• Researcher Siddier Chambers with Bayswater mayor Filomena Piffaretti.

A LINEUP of formidable local women gather for a panel discussion in Bayswater for International Women’s Day.

Keynote speaker is 2023 Bayswater Community Citizen of the Year Sue Fletcher, a medical researcher who developed three drugs to treat Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

She’s joined by a panel discussion on breakthroughs and barriers women have faced in various industries, with social researcher Siddier Chambers, Bayswater’s first mayor Filomena Piffaretti, senior Noongar woman and education emeritus professor Colleen Hayward, and musician Jessica Herbert, Bayswater’s ‘Outstanding Women in Leadership’ winner for 2023.

Cr Piffaretti said: “I’m thrilled to be part of such a diverse panel for this event, and to have the opportunity to listen to these incredibly accomplished women share their unique experiences, as well as share my own.”

She was the first female Bayswater mayor in a field that’s been pretty blokey long after state and federal levels of government started to even out their numbers, and leads the first Bayswater council lineup with more women than men.

“I believe good decisions are made when a diversity of views are represented. 

“Diversity plays a key role in achieving equity. When we talk about equity, we acknowledge each person’s circumstances are different. By acknowledging these differences, we can make decisions that help level the playing field,” Cr Piffaretti said.

They’re also inviting presentations on how to uplift local women and girls and the council’s donating $7,000 to get the ideas off the ground. 

It’s free at the council civic centre on March 9 at 2pm, register via eventbrite.