OUR STORY
Empowering flexible workplaces
We are fierce advocates for gender equality and human rights. We back that up with practical support for the world’s smarted employers and their people.
Where practical support meets a gender equality movement
Our vision is for a world in which people of all genders are equally responsible for the most important decisions made – in the home and in the workplace.
We are fierce advocates for gender equality and human rights, and back that up with practical support for some of the world’s smartest employers and their people.
Our enterprise platform, coaching and consulting empower,
- Employers to get the most from their people
- Parents and carers to stay engaged in work
- Workplaces to uncover and shift gender biases, and put care at the centre of work.
We want to build a future where workplace structures and systems are built on true flexibility. When you assume that people have caring responsibilities, you create a system that suits all people, and unlock hidden talent, productivity and wellbeing.
Everything we do is seen through an intersectional lens, and grounded in research and evidence. We want to know what works, and do more of it, for all people.
Defining Gender Equality
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and law, making gender equality a human right. Gender Equality refers to “equality of rights, opportunities, responsibilities and outcomes between persons of different genders” (Gender Equality Act, 2020 (Vic)).
We acknowledge that gender is not binary, and people of all genders deserve to reach their potential, free from gender stereotypes, roles or prejudices.
We recognise that gender inequality does not impact everyone the same way. The intersections of race, ability, religion, sexuality compound and affect different people in different ways. Yet our research shows that when those who have the most to gain from workplace gender equality are empowered, they will, in fact, gain the most.
Where it all began
Grace Papers was founded by Prue and Ben Gilbert in 2010 to forge a more equal future. As we grew our family, we ourselves were pursuing new kids of working and living every day.
We wanted to challenge traditional stereotypes and provide a platform to empower both working parents and their employers.
Why Grace?
Grace is more than our name. It’s deeply connected to our purpose.
We imagine a world where we approach culture – and each other – with grace. Where what we do doesn’t just matter; it’s how we treat others, as well as ourselves, that makes the difference.
Grace implores us to look for the potential in each other and to maintain grace while under pressure. It is the core value that so many of our clients nominate that they themselves and their teams aspire to. And it’s quite literally the women – and men – gracing our pages and joining us to forge a more equal future, together.
Today
Today, we are trusted by some of Australia’s smartest companies.
Our platform offers emotionally-intelligent, evidence-based, targeted and scalable interventions that educate, motivate and empower employees and leaders.
Day to day, our diversity and inclusion experts translate employee data into game changing insights. These insights drive gender equity and inclusion, which increases employee satisfaction, productivity, performance and profitability.
We support more than 200,000 families through our workplace partnerships, as we evolve workplace policies, practices and norms and empower employees to strike the right balance between career and care, navigate parental leave transitions and approach work/life challenges with grace.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and law, making gender equality a human right. Gender Equality refers to “equality of rights, opportunities, responsibilities and outcomes between persons of different genders” (Gender Equality Act, 2020 (Vic)).
We acknowledge that gender is not binary, and people of all genders deserve to reach their potential, free from gender stereotypes, roles or prejudices.
We recognise that gender inequality does not impact everyone the same way. The intersections of race, ability, religion, sexuality compound and affect different people in different ways. Yet our research shows that when those who have the most to gain from workplace gender equality are empowered, they will, in fact, gain the most.
Grace Papers was founded by Prue and Ben Gilbert in 2010 to forge a more equal future. As we grew our family, we ourselves were pursuing new kinds of working and living every day.
We wanted to challenge traditional stereotypes and provide a platform to empower both working parents and their employers.
Grace is more than our name. It’s deeply connected to our purpose.
We imagine a world where we approach culture – and each other – with grace. Where what we do doesn’t just matter; it’s how we treat others, as well as ourselves, that makes the difference.
Grace implores us to look for the potential in each other and to maintain grace while under pressure. It is the core value that so many of our clients nominate that they themselves and their teams aspire to. And it’s quite literally the women – and men – gracing our pages and joining us to forge a more equal future, together.
Today, we are trusted by some of Australia’s smartest companies.
Our platform offers emotionally-intelligent, evidence-based, targeted and scalable interventions that educate, motivate and empower employees and leaders.
Day to day, our diversity and inclusion experts translate employee data into game changing insights. These insights drive gender equity and inclusion, which increases employee satisfaction, productivity, performance and profitability.
We support more than 200,000 families through our workplace partnerships, as we evolve workplace policies, practices and norms and empower employees to strike the right balance between career and care, navigate parental leave transitions and approach work/life challenges with grace.
Meet Prue
The Australian Financial Review named her in the top 100 Women of Influence for Diversity and Inclusion in 2018.
Marie Claire called her the “the anti-discrimination guru”.
Vogue named her a “Game Changer”.
And her business won the Australian Human Rights Business Award for addressing sex (pregnancy) discrimination.
We call her our founder and CEO.
Prue Gilbert is a lawyer, qualified executive coach and Fellow of the The Governance Institute.
Every day, Prue educates and influences leaders, CEOs, government and ASX-listed businesses as well as the broader community. She is changing a generation of workplaces to enable ambition, careers and care to thrive.
