The Hatchery

After being groomed and raped by her maths teacher when she was just 15 years old, Grace Tame has turned her traumatic experience into advocacy for survivors of child sexual abuse and has been a leader of positive change for over a decade.

Recognising the injustice of Tasmania’s gag order that prevented survivors from self-identifying publicly, Grace offered her story to the #LetHerSpeak campaign created by Nina Funnell, along with the stories of 16 other brave survivors. In 2019, she finally won a court order to speak our under her own name, making her the state’s first female child sexual abuse survivor to do so.

Current work:
Now, 26 and based in Hobart, Grace is dedicated to eradicating child sexual abuse in Australia, and supporting the survivors of child sexual abuse.

Her focus is around enabling survivors to tell their stories without shame, educating the public around the process and lasting effects of grooming and working with policy and decision-makers to ensure we have a federal legal system that supports the survivors, not just the perpetrators.

She is also a passionate yoga teacher, visual artist, and champion long-distance runner, having won the 2020 Ross Marathon in a female course record time of 2:59:31.

An open book about her experience, but even more passionate about preventing this from happening to other children, Grace speaks from the heart and will have her audience simultaneously inspired and in tears.

She is a regular keynote speaker, media guest and advocacy commentator.

Grace is the 2021 Australian of the Year.

Professor Ryan is the inaugral Director of the Global Institute of Women’s Leadership (GIWL) at The Australian National University (ANU). While she studied psychology at ANU at both an undergraduate and PhD level, she has spent the last 17 years in the UK.

Michelle Ryan is a Professor of Social and Organisational Psychology. She is involved in a number of research projects. She currently holds a European Research Council Consolidator Grant examining the way in which context and identity shape and constrain women’s career choices (with Thekla Morgenroth, Chris Begeney, and Renata Bongiorno) .

With Alex Haslam, she uncovered the phenomenon of the glass cliff. Since its discovery, the term ‘glass cliff’ has entered public discourse and the concept informs and shapes debate and the public understanding of women’s leadership positions. The media has embraced the notion of the glass cliff, incorporating it into analyses of women’s leadership positions. A Google news search for ‘glass cliff’ reveals over 160 news articles that refer to the term. A broader phrase search reveals nearly 25,000 hits which include blogs (e.g., the Wall Street Journal blog, July 2012), HR websites (e.g., Human Capital Online, Oct 2008), and online resources for female leaders (e.g., femalebreadwiinners.com). The UK media coverage has included all major British newspapers and television stations as well as local newspapers. The research has also been represented worldwide, from the Boston Globe to the Calcutta Times, from CNN to Australian radio. Importantly, while initial media coverage was restricted to reports directly about the research project itself, in more recent years this is no longer the case. The glass cliff is now frequently discussed with no reference to the research itself, but rather is now accepted as a common phrase that can be used to explain women’s leadership. Indicative of the glass cliff becoming a common phrase within public discourse, in 2011, of the nearly 1,600 web hits which included mention of the glass cliff, over 500 of them made no mention of the research or the researchers themselves.

The New York Times named the glass cliff as one of the Top 100 ideas that shaped 2008. Click here for a brief video introduction.

Michelle is also involved in projects examining (a) gender trouble and the gender binary (with Thekla Morgenroth); (b) women’s ambition in the workplace (with Kim Peters and Alex Haslam); (c) the role of identity in understanding work-life balance (with Kim Peters, Thekla Morgenroth, Floor Rink and Janka Stoker); (d) men’s support for gender equality (with Antonia Sudkaemper, Teri Kirby, and Thekla Morgenroth); (e) gender differences in risk taking (with Thekla Morgenroth and Cordelia Fine); (f) leadership succession (with Nik Steffens, Floor Rink, and Janka Stoker); (g) workplace intersectionality (with Victoria Opara and Ruth Sealy); (h) the gendered nature of ambition (with Sabrina Spangsdorf and Teri Kirby); (i) workplace gender stereotypes (with Renata Bongiorno and Colin Leach); and (j) gendered status in the workplace (with Chris Begeny).

“Everyone has individual stories and hardships – share and be open and honest about yourself as vulnerability fosters a culture of inclusiveness.”

Cherie is a financial advisory partner at PwC, the national co-sponsor for Shine (PwC’s LGBTI+ network) and was one of the founders of the Shine women’s network. Cherie is also an active member of Be (PwC’s diverse cultural background network). As a bisexual, Asian female, Cherie is also passionate about educating and raising awareness of issues that women face in our community, and how intersectionality can impact discrimination and privilege.

Sarah Derry has three decades of hospitality experience working for international hotel companies. She holds a Bachelor degree and has completed postgraduate studies in Human Resource Management, Training, Executive Coaching and Organizational Development. Sarah has extensive experience in the areas of culture transformation, strategic business management, leadership development, executive coaching and organizational behavior.

She joined Accor in 2017 after having owned and operated her own business for over 10 years, and was most recently Senior Vice President Talent and Culture for Accor Pacific. In this role, Sarah was instrumental in the transformation of Accor Pacific’s People and Culture strategies by aligning Heartist® culture with every element of the guest experience.

Sarah is committed to causes and organizations that make a difference to the broader community, especially in education, wellbeing and social impact. She is an advisor to Two Good Co, who support women in crisis through catering, employment and training pathways, and also to the founder of BETTER Timor, who are dedicated to empowering East Timor through education.

In February 2022, Sarah was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific and member of Accor’s Executive Committee.