The FW Effect
Join our vibrant community to support women working across the health and medical research ecosystem
Welcome to Franklin Women
Australia’s only professional community dedicated to supporting the careers of women working across the health and medical research ecosystem.
Franklin Women is a social enterprise that connects individuals and organisations committed to creating a health and medical research sector where women thrive.
We believe there are amazing opportunities for women pursuing careers that contribute to improving health through research, no matter their career journey. Franklin Women is here to support you on this journey through our community of like-minded women working in different roles and organisations. We provide professional development opportunities for important career skills outside of the technical sciences, as well as introducing and advocating for impactful initiatives that work towards breaking down barriers and building up allies among our peers and at the organisations within which we work.
Join us at one of our events to learn new skills and broaden your network – the fun way!
Be part of our community of like-minded individuals
Tap into one of our initiatives to support you in your career journey
What people say
Franklin Women has been a really good platform for meeting inspiring women whom I wouldn’t have met otherwise. I’m a member of a few science societies, and I can honestly say that FW is the most supportive network that I’m a part of. Even from my very first FW event, everyone in the group was very welcoming and friendly, which felt incredibly special to me as at the time I’d only just moved to Sydney and didn’t know very many people here.
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newsletter and updates
Our monthly e-newsletter keeps you up to date on the news from our sector, shares stories by women on their career journey, and provides updates on our events and initiatives.
You will also find bits and pieces on our favourite things – good food, health and wellbeing, and maybe a few cute animals.
a message from
The career transition had opened up my eyes to the diversity of disciplines, roles and organisations that contribute to improving health through research – how had I not been exposed to this through my 10 years of study and training?!
At the same time, I was entering a stage when my life goals were beginning to compete with my career goals. Buying a home, my partner’s career opportunities, having kids one day, an ageing family, were all on my mind and seemed to be for my peer group too. Unfortunately, I was noticing that the women around me were experiencing more challenges at this juncture than the men, and many of them were quietly thinking of leaving. When I say leaving, I don’t mean leaving their research careers, I mean leaving the sector all together, because of a perceived lack of transferrable skills for other roles and/or limited knowledge of the breadth of roles out there.
To me this was a loss. So, nearly 6 months later, Franklin Women was born in September 2014. A social enterprise that aims to create a health and medical research sector where women thrive. I am so proud of what the organisation has become in the years since our first ever networking event, where 90 women took a chance and turned up to see what this new organisation was all about. We now represent a community of individuals and organisations who together are committed to creating a culture where diverse skills, personalities and experiences are not only valued but welcomed so we each can contribute to our fullest potential.
Thank you to everyone who has been on this spectacular journey with me and the FW team.
Watch Melina share her story on the TEDx stage
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