Prue’s approach balances practical tools and interventions with advocacy and activism. This approach sits at the heart of Grace Papers, and flows through our platform, consulting and executive coaching work.
Outside of Grace Papers, Prue shines a light on issues such as,
- Gender equality in sport, as an inaugural Advisory Board Member for the AFL Players Association for the Women’s League.
- Representation of women’s contributions as an inaugural Board Member of A Monument of One’s Own.
- Sexual harassment, as member of the legal steering committee of NOW Australia.
- Workplace discrimination for same sex parent, as an advisor to some of Australia’s largest organisations.
- Everyday sexism in our schools through the #ShareTheGrass campaign.
Meet our team
Ben Gilbert
Operations Director
When Ben’s not out advocating for leaders to embrace flex for themselves, he’s running our business operations. Ben is a commercial strategist with a great interest in public policy. He has over 20 years experience in corporate finance and strategy roles, within the public and private sector. He was most recently CEO of CommsChoice.
Amanda Meehan
Head of Flexibility & Coaching
Amanda has a Masters in Executive coaching and Law and a decade of legal experience supporting dedicated, growth minded, brilliant women to remain connected to their successful careers as they focus on motherhood, and is passionate about supporting them to remain connected to their workplaces and engaged with their careers over the long term.
Kristy Macfarlane
Head of Diversity & Inclusion
Kristy is passionate about building inclusive organisations where all people can thrive. A highly skilled Human Resource Leader, Executive Coach, facilitator and a thought leader in Diversity & Inclusion Kristy has found her purpose in life. Kristy wants to empower others to discover their purpose and anchor to it, so they can be their best self.
Kate Gilson
Head of Client Strategy
Kate is a People & Culture Leader with over 20 years’ experience in HR and leadership; supporting organisations to build a strong people capability and a distinctive culture. Kate supports Grace Papers clients to introduce innovative gender inclusion strategies and cutting-edge policies and practices, as well as coaching key talent through parental leave.
Tegan Sturrock
Head of On Demand Coaching and Customer Success
Integrating her expert knowledge in the field of Public Health and Neuroscience, Tegan combines her wealth of knowledge and experience in educating, researching and consulting with her coaching experience to empower our customers to unlock the benefits of our platform, supporting them through their journey, and empowering them to realise their full potential.
Anna Oxley Rintoul
Executive Coach
Anna Oxley Rintoul is a social enterprise leader and advocate, board member and Principal Coach of Flourish Coaching Australia. She is the Founder of Takes a Village Australia, and mum to three kids with neurodiverse conditions. Anna’s mission is to support families living this ‘extra zing’ life and connect them with experts, advice and love.
Veronica Millen
Emily Rayner
Head of Digital and Marketing
Emily is a senior digital content marketing specialist with 20 years of content creation and strategic experience, working in Australia and internationally with companies such as BBC, Fairfax/Nine, Southern Cross Austereo, Optus, ITV, and Bauer Publishing. She brings both a global and local lens to data-driven, brand storytelling, ensuring engaging content resonates with diverse market segments and is inclusive in approach, which is central to Grace Papers vision.
Jackson Bates
Chief Technology Officer
Jackson started his career with 12 years in high school education and quit to become a full time stay-at-home Dad, passing the career baton on to his partner. Now as CTO at Grace Papers, he is committed to fighting the Patriarchy with JavaScript and helping other parents find the balance of priorities that works for them. Jackson also mentors junior developers and career changers through his long-standing association with freeCodeCamp and other local groups to help them overcome bias and gate-keeping that has negatively affected diversity efforts in tech.
Cooper Viktor
Software Developer
Cooper worked in a bank for 7 years across Coaching and Facilitation, Digital Change Management and Usability Testing roles before taking a career break to study Software Development. While Cooper’s focus shifted to Information Technology, he never lost the passion for Coaching and Change Management. Cooper came to Grace Papers with a passion for LGBTQI and Gender Equality in the workplace and has a lot of pride knowing he creates Software that aims to solve inequality in the workplace.
Louisa Reiss
Data Scientist
Louisa is a Data Scientist with a background in Law and International Business. She is passionate about extracting insights from data and is excited to use these insights to drive gender equality outcomes. Working in a male-dominated field she sees firsthand that we still have a long way to go in terms of gender equality and is grateful to be part of this movement.
Thara Vidyaratne
Customer Success Manager
Thara has worked in the world of tech start-ups since 2017, helping to scale the sales teams at both Zoom and Podium pre-IPO. She is now using her Customer Success skills to help the amazing organisations that have partnered with Grace Papers. She is truly passionate about diversity, inclusion and culture within the workplace and wants to help organisations around the world to become leaders in equity and equality.
Maddy Rose
Marketing Coordinator
Maddy has a Masters of Marketing Communication and a passion for diversity and accessibility, particularly for LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent individuals. They also have 5+ years of experience working in the video games industry where they gained experience supporting teams to share the things they love. Their focus in on fostering positive, supportive and open communities that promote equality for all genders.
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Build a more equal workplace and create lasting change, today.
