International Women’s Day is March 8, and this year’s theme is #BreakTheBias.

To celebrate IWD 2022, we’re taking this opportunity to introduce you to some of the women behind the scenes at Linktree, and the women who empower them to celebrate who they are to #BreakTheBias. Because together we can build a more gender-equal world without bias and stereotypes.

Laura Desouza, Creative Services Manager (Brand Design)

Melbourne, Australia 

During 2020, I stumbled across a podcast by Alexis Ferdandez-Preiksa; a 32 year old, Sydney-based, neuroscience master’s student, mental health advocate, personal trainer, entrepreneur and most recently, author. 

Entitled “Do you F***ing Mind?” Alexis’ podcast is educational, intellectual and inspiring as she deep dives into topics about self love, inner growth, and learning to give less of a f*** about what others think and instead, live your best life. 

As a woman of colour, born and raised in Australia with an ethnic background, my life experience since a teen has been shaped by a lot of negativity including discrimination, racism, sexism and bullying.

Listening to Alexis’ words week after week is empowering and her podcast has reshaped my mindset. Today, I am self assured, confident, independent, successful, happy and proud of who I am, the color of my skin and my heritage. After years of wishing I were someone else, I finally found peace within (and have never needed a spray tan!).

Clémence Lévecque, Data Scientist

Melbourne, Australia

“We’ve been getting up and we’re getting the hell out.” – Adèle Haenel 

Adèle is a French actress who has won several nominations and awards and above all, she’s been a huge inspiration for me as a feminist and social justice advocate. In 2020, when Roman Polanski, a convicted rapist, received a César award, she stood up and left shouting “Shame” and “Bravo pedophilia.” It was an incredible move in the film industry which has gained a lot of support from actresses, authors and women from different sectors. She’s an amazing example of someone who believes in a just cause and will fight for it, no matter what the press might say about her, or what the status quo is.

I highly recommend reading Virginie Despentes’ letter following this event which perfectly expresses how I feel and why it’s so important to follow in Adèle’s footsteps.

Claudia Stamfel, Senior Software Engineer

Sydney, Australia

As a developer who has been in the industry for a while, I have a lot of respect for other engineers and have been lucky enough to work with strong women. 

In recent years, I noticed an engineer, Charlie Gerard, who started her path doing a software engineering immersive course through General Assembly. These are usually a few months long and help people kick start their development career. Charlie is now an instructor and has amassed over 45k twitter followers due to her amazing work! 

In her spare time she explores the field of human-computer interaction (HCI) and builds interactive prototypes using hardware, machine learning and creative coding. She has spoken at many conferences and is a well-known leader in the industry!

Charlie inspires me because of her passion and tenacity. She wants to create, learn and share. She has a bright future ahead of her and I am totally watching this space!

Gabriella Vawdrey, Group Product Manager 

Sydney,  Australia

Everytime I read a post from Jameela Jamil, activist and actress, I can’t help but nod enthusiastically. She stands up and shares her opinion with a global audience in a powerful, raw and relatable manner. Championing growth and progress over perfection, to not only accept who we are as women but celebrate that fact loudly. A message that cannot be heard enough as we scroll through social media daily. 

Are you ready to help #BreakTheBias? Find out more here.