Women from Permanent Impressions in 2021
Professor LYN BEAZLEY - Interviewed by Carmen Jenner
Appointed as Chief Scientist of Western Australia in 2006 and appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for her service into medical science in 2009, Lyn Beazley AO is synonymous with science. Deemed a Science Ambassador, she is an expert in neuroscience and neurotrauma and has a strong interest in radio astronomy, biofuels, wind energy and bionic vision. Since quitting permanent employment, we caught up with Lyn to find out more about her involvement with the Financial Toolbox as well as her work with people living with autism. Combined with talent and compassion, Lyn’s contribution to Western Australia continues to be an inspiration and is deservedly celebrated in the Permanent Impressions collection.
Please tell me more about the Financial Toolbox.
The Financial Toolbox is aimed at helping women with their finances, especially those who are victims of domestic and/or financial abuse. Firstly, we run workshops to give women financial knowhow with experts in accounting, superannuation and law who give their time pro bono. We design each workshop to cover topics that people are interested in such as investing, superannuation or personal budgeting.
And the second aspect?
The other part is Your Toolkit, which is a web-based resource for women who are thinking of actively leaving an abusive situation due to domestic violence or financial abuse – sometimes both as they often go to together. The Toolkit provides information on how to prepare immediately before and after leaving the relationship, and in the long term so they can thrive.
How did it go during Covid-19?
We received loads more traffic to our website during the pandemic. We’ve noticed at workshops a spike in women getting divorced or separating from their partners and needing to establish their own finances. There have been instances where women have inherited debt from their exes and recently widowed women struggling to work it all out.
How did you get involved in the Financial Toolbox?
It all started when I won Western Australian of the Year in 2015 and I went over to Canberra for the Australian of the Year awards, which Rosie Batty won for her campaign in stopping family violence. I asked her what I could do to help other women and she pointed out how about two-thirds of women return to abusive situations mainly because their partner controls the finances. So, we set up this wonderful not-for-profit with support from the state government via Simone McGurk, the Minister for Women’s Interests, Lotterywest and other agencies along with philanthropic support.
What’s your point of difference?
You can get advice from a bank but that’s always going to be seen as potentially biased. We couldn’t see any places that women could go to get financial advice about setting up their own bank account, having their own credit card or tax file number. We were very conscious of the financial help needed for women, but we invite everyone to try it, including men and people of all ages from any socio-economic background. We have no geographical barriers either and we’d like to reach more women in rural or remote regions, which is why having a web-based facility is really important for us.
The Toolbox sounds like a much-needed service. Your work with people on the autism spectrum sounds really interesting too.
Approximately one in between 68 to 100 children are diagnosed with autism and this includes a very wide spectrum, including those who are computer savvy but not great with social interactions. They have a huge amount to give. I’m now an ambassador for the Autism Academy at Curtin University reaching out to young people on the autism spectrum in schools and universities. We run a program to find them paid placements in the IT industry for those graduating from TAFE or university in computer science.
You have been busy.
I don’t have a day job anymore, so I have more time to do all this now. Another thing I’ve been working on is Women in Technology WA, which is the largest networking organisation for women in the state. We reach out to girls and encourage them to keep studying STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) subjects because 75% of new jobs are going to need STEM skills.
With such strong advocacy for women it must have poignant to be part of Permanent Impressions.
It was extraordinary how after just one session and a few photos how Jana created such a wonderful representation of me on canvas. I’ve sat for other portraits before for hours on end but this was different and so easy for me. It was an honour to be part of the project and to also have shared the pages with the other ladies in the Permanent Impressions book.
What did you think when you saw your portrait for the first time?
It was an angle of my face that I don’t normally see so I think this semi-profile is probably how people see me in an interactive situation. She did a great job seeing me through different eyes.