Our team
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Founder
Professor Leah Ruppanner is the Founder and Managing Principal of GenEq. She is an expert in gender, work and family.
Prof Ruppanner regularly contributes to organizations understandings of gender inclusion, the mental load, housework and childcare, flexible work and COVID-19’s impact on women and caregivers. She is regularly featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, Vogue and The Guardian.
Prof Ruppanner is currently working on a $1.2 million project on the mental load.
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Managing Director and Head of Partnerships
Lauren has spent the last two decades building corporate policies, partnerships and processes that enable more ethical leadership and deepen companies' purpose. She has spent her career in-house at companies including Ann Taylor, Chevron, and most recently Kosmos Energy. In each of these roles, Lauren has served as a leader and subject matter expert on human rights and social performance. Recently, Lauren has been conducting research and consulting on two critical issues: supporting women leaders and accelerating a more just and equitable energy transition.
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Research Coordinator
Sophie is a Research Coordinator at the Future of Work Lab, The University of Melbourne. She is an anthropologist with a Master of Social Policy, and has an interest in systemic inequality, gender and technological disruption. She works across various social and gender equality projects, including evaluating equal opportunity polices of local governments, technology education for youth and researching systemic barriers to women’s representation in public life. In her previous role at the Policy Lab, Sophie designed and built a series of Micro Certifications on AI and the Future of Work for Women which trains learners in high-demand skills, increasing employability. In this role, she also facilitated and mentored in an industry focused internship program, which led to successful high-level employment opportunities for participants.
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Project Lead
Mira is a former Fellow of the the Future of Work Lab at The University of Melbourne, where she also received a Master in Development Studies and Bachelor of Arts in Politics and International Studies. She is interested in exploring Gender, Refugee Rights and Racial Literacy in the field of Sustainable International Development. Mira has previously worked on projects that have created resources for the employment of women seeking asylum and assisted in the decolonising of curriculum for the Master of Social Policy at The University of Melbourne.
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Project Lead
Kate is a former Fellow at the Future of Work Lab, and holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the University of Melbourne. She has worked on several projects tackling the persistent problem of women’s attrition in STEM fields, from their higher education journey to early career transitions. Kate has contributed to the development of programs, research papers, and resources aimed at revitalising workforce engagement in industries that have traditionally marginalised women. This includes designed and delivering a program to assist caregivers returning to the workforce following a career break. She has also extensively contributed to research and academic publications exploring equitable caregiving practices and the unique experiences of women at work.