International Women’s Day
March 05, 2026
On International Women's Day 2026, Maureen Turner, BioGrid Australia’s CEO, would like to acknowledge the incredible contribution by the women directors on BioGrid's Board.
Kylie Maher, Clare Scott and Karin Verspoor are all outstanding leaders in their fields, and through their voluntary directorships they support BioGrid and its membership with their expert advice and leadership.
This helps BioGrid to carefully consider the services it provides that will respond to the diverse needs of all our stakeholders, who in turn are creating positive outcomes for all in the Australian community.
Kylie Maher
BioGrid Board member Kylie Maher is an experienced risk consulting professional with an impressive track record helping clients in the health, education and aged care sectors.
Kylie’s work with secondary and tertiary educational establishments has supported their work to ensure the safety of students and staff, something Kylie is passionate about.
Her roles on the boards of major metropolitan and public health services reflect Kylie’s strong commitment to using her skills and experience to make life better for others, particularly children.
In 2025, Kylie was invited to present at the International Safeguarding Conference in Rome, on Governance of Child Safety Culture: The Role of Women in Governance and Leadership. In her presentation, Kylie reflected on a case study that highlighted the need for female role models in environments where child safety is a risk.
Kylie exemplifies the International Women’s Day 2026 theme of “Balance the Scales” in her work to ensure women’s voices are heard in places of leadership, advocating for the vulnerable.
Women bring valuable and often distinct lenses to governance and leadership, and bring critical oversight in times of crisis. I believe women must play a stronger role in board and management leadership, shaping culture, amplifying voices, and leading meaningful change.
Kylie Maher
“I believe women must play a stronger role in board and management leadership, shaping culture, amplifying voices, and leading meaningful change.”
Clare Scott
Women’s health has long been an area of special interest for BioGrid Board member Clare Scott AM, who was recognized in the Queen’s Birthday 2022 Honours list for her significant service to gynaecological oncology.
Clare, who is the Chair of ANZGOG, the peak national gynaecological cancer research organisation in Australia and New Zealand, has had a career that has always focused on making a difference to women’s lives, though she is quick to share the credit for the extensive work she has done with her colleagues.
Her work on gynaecological cancers led her to a broader interest in rare cancers and a passion for improving outcomes and equity of access to research for people diagnosed with a rare cancer, particularly through her involvement as a Principal Investigator for the Australian Rare Cancer (ARC) Portal. Clare is also an advocate for listening to the voices of those impacted by the diseases she studies, to ensure research outcomes are appropriate to the needs of those patients.
I believe that involving the community in research enhances the purpose of our research and magnifies the benefits of what we do"
Clare Scott
Clare’s focus on inclusive science is a key element of her approach to her work, acknowledging and addressing the reality that women who suffer gynaecological cancers are not served by a “one size fits all” approach to care and treatment.
Karin Verspoor
Karin Verspoor has been a director on BioGrid’s Board for 10 years and is recognized as a leader in digital health; in 2021 she was a recipient of one of the inaugural Telstra Health “Brilliant Women in Digital” awards.
In recent years Karin has become a leading voice on artificial intelligence (AI) in health (she’s a co-founder of the Australian Alliance for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare), and was nominated for the 2022 Women in AI (WAI) Award for the ChEMU (Cheminformatics Elsevier Melbourne Universities) project, and was elected to the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) in 2024 for contributions to impactful interdisciplinary collaboration, educational leadership, and STEM diversity initiatives.
Along with her industry-leading work on developing and improving AI in healthcare, Karin is passionate about advocating for women in STEM.
As a leader in education in the role of Executive Dean of the RMIT of Computing Technologies, she is a visible example of what can be achieved by women in the field. As an RMIT University Distinguished Professor, STEM college, she is also a reminder of how important it is to have women’s voices in the critical phases of decision-making and design to ensure balanced representation and outputs that benefit people across the board.
I live by the principle that good leadership is grounded in purpose. It’s critical that leaders ensure a diversity of voices are heard for decision-making that is truly representative and results in fair outcomes for all.
Karin Verspoor
“In the digital health space this is especially important, as women traditionally have not been sufficiently heard or involved in decisions that affect them and their health. I’m passionate about building technology that has a social impact and makes a real difference to people’s lives.”