Katherine Woodthorpe

Katherine Lesley Woodthorpe AO FTSE is an Australian chair and company director, president and fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, and fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.^[1][2] She has also been chair of the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Bushfire and Natural Hazards, chair of Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC, as well as Chair of National Climate Science Advisory Committee.^[3]

Katherine Woodthorpe AO FTSE
Born	Malaysia
Nationality	Australian
Education	BSc (Hons) Manchester University, PhD Chemistry, Leicester University
Occupation	Professional company director
Known for	Chair Bushfire & Natural Hazards CRC & Antarctic Science Foundation & President of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering
Title	Dr

Early life and career

Woodthorpe was born in Malaysia and grew up in Hong Kong. She obtained a honours degree in chemistry, at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, then a PhD in chemistry from the University of Leicester.^[4] She worked in Western Australia, and then Europe, as well as selling medical products in Western Australia. She was employed in her role in Western Australia during a time when women were 'discriminated against', and not allowed to work underground nor drink with their colleagues.^[4] She has one son.^[4] She has served on the board of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, as well as charing the Hearing CRC, and the tech start-up Fishburners.

Woodthorpe was the Chief Executive of AVCAL, which is the Australian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association. She has worked in private equity and insurance sectors, as well as technology, healthcare and mining industries. She is also a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.^[5]

In 2022 she became the first woman appointed president of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.^[6]

Gender equity

Upon being awarded the Order of Australia, Woodthorpe commented on the role of women in STEM in Australia,

"I hope [receiving this honor] encourages more nominations of women in science and business worlds as there are so many more important contributions going unrecognized".^[7]

She has argued that more women are required to be appointed to leadership roles, and specifically, chairing roles, which will allow diverse thinking 'otherwise group think sets in'^[8]

Woodthorpe has a syndicate within the organisation "Women in Boards" named after her.^[9] She has also been a panelist on an event discussing gender within science, addressing the chronic under-representation and loss of female talent in the scientific workforce, on 'Gender Balance in Science", hosted at ANU.^[10]

Media

Woodthorpe has been active on both radio and print media.^{[11][12][13][14][2]}

In 2018, she said that company directors were being urged by investors to act on climate change. She argued that companies which have infrastructure in coastal areas with risks of climate related events had special interest in acting on climate change.^{[citation needed]}

"In other countries climate change is not a political… and it is disappointing that it is not [given the same support] in Australia."^[15]

Woodthorpe has discussed the need for evidence and decisions based on facts, and evidence, particularly in relation to vaccines. She discussed the cuts to funding for science research, arguing that the science cuts will hold back the Australian economy.^[16][17][18]

Prizes honours and awards

• 2011 – Honorary PhD, UTS.^[19]
• 2013 – Australian Financial Review's 100 women of influence.^[1]
• 2015 – Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering.^[20]
• 2017 – Officer of the Order of Australia.^[21]
• 2021 – National Press Club, Ralph Slatyer Address on Science and Technology.^[1]

External links

• National Press Club 2021 Ralph Slatyer Address.
• Twitter account
• Women in Climate Change 2021

References

1. "Dr Katherine Woodthorpe AO". National Press Club of Australia. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
2. Osborne, Paul (20 October 2021). "Don't boost climate deniers: scientist". The Murray Valley Standard. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
3. "Governance". Astralis: Australia's National Capability for Optical Astronomy Instrumentation. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
4. "Katherine Woodthorpe". University of Technology Sydney. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
5. "Dr Katherine Woodthorpe". Bioplatforms. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
6. Roberts, Peter (6 October 2022). "Katherine Woodthorpe named ATSE president". Australian Manufacturing Forum. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
7. "HEARing CRC Chair Dr Katherine Woodthorpe receives Order of Australia - The HEARing CRC". www.hearingcrc.org. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
8. "On female chairs: a way forward". InnovationAus. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
9. "Women in Boards".
10. Convenor, Gender Institute; [e-mail]. "Gender balance in science". genderinstitute.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
11. "How do we get more D in Australia's R&D?". ABC Radio National. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
12. "'You'll never guess where you are going to end up'". Australian Financial Review. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
13. Roberts, Peter (20 October 2021). "Anti-science threatens society and why we need science more than ever - by Dr Katherine Woodthorpe". Australian Manufacturing Forum. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
14. "Media has role in stemming science attacks". 7NEWS. 19 October 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
15. "Why Australian company directors have started caring about climate change". ABC News. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
16. "Savage science cuts will hold back Australian economy, researchers say". The Guardian. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
17. "The Last Word: Dr Katherine Woodthorpe AO FAICD". aicd.companydirectors.com.au. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
18. "Women for Media Profile - Carol Schwartz AM, Amy Mullins, Denis Moriarty, Vanessa Nolan-Woods, Kathy Richardson, Cathy Truong - WLIA Profiles | Women for Media". Women for Media | Welcome. 27 December 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
19. "Honorary Doctors". University of Technology Sydney. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
20. "All Fellows: Katherine Woodthorpe AO FAICD FTSE". Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
21. "2017 Queen's Birthday Honours (Australia)", Wikipedia, 27 August 2021, retrieved 1 December 2021