Changing the trajectory of future generations
Learn how UNSW Business School is sparking confidence, helping break barriers, and rewriting the narrative in gender equity.
Published on the 24 November 2025 by UNSW Business School EDI Team
While women in Australia are among the most highly educated in the world, their economic outcomes don’t tell a compelling story. The average gender pay gap in the private sector is still 21.8% and a mere 20% of industries in Australia have gender balanced workforces.
UNSW Business School is committed to building a culturally inclusive environment that embraces diversity, reduces systematic barriers, and empowers students and staff to achieve their full potential. The school focuses on creating equitable opportunities, supporting professional development, and driving societal impact through transformative education and innovative research.
And two women at the Business School are at the helm of changing the gender inequity narrative in business.
Rhiannon Tout, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Project Officer at UNSW Business School, has spent the past two years creating development programs for female academics and high school students to help women uncover new career pathways and achieve their ambitions.
And now, with the help of Dr Faiza Majid, Senior Lecturer in the School of Banking and Finance at UNSW Business School, Rhiannon has developed a series of intersectional programs that empowers female high school students to pursue careers in traditionally male dominated industries like banking and finance, risk and actuarial studies, and economics.
We sat down with Rhiannon and Dr Majid to learn more about these programs – and the two women’s personal passion behind these projects.
What drew you to this work and what keeps you going?
Rhiannon: Growing up, I was never given the option to study business in school. Plus, I thought being a businessperson meant sitting in a dark cubicle, in a suit, looking at a spreadsheet all day. It's only when I got into the 'real world' and the Business School, I realised how diverse it really is. And how many people want to do something in this space but are never told they can.
I get to meet and influence around 300 students from underrepresented backgrounds through our EDI Outreach programs each year. However, my goal is, if I can just make five of them realise that business is a realistic option for them, that’s a win for me.
Because it's not just about shifting their career options – it's creating intergenerational change. If they feel like someone has seen them, they will empower their children to pursue opportunities and different career options too.
Dr Majid: I agree. The ripple effect is profound. What we do for one student can impact entire families and communities.
As lecturers and academics, I believe we have an opportunity to help shape the ecosystem students move through. We need to create pathways for those who may not see themselves represented in business education.
I was fortunate to have the right people around me as a young mum getting through a PhD. Without their support, I would’ve given up pursuing my ambitions. Now, I want to be that person for my students, especially high school, helping them realise they can achieve their career goals while also having a family.
Tell us about the EmpowerHer and BizQuest programs for high school students. Why is it important you reach girls at this age?
Rhiannon: Many students in year 11 and 12 don't know the range of careers that exist within the business discipline. And many don’t realise it’s an option for them.
In partnership with the UNSW Gender Equality Hub, EmpowerHer is a two-day program that gives students a real taste of what studying business at university is like. It’s designed to spark curiosity, build confidence, and open doors to careers in fields that have traditionally been male-dominated.
During the program, students explore real-world challenges, learning basic finance and economics concepts through games, thought experiments and hands-on activities that help them see how these ideas apply in everyday life.
Dr Majid: We also had amazing female guest speakers from banking and finance, law, and economics, who shared their own life experiences with these young women. The idea was to let students know that just because there is not enough female representation right now, it doesn’t have to stay that way. You have to be the change. That is the aim of EmpowerHer.
BizQuest is a bit different. Aimed at year 10 and 11 students, in partnership with UNSW Founders, it uses a gamified approach that allows participants to discover the breadth of career options in business organically.
We engage them in an interactive challenge. This year's theme was entrepreneurship, from ideation to creation. We guided students to come up with a sustainable business idea in groups, then asked them to think about how they will raise finance, manage the business, pitch and sell their product and navigate the risks involved – seen and unseen.
Rhiannon: These programs intertwine and build on each other. BizQuest is the stepping stone to next year's EmpowerHer. BizQuest and EmpowerHer are also a gateway to our annual flagship program: Girls in Business Camp – and hopefully when all three work together, they will in turn increase female representation not just within our Business School, but in the industry more broadly.
Dr Majid, how did you get involved in the EmpowerHer and BizQuest programs?
Dr Majid: I signed up for a professional development initiative at facilitated by UNSW Business School EDI team, called Achieve Development Program. It gives female academics the tools to help them achieve their career goals.
Achieve got me to reflect on my values and what I want to put my time and investment in. I realised that I'm increasingly aware of and interested in addressing the persistent gender and representation gap in finance, education, and in industry. So, I reached out to Rhiannon to see if there were any opportunities I could be a part of.
EmpowerHer was the perfect starting point, as it supports young women in understanding different paths into business, finance, law, and politics.
Rhiannon: And you brought the lessons from Achieve and passed them onto the students through the programs. You gave them the ability to visualise what they want their future to look like, and where they want to spend their time. It’s a very powerful gift.
What has been the most rewarding part of facilitating these programs?
Dr Majid: It was the realisation of the impact I can make. Students at BizQuest wouldn't leave the room. They just wanted to stay and talk and talk about the future. Seeing these girls so energised, inspired and genuinely excited about the possibilities is deeply meaningful for me.
Rhiannon: Seeing the confidence of these students is incredible. They've got no qualms about going up to a CEO and asking them to connect on LinkedIn or to grab a coffee.
Seeing how these students grow so much in such a short time is amazing.
We had one student who attended the Girls in Business Camp in 2024 and then returned for EmpowerHer in 2025. When she first joined us, she was quite shy, had recently moved from overseas, was new to the Australian school system, and wasn’t sure what career direction she wanted to take.
Now, she knows exactly where she’s heading. She told me she didn’t think she would achieve the ATAR needed for direct entry to UNSW, but that’s not stopping her. She’s going to TAFE, completing a bridging course, then enrolling at UNSW College before progressing into the Business School.
Our programs gave her that spark. The understanding that when one door closes, it’s not the end of the journey. It’s shown her that there are always other pathways to reach her goals.
Dr Majid: And after BizQuest in September, we received an email from one of the participants’ parents sharing that their daughter “loved every single moment of the bootcamp and hasn’t stopped talking about it.”
The parent added, “It was a fantastic way for her to kick-start the Term 3 school holidays, and it’s only reinforced her decision to apply to UNSW after Year 12.”
It’s feedback like this, seeing the passion we’ve helped ignite, that keeps us motivated to keep growing and improving these programs.
Each story reaffirms the power of these initiatives to inspire the next generation of women in business.
Want to know what it is really like to be a UNSW Business School Student?
Check out these stories from our students.
Learn more about High School Outreach at UNSW Business School