Our people
Our leadership
Professor Rae Cooper AO, Director
The Director of the Centre is Rae Cooper AO, Professor of Gender, Work and Employment Relations at the University of Sydney Business School. She is President Elect of the International Labor and Employment Relations Association (ILERA) and has published over 70 articles and chapters on employment relations, workplace policy and aspects of women's working lives. Professor Cooper was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2019 recognition of her contributions to Australian higher education and her impact on workplace policy and practice. She has undertaken numerous collaborative research projects within an array of industry sectors for some of Australia's most well-known organisations including the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), the Human Rights Commission, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Law Society of NSW and she has worked as an advisor to key multi-lateral organisations, including the OECD and International Labour Organisation (ILO). Through these collaborations and her experience as a non-executive director and strategic advisor to industry and government, she is known for her clever and grounded approach. Professor Cooper is a globally recognized leader in the gendered dimensions of the workplace, and an expert in collaborative research programs that incorporate an evidence- based approach with world leading practice to identify practical, data-driven policies that achieve positive change.
Professor Elizabeth Hill, Deputy Director
Elizabeth is Professor in the Department of Political Economy at the University of Sydney. She is co-convenor of the Australian Work and Family Policy Roundtable and co-convenor of the Body@Work Project. As a leading researcher on the future of women, work and care in Australia and the Asian region, she has collaborated on research into gender equality, work and care with leading national and international institutions, including the International Labour Organisation and UN Women. Elizabeth’s research focuses on how economic institutions shape women’s paid work, unpaid care and the care workforce, especially as they evolve in response to the rapidly evolving dynamics of the global political economy. Elizabeth has served as a non-executive director on a number of non-profit Boards and is an experienced media commentator and advisor to government, unions, and business. She is currently a member of the NSW Women’s Advisory Council.
Meraiah Foley
Meraiah Foley is a researcher specialising in gender inequality at work, with specific focus on women's experiences working in male-dominated occupations, the gendered dimensions of workplace technological change, and how the concepts of merit and meritocracy shape inequality at work. Meraiah has published extensively in highly ranked journals, including Human Relations, Gender, Work & Organization, and the Journal of Industrial Relations.
Visit Meraiah's academic profile.
Suneha Seetahul
Dr. Suneha Seetahul is an applied microeconomist specializing in gender, labour and development. She holds a PhD from the Bordeaux School of Economics and was a 2021 World Bank Africa Fellow. Her current research focuses on gender inequalities in the labour market, gender norms, household gender dynamics and nutrition, social protection and climate change.
Dr Jennifer Hagedorn
Dr Jennifer Hagedorn is the Research Manager at the Australian Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion @ Work. With a strong interdisciplinary background, her academic interests lie at the intersection of social sciences, design, cultural studies, and media studies, with a keen emphasis on digital technologies. With over a decade of professional experience in the higher education sector encompassing various roles in academic education and research, Jenni brings to the Centre a strong desire to translate research findings into tangible and impactful outcomes. Prior to joining the Centre, Jenni worked as a Research Associate at the Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies. Jenni holds a PhD in Design from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and a Bachelor of Design (Hons) from Victoria University of Wellington.
Alex Rearden
Alex is the Senior Administration Officer for the Australian Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion @ Work. She has over 12 years of administrative experience in both the public and private sector. Her recent work at the University of Sydney involved process improvement, project management, and providing executive support to leadership in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Previously, she worked as a person-centred case manager for people living with disabilities. Alex is Mental Health First Aid accredited and holds a Bachelor of Applied Social Science.
Amy Tapsell
Amy Tapsell is a Research Officer for the Australian Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion @ Work, supporting the Centre’s researchers across a range of projects. Amy has worked as a Research Officer for over five years and is experienced in mixed-methods research methodologies. Amy's research work spans across the disciplines of social sciences, health, psychology, and gender and work, as well as in the public sector, for NSW Health. Amy holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Public Health (Health Promotion) from the University of Wollongong.
Sydney Colussi
Sydney is a Research Associate in the Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies and is a convenor of The Body@Work Project. Her research focuses on the relationship between gender equality, paid work and reproductive health across the life cycle.
Laura Good
Laura Good is a PhD candidate in Work and Organisational Studies. Her PhD research explores the gendered dimensions of skill within the retail industry. It seeks to understand how new technologies are re-shaping the skills profile of the industry and the implications of this for both workers and employers.
McCaye Nixon
McCaye is a PhD candidate in the Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies. Under the supervision of Professor Rae Cooper and Dr Meraiah Foley, her doctoral thesis offers a gendered analysis of how power is understood and accumulated in the legal profession.
Talara Lee
Talara Lee is a PhD candidate with an interest in gender, workplace relations and the future of work. Talara's PhD investigates gender inequality in the legal profession, focussing on the role of the client in shaping legal careers, which employs a mixed-method approach to data collection on designing gender equality into the future of work in the law.
Ethan Gannon
Ethan's research investigates how "empty-nester" mothers experience gendered responsibilities for unpaid caring labour at different points in their lives, from family formation into mature age.
Agatha Court
Agatha Court is a PhD student investigating gender inequality in male-dominated industries, in particular the inequalities experienced by early career professionals.