Today on The Gender Card we speak to two proud First Nations PhD candidates at Griffith University, whose Indigenous identity and family connections along with their wealth of experiences from the classroom as former teachers are informing their specialist research. Kombumerri saltwater woman Madeleine Pugin is investigating Indigenous Human Rights, particularly cultural rights, and how Aboriginal groups can have their identity better recognised. While Gumbaynggirr/Dunghutti woman Julie Ballangarry is researching how to make Education policy more effective and truly inclusive. She wants to find out why Indigenous Education policies keep failing to address the fundamental issue of education inequality.

Both are breaking down the barriers in what are traditionally male dominated fields, in the hope their findings can place Indigenous perspectives at the centre rather than on the periphery of policy making. Julie and Madeleine also have invaluable insights into how to better support Indigenous PhD students, so that they don’t just survive, but rather thrive in the university environment.

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