Australia Awards South and West Asia

In the lead-up to International Women’s Day, Australia Awards – South Asia & Mongolia has launched a podcast series called ‘Spotlight on Gender Equality and Social Inclusion’. The series aims to inspire ideas about how every individual can apply a gender equality and social inclusion lens to their work. In each episode, Australia Awards alumni will be sharing the innovative ways they are building gender equality and social inclusion into their projects. The entire series is available to listen to for free on the Australia Awards – South Asia & Mongolia website and Spotify.

The fourth episode features Dawa Bhuti, an Australia Awards alumna from Bhutan. You can listen to it here:

Alternatively, you may be able to access it on Spotify:

Dawa is a Project Manager in Druk Green Power Corporation’s Projects and Contracts Department. She completed a Master of Engineering (Electrical Engineering) at the University of New South Wales in 2014 with the support of an Australia Awards Scholarship.

Dawa is also a member of Bhutan’s Women in Leadership Network (WiLN) and actively participates in its initiatives. Having grown up in a community where women often had to sacrifice their ambitions for the sake of men, she is delighted to be creating a ripple of positive change and hopes that the network’s efforts will empower girls to be independent individuals.

Dawa (second row, third from left) participating in a gender equality campaign with the Women in Leadership Network in Bhutan for International Women’s Day 2019.

In the podcast, Dawa talks about her experience as one of the female Project Managers within her company. This perspective helped her integrate a gender equality and social inclusion lens into her work with her team, thereby promoting a more inclusive and respectful work environment.

Dawa also explains some of the key lessons that she has learnt about considering gender equality and social inclusion. For example, she has seen that inclusivity leads to increased team collaborations, with the result that her team members are more motivated and more productive. Together, they end up making better decisions, which leads to improved performance.

Finally, listen to the episode in full to hear Dawa share tips about integrating a gender equality and social inclusion lens into your own work, so that you too can reap the benefits of fostering an inclusive culture wherein all voices are heard and valued.