It’s at the heart of everything HMEF does and why we exist – to enable the future female leaders of Australia to build a better world. It’s simple  – empowering the next generation of women to reach their potential and forge futures with no limitations benefits everyone the world over.

Our strongest example of this is the fact that the Australian of the year, the senior Australian of the year, the young Australian of the year and the local hero for 2021 are all women – women who are passionate, educated and driven to ensure that the next generation have a safer journey to success than they did and that their families, their children and their children’s children understand the sacrifices made to rewrite the future for girls across Australia.

For HMEF the two women who we believe are extraordinary visionaries are our Founders Kim Harding and Irene Miller. It is because of their hearts, minds, deep passionate for education and belief in girls potential than over 600 outstanding young women from low socioeconomic circumstances are seeing their futures brighten through education. The vision is to have 8000 girls receive HMEF scholarships over the next  two decades and we are well placed to make this a reality (meet our team who are making this happen).

March 8 2021 is International Women’s Week and the theme this year celebrates the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future. Women bear the brunt of problems ranging from poverty to climate change, but they also possess assets and talents to solve them. (source).

To celebrate this day HMEF in collaboration with EY are hosting an event on Friday the 12th of March to celebrate our first two years of the HMEF alumni program, who are now forging careers across a variety of sectors.

The keynote speaker for this event is Jo Masters, EY’s Chief Economist Oceania in 2019. Her passion for economics stems from her commitment in providing businesses with deep insights to the economy on a macro-level and what it means for them. She has been a part of the economic discussion in Australia for over 20 years and is a trusted advisor in economic and policy issues nationally, and on a global scale. Prior to EY, Jo was a senior economist at ANZ and spent over a decade at Macquarie Bank. She is a Member of the Committee for Economic Development Australia’s (CEDA) Council on Economic Policy, as well as an Executive Member of the Australian Business Economists and sits on the Advisory Board for the Financy Women’s Index.

Jo is a champion of driving women’s equality in the workforce and holds a strong passion for developing female financial literacy as well as promoting economics to young Australians. She believes economics is relevant and relatable to everyone in the community, and uses her public platform to encourage interest in the importance of understanding the impact of the macro-economy. Jo is committed to giving back to the community and has been involved with Gold Week at the Sydney Children’s Hospital, FoodBank and The Smith Family.

Jo has a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics) from The University of Auckland, where she was awarded the Senior Prize in Economics. She also has a Master of Economics from The University of Sydney.