In the 1940s when Ruby Payne Scott went to university she was the only girl in her class. Back then, you could count the number of female physicists in the entire country on one hand. Ruby was super smart but she struggled to get a job because blokes thought women belonged at home. Not Ruby — she once used a bent coat hanger, some plugs and a few bits and bobs to tune in to the noises of the galaxy — something nobody had ever done before. It’s no wonder she went on to become one of Australia’s most outstanding physicists. Narrated by robotics whiz Marita Cheng.

When Edith Cowan was a girl, her mum died and her father was sentenced to death for murder. She knew hardship ... and it drove her to get a better deal for women and children who were then treated like second class citizens.

She took her fight all the way to Parliament House in Perth when she became the very first woman in Australia to be elected. If you turn over a 50 dollar note, you’ll see Edith’s strong and determined face staring right back at you.

Narrated by the mighty journalist Leigh Sales.

When she was just four years old, Nancy Bird-Walton already knew what she wanted to do with her life — fly. She saved her pocket money to pay for lessons and her own aeroplane ... and before long people were paying her to fly them across the country.

Nancy was the first woman in Australia to get paid to be a pilot. Today, the A380 is the biggest passenger plane in the world — and if you look into the sky you might just see one that’s called Nancy Bird