future.

This roundtable builds on a recent special issue of Labour History, Capitalism: New Histories from Australia. Panellists explored the intersections economic, labour, environmental, migration, gender and Indigenous histories to reflect on how a historicising capitalism in Australia can inform public debate. We considered the political implications of new research emerging and the thorny questions that have grown about capitalism’s connections to structures of race, gender, environment, inequality and work.