Jamila Rizvi is an Australian author, presenter, and diversity and inclusion executive. She graduated from the Australian National University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws. During her studies, Jamila served as student president and university council member; she was awarded Young Alumnus of the Year in 2016.
Even before her graduation, Jamila landed a job with then-new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. She worked in various roles for the Rudd and Gillard governments for nearly five years, advising on media, gender equality, youth affairs early childhood education and employment participation.
Jamila’s profile grew when she joined the Mamamia Women's Network, an independent Australian media company, as editor-in-chief. She played a defining role, in shaping the platform’s editorial offering, which covered feminism, current affairs, parenting, and more. Jamila expanded the Network’s influence, growing audiences by 2000 per cent in four years, simultaneously establishing herself as a prominent voice in the media.
A best-selling author, Jamila published the critically acclaimed "Not Just Lucky” in 2017, “The Motherhood” in 2018 and the children’s picture book “I’m a Hero Too” in 2020. She has also edited and contributed to anthologies “Untold Resilience” and “Work. Love. Body”. Her books have sparked conversations and furthered debates around motherhood, valuing older women, workplace discrimination and gender equality.
Jamila is a co-host of The Briefing podcast, a top-20 show that breaks down complex news for a millennial and Gen Z audience. She is also a regular guest host on various Australian television and radio programs, including The Project, The Drum, ABC News Breakfast and Q and A. Jamila is a dynamic, entertaining contributor who blends humour with her insightful analysis of current affairs and social issues.
As an experienced MC, facilitator, and passionate speaker, Jamila has worked with diverse organisations from Visit Victoria to UN Women, Industry Super Australia to the Sydney Opera House, and Westpac Bank to Witchery. She is an enthusiastic, infectious, and intelligent host, with an uncanny ability to quickly comprehend the nuances of an industry, or complex subjects.
Jamila has been named in the Australian Financial Review’s 100 Women of Influence and was a 2020 Women and Leadership Australia award winner. In 2022 she was an HBC International Gold Award Winner, recognising her managerial, leadership and advocacy achievements. She has an active and engaged social media following of more than 125,000 across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Jamila is the Deputy Managing Director of FW, a growing media and training organisation that advocates for gender equality in Australian workplaces. FW supports women who face barriers to paid work to find employment and coaches emerging leaders to advance their careers. She works with corporate and government leaders to achieve diversity and inclusion goals and address unconscious bias.
Jamila writes regularly for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, contributing to issues of gender, economics, identity, and social change and is working on a new book with co-author Rosie Waterland, to be published by Penguin in 2024.
She is a board member of the Wheeler Centre and an ambassador for PLAN International and the Royal Melbourne Hospital Neuroscience Foundation.
Talking Points
Master of Ceremonies
Jamila is a confident and experienced Master of Ceremonies.Master of Ceremonies
She has infectious energy that captures audience attention, putting them, and presenters, at ease. Jamila drives an event towards its goal, keeping the mood in the room positive and focused. Jamila thoroughly prepares to be an MC, while also accepting that everything can change in the moment. She is flexible to evolving needs of the client, anticipates problems and is adept at improvising. Jamila has an outstanding command of language and excellent general knowledge. This makes her a comfortable and curious interviewer, who facilitates surprising, delightful, and informative conversations.
Jamila is a warm, funny, and approachable host who brings a sense of fun and purpose to every event.
Not Just Lucky: How the gender gap undermines women’s confidence
Australian women are suffering from a crisis of confidence at work. Accustomed to being overlooked and undervalued, even when women do get to the top, they explain their success away as ‘luck’. But it’s not. Deftly, devastatingly and with a sprinkling of hilarity, Jamila Rizvi exposes the structural and cultural disadvantages that rob women of their confidence - often without them even realising it. Drawing on case studies, detailed research and her own experience, Jamila is the warm, witty, and wise friend audiences have been waiting for. In this rousing speech, she delivers everything they need to find their confidence and pursue the career opportunities they deserve.
Not Just Lucky: How the gender gap undermines women’s confidence
From Insight to Action: How to make work ‘work’ for women
The pandemic has changed the way Australians work forever but has it been to women’s benefit or their detriment? Jamila Rizvi says that we stand on the precipice of making history. Workplaces have a rare opportunity to finally make gender equality at work, a reality. From Insight to Action: How to make work ‘work’ for women
In this eye-opening speech, Jamila artfully combines storytelling, data, and personal experience, calling on employers and managers to embrace human resource redesign. She challenges audiences to change the way they think about work, how work is valued and why, and makes the case that despite expert projections, gender equality is achievable in our lifetimes.
Perspective and purpose: How uncertainty reveals our reason for being
Jamila Rizvi was 31 years old when she received a shock brain tumour diagnosis. Since then, her life has changed so much as to be nearly unrecognisable. In the wake of her multiple brain surgeries, a friend asked Jamila if this near-death experience had changed her perspective or helped her find new purpose. Unable to respond, Jamila went searching for answers and she found what was actually missing was the right question. Perspective and purpose: How uncertainty reveals our reason for being
In this moving, impactful speech Jamila guides audiences to find their own purpose, in a way that feels achievable not overwhelming. She shares her story with passion, humour and honesty, supporting audiences to reflect and reveal new clarity in their lives.
IWD 2024: Accelerating gender equity through economic empowerment
The way Australian women work today would be virtually unrecognisable to those living seventy years ago. And yet, over the same period, the way men work has largely remained static.IWD 2024: Accelerating gender equity through economic empowerment
More Australian women are participating in paid work, and at higher levels, than ever before. However, extensive barriers remain to women’s economic empowerment, inclusion and equality. Why?
Jamila Rizvi has the answers. In this funny, insightful, and data-driven speech, she engages people of all genders in a surprising conversation about the unseen consequences and unreached possibility of economic equality.
Jamila calls into question ‘the way things have always been done’ at work and at home, unpacking the potential of a new approach that benefits employees and employers. This is the kind of presentation that audience members will recall and retell for years.
Key Takeaways:
- Embrace Change: Recognise and adapt to the evolving work patterns of Australian women, ensuring inclusivity and parity in professional spaces.
- Address Barriers: Identify and dismantle systemic barriers that impede women's economic empowerment in Australia.
- Innovate Traditional Norms: Reevaluate and innovate established work and home standards to foster a more equitable and mutually beneficial environment.
It was an absolute pleasure to work with Jamila as emcee of our virtual conference. She brought humour and sincerity in equal measure, and was so calm and composed when the tech inevitably w ... keep reading Australian Progress
If you want to start a movement you need someone with energy and warmth to get the ball rolling. You need someone who is genuine, intelligent and kind. Jamila Rizvi takes the energy in the room, shape shifts it right along until you have an united community of leaders with fire in their belly. Jamila is a quite extraordinary and informed speaker.
Jamila is an exceptional speaker. She has such a presence on the stage and speaks to content that is well ahead of the current conversation. I would go as far as to say that she is a gender equity futurist. You can hear a pin drop when she speaks and the feedback we have from delegates is always fantastic. She is unrelenting in her approach, it is no wonder she is one of our leading social commentators.
Jamila is one of the most impressive, articulate speakers and creative thinkers. She is warm, engaging and utterly at ease, whether it be interviewing Julia Gillard or talking vajazzling in Sydney Town Hall alongside Ruby Wax.
Funny, inspiring, relevant - Jamila brought all these qualities to her role as MC. In fact she was so good, more than one attendee suggested that she should deliver the 2017 Lecture!
Jamila arrived with a profound understanding of our business and event objectives. She was warm and approachable, with a genuine interest and passion for the product, and this made her presence well received by influencers and vendors alike.
