November 19 is International Women’s Entrepreneurship Day so today we are celebrating fabulous women in business making a difference to the lives of everyday Australians.

Women’s Entrepreneurship Day (WED) was founded by entrepreneur Wendy Diamond following a trip to Honduras where she witnessed extreme poverty. Diamond was inspired to pioneer a movement to empower women in business and Women’s Entrepreneurship Day was born.

Meet 9 women entrepreneurs making a difference

Ronni Kahn – OzHarvest

One of our best-known social entrepreneurs, Ronni Kahn has been rescuing food from landfill and distributing this food waste to local charities to help feed vulnerable Australians since 2004. OzHarvest delivers the equivalent of around 25 million meals a year that would otherwise be dumped. She has been fundamental to the fight against food waste in Australia.

Emma Isaacs – Business Chicks

Isaacs was just a teen when she bought her first business, a recruitment agency called Staff It. At the age of 25 she invested in a fledgling women’s networking business, Business Chicks, and the rest, as they say, is history. Today Business Chicks boasts a network of over 50,000 members with a sole aim of empowering women in business. While Isaacs now lives in the US, the impact of Business Chicks on the Australian women’s entrepreneur scene is undeniable.

Laura Trotta – Sustainahome

One of Australia’s leading home sustainability experts, Laura Trotta is passionate about the environment. With a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering, and a Masters of Science (in Environmental Chemistry) Trotta’s mission is to make sustainability mainstream. Her businesses Sustainababy and Sustainahome focused on providing Australian consumers with clean green alternatives to traditional cleaning and baby products. Recently she changed tact and shut down her online store to focus on sustainability education. Her Eco Chat podcast is one of the most popular on iTunes.

Carrie Kwan – Mums & Co

Co-founder and CEO of Mums & Co, Carrie Kwan is passionate about empowering mums in business to succeed. Her mission is to help aspiring business mums to achieve their dreams and Mums & Co is the platform she uses to do so. As a mum running a business, Kwan knows firsthand the challenges faced by mum entrepreneurs on a daily basis.  Mums & Co is geared towards helping mums in business thrive.

Julie Mathers – Flora & Fauna

As the founder of Flora & Fauna, Julie Mathers operates the world’s largest vegan store. Mathers says she is driven to make a difference when it comes to people, the planet and animals. Mathers founded the purpose-driven business in 2014, and says she wanted to drive change with both consumers and the industry to see ethical and cruelty-free as their first option.

Rosie & Lucy Thomas – Project Rockit

For the past 14 years, Rosie and Lucy Thomas have dedicated their lives to ending cyberbullying. The sisters were inspired to create Project Rockit to empower school students to stand up against bullying, hate and prejudice. Project Rockit workshops help students explore themes of inclusion and encourage respectful relationships, ethics and empathy.

Sarah Moran – Geek Girl Academy

Sarah Moran was just five years old when she first learnt to code and as the co-founder and CEO of Geek Girl Academy, she is passionate about increasing the number of women and girls with careers in STEM. Geek Girl Academy initiatives include coding and hackathons, 3D printing and wearables, game development, design, entrepreneurship and startups.

Lorna Deng – DivTal

As the co-founder of DivTal, Lorna Deng is passionate about diversity and inclusion.  As a South Sudanese Australian, Deng knows all too well the employment barriers migrants face in Australia. DivTal is the result of her and cofounder Bedi Othow’s mission to improve the employment opportunities of job candidates from underrepresented minority backgrounds. The online platform pairs employers to job candidates from diverse backgrounds to create a more inclusive workforce.

Gali Blacher and Madelyn Jones – The Good Box

Gali Blacher and Good Box co-founder Madelyn Jones are on a quest to abolish misconceptions about people experiencing homelessness. Their Good Boxes are packed with vital necessities that the duo hope spark conversation amongst givers, while providing much-needed products for those Australians doing it tough and living rough.

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