Migrant and Refugee women have a vast diversity of valuable skills and knowledge to offer to economic and social life in Australia. Despite that, many of us find it hard to fully realise our unique personal and professional potential and leadership capabilities.
Difficulties faced by migrant and refugee women in achieving full participation range from limited recognition of our skills, qualifications and experience obtained overseas to lack of information and guidance on navigating professional pathways in a new country. The unemployment rate for women born overseas is 6.3% – higher than that for all Australian men (5.7%) and women (5.4%) (ABS 2016 Census for people aged between 20 and 74 years old).
Due to systemic barriers, there is also an underrepresentation of migrant and refugee women in leadership positions, resulting in a smaller pool of visible role models to relate to and be inspired by as a migrant or refugee woman in Australia.
Harmony Empowers is an initiative of Harmony Alliance, with an aim to fill this gap and to enhance migrant and refugee women’s personal and professional development and participation, as well as their leadership skills. We believe in empowerment through education, awareness, and inspiration. Harmony Empowers brings together information resources, inspirational talks, and personal and professional development opportunities for migrant and refugee women to help us achieve our aspirations and goals.

Leadership and professional development speaker series
This speaker series is presented by inspirational women from migrant and refugee backgrounds who share their personal journeys and reflections on the path of leadership and professional development.

Financial literacy and wellbeing
We develop financial literacy information resources for migrant and refugee women to support our capacity to manage finances. Financial literacy refers to our understanding, competency and responsibility regarding finances and is an important building block of financial wellbeing.

Health Literacy
We are committed to enhancing migrant and refugee women’s understanding of health issues and systems. We develop tailored resources for migrant and refugee women on topics such as sexual and reproductive health, mental health, preventive health, maternal health, and health systems in Australia.