Local nonprofit organisation Fearless Women, who support girls and young women in the ACT to fear less and live life with confidence, courage, resilience and hope, held the first of their 2025 lunchtime Big and Little Lunch fundraising events on Thursday 11 April at the Canberra Bowling Club. The lunch was sponsored by Cornerstone, a women led Canberra based management consultancy.

Funds raised will help Fearless Women, to continue to mentor and support the ACT’s young women and girls.

To date, Fearless Women receives very little government funding.

Last week’s Little Lunch afforded approximately 50 attendees, the opportunity for an intimate insight into the lives and careers of their featured speakers: Fearless Women founding board member and former Federal Labor MP Gai Brodtmann, and former ACT Liberal MLA Nicole Lawder.

Glenda Stevens, Fearless Women CEO and ACT 2024 Senior Woman of the Year, said that she invited Ms Brodtmann and Ms Lawder after pondering, “What happens to politicians when the bright lights fade and the parliamentary doors close?”

Ms Stevens added during her introduction, “Both Gai and Nicole have made significant contributions to public life during their time in politics.”

Attendees were captivated by the personal insights into both Ms Brodtmann and Ms Lawder’s early lives, what inspired them to enter politics and key lessons they have learned.

Ms Brodtmann shared that her drive to enter politics came from, “…what I have dubbed my working-class matriarchy, which really shaped my world view”, she said.

“My great grandmother was a single mother who had 13 children and lived in a dirt house with paper walls.”  Ms Brodtmann’s grandmother and mother were also single mothers, and her mother insisted that she and her sisters had access to education, as well as schooling them well in the value of volunteerism.

Ms Lawder describes her family background as also very community focused. Her mother taught English to refugees and migrants and volunteered at the local fire brigade.

She recalls that whilst she had worked in both the public and private sectors prior to her political career, it was when her brother was shot that she moved into the homelessness and disability sectors. “It was a catalyst to go into the community sector,” she said.

Ms Lawder stated, “At one point whilst working in the community sector, while asking politicians for money, I started to wonder, ‘Who is making these decisions?’. And that’s when I decided to go into politics.”

What are they doing now? 

Ms Brodtmann continues to serve on various community boards as well as doing public policy work at the Australian War College, and the occasional presentation at the National Security College on Women, Peace and Security and Cyber Security. 

Ms Lawder decided to go back to university, where she is now studying her doctorate at the ANU. 

“What I’m looking at, is what happens to politicians when they’ve finished being politicians,” she said. 

Don’t miss the next lunch! 

There will be two more Little Lunches this year, on 25 June and 29 October, as well as a Big Lunch in October, on a date to be decided.

If you would like to attend, these events will be published via Humanitix on the Fearless Women events page, or you can sign up to the mailing list: fearlesswomen.org.au/contact