Can I afford it?
A 2026 Empower Her Workshop: Unpacking How Women Learn to Make Financial Decisions
Published on the 30 April 2026 by UNSW Business School EDI Team
Over two immersive days in April, the UNSW Business School welcomed over 60 bright, driven Year 11 and 12 students from across Greater Western Sydney for the 2026 Empower Her: From Financial Confidence to Property Ownership workshop.
Held at the UNSW CBD Campus and delivered with the support of faculty and industry professionals, the program was more than just a learning experience; it was a practical introduction to the financial decisions that shape independence and long-term security.
Designed to build financial capability, strengthen decision-making confidence, and demystify pathways into business and related fields, Empower Her gave students the opportunity to engage with real-world challenges, hear directly from leading women across industry and academia, and begin thinking strategically about their own futures.
The UNSW Business School EDI team caught up with Maia Peters, a student from Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic College, to hear how the experience shifted her perspective and deepened her interest in business, law, and the decisions that underpin them.
For many young people, the world of money, property and financial decision making can feel like a locked room. One full of rules, jargon and invisible pathways that only some seem to understand.
The Empower Her: From Financial Confidence to Property Ownership workshop delivered by UNSW Business School set out to change exactly that. Over two immersive days, high school students stepped into the shoes of future decision makers, learning not only how financial systems work, but how people their age can start building confidence, clarity and long-term financial capability.
Held at the UNSW CBD Campus in the most bustling part of Sydney, the program welcomed students with the energy of a professional learning environment.
From morning tea to closing reflections, participants were treated like emerging business leaders and university students, encouraged to think critically, collaborate, and ask the big questions behind every day financial choices.
They also heard directly from UNSW students and alumni across Actuarial Studies, Economics, Finance, Information Systems and Commerce.
Personal stories, especially from:
- Associate Professor Kristle Romero Cortés, School of Banking and Finance,
- Nicola Powell, Community Partnership Manager at Clovelly Community Bank,
- Joanna Bleakley, RBA Economic Analysis, and
- Betsy Westcott, CEO & Co-Founder of Millie,
just to name a few, helped students picture themselves in those degrees, and understand how these disciplines connect to real financial decisions.
Learning the Secrets Behind “How People Afford Things” - My Experience
Over two days at UNSW Business School, I finally started to understand the question I’ve heard adults throw around my whole life: How can they afford that? What surprised me most was realising that the answer isn’t luck or some secret formula; it’s knowledge, planning, and confidence. And that’s exactly what this program gave me.
Across six hands‑on workshops, we broke down the financial milestones that always felt distant or “for grown‑ups”:
- Borrowing, budgeting and deposits - the real foundations behind buying anything major
- Interest rates and the RBA - why money changes value and who controls it
- Property rules and regulations - the hidden framework behind the housing market
- Marriage, joint borrowing and asset protection - how relationships can shape your financial future
- The super gap and career breaks - why women retire with less, and how to protect yourself
- Building a financial blueprint - turning everything we learned into a long‑term strategy
Everything connected back to Zara, the fictional young woman whose financial journey we were analysing. My group spent hours mapping out her life stages, income, savings, risks and goals. It felt like solving a puzzle, one where the final question was: When should Zara buy property, and why?
A highlight of Day 1 was the panel of female industry professionals who shared their own career paths — how they entered finance, policy, tech and business, and the moments that shaped their confidence. Their stories echoed the program’s purpose: empowering young women to see themselves in spaces where they’ve historically been underrepresented.
Panellists included:
- Joanna Bleakley, Economic Analysis Department, RBA
- Akira Galvin, Executive Director, Property & Place, Enigma
- Betsy Westcott, CEO & Co-Founder of Millie
- Sarah Kay, CEO, Woods Bagot, Registered Architect
- And Mahek Patel, Bachelor of Actuarial Studies / Commerce (Finance), UNSW, WIB Ambassador, as the moderator.
Turning This New Knowledge Into Strategy
By Day 2, students were ready to build Zara’s full financial blueprint. They calculated deposit timelines, assessed risks, debated trade‑offs and prepared a final presentation. The room buzzed with teamwork, problem‑solving and the kind of strategic thinking usually seen in university classrooms or corporate boardrooms.
When each group presented their strategy, complete with reasoning, projections and recommendations, it became clear: they weren’t just learning what financial decisions look like. They were learning how to think like people who make them.
The experience didn’t end with the final presentation. Students were encouraged to explore UNSW’s resources, from employability rankings and student societies to inspirational stories of young leaders who once stood exactly where they are now.
They left not only with new knowledge, but with a new mindset: Financial confidence isn’t about having money. It’s about understanding how money works and knowing you can learn the rest.
So… Can I afford that?
After two days at UNSW Business School, my answer becomes transparent:
People afford things by planning, learning, asking questions, and making informed decisions over time. And with the right tools, young people can start building that confidence long before adulthood.
Empower Her showed students that financial literacy isn’t a mystery reserved for experts. It’s a skill, one they can begin mastering now.
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