Shirley Chowdhary
August 29, 2019 2024-07-28 23:27Shirley Chowdhary
Chair
Non-Executive Director
Chair, Audit & Risk Committees
Speaker
2024 Doctor of Letters (USyd)
AFR 100 Women of Influence
Shirley Chowdhary is a Non-Executive director on the boards of Northrop Engineering and the Australian Associated Press, and the Chair of Women for Election. She sits on the Advisory Board of Propel, an organisation that works with boards and leaders to enhance and protect digital reputation, and Mentor Walks, providing accessible mentoring for over 6,000 women across Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Dubai and Singapore. Shirley also chairs a peer-to-peer CEO mentoring group with the Leadership Think Tank, and consults and volunteers with a number of charities.
Shirley’s current portfolio aims to create commercially sustainable services and products for all members of our community. She is a passionate advocate for Indigenous empowerment, gender equity and inclusion, and she aims to create a strong connection between people, place and purpose through her work. Her work was most recently recognized in 2024 when she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Sydney for her contribution to the law, business, gender and Indigenous affairs. Previously, she was also recognised as a 2019 AFR 100 Women of Influence.
Shirley is an internationally experienced leader with diverse experience across law, financial services, the NFP sector and journalism. She is admitted to practice law in NSW and New York and has worked in the corporate and for-purpose sectors across Asia, the US, Europe, Australia and Canada for almost 30 years. Recently she spoke publicly about her 10 year career gap from the traditional workforce and has shared her story about the challenges she faced.
She is a speaker, MC and facilitator and is available for bookings through Saxton Group.
Shirley’s current portfolio aims to create commercially sustainable services and products for all members of our community. She is a passionate advocate for Indigenous empowerment, gender equity and inclusion, and she aims to create a strong connection between people, place and purpose through her work. Her work was most recently recognized in 2024 when she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Sydney for her contribution to the law, business, gender and Indigenous affairs. Previously, she was also recognised as a 2019 AFR 100 Women of Influence.
Shirley is an internationally experienced leader with diverse experience across law, financial services, the NFP sector and journalism. She is admitted to practice law in NSW and New York and has worked in the corporate and for-purpose sectors across Asia, the US, Europe, Australia and Canada for almost 30 years. Recently she spoke publicly about her 10 year career gap from the traditional workforce and has shared her story about the challenges she faced.
She is a speaker, MC and facilitator and is available for bookings through Saxton Group.
Media
Article | 21 May 2024 | University of Sydney
Distinguished alumna Shirley Chowdhary has been awarded an honorary doctorate in recognition of her achievements and leadership across industries and advocacy for the advancement of Indigenous education and gender equality.
Article | 7 October 2022 | Commonwealth Bank
A workplace that is more inclusive, that truly embraces diversity of thought, background and experience, is the workplace of the future, explains diversity advocate and non-executive director Shirley Chowdhary.
Article | 11 June 2016 | Huffington Post
The research is now unequivocal. Diversity of all kinds (but not too much) - of gender, culture, age and experience - creates better leadership, better company boards, a more creative and more productive workforce, and it adds to the bottom line.
Article | 28 Sept 2016 | Huffington Post
As you approach your final school exams EVER, there is so much I want to share with you. So many lessons that I want you to take on your journey - lessons which I learnt too late and, in some cases, those I still grapple with.
Article | 25 November 2015 | Huffington Post
Until we remove the stigma that comes with the biological fact that women carry the children and give birth, we aren't going to have a level playing field. Men should be encouraged to take time away from their careers to share the privilege of being with their children in those precious first few years of life. In return, their partners could return to the workforce earlier, or at least have the choice to do so.
Previous
Next
Talking Points: IWD 2024: Reshaping Systems and Barriers for Women’s Economic Empowerment; Diversity & Inclusion as a Driver for Change; Leading for the Next Decade; Reconciliation from a Non-Indigenous Perspective; Lessons from My Career Journey; MC’ing and Facilitation
Get in touch with Shirley
For all enquiries, including to enquire about joining Shirley’s CEO mentoring group, please fill in the contact form.
For all MC, speaking and facilitation enquiries, please get in touch via Saxton Speakers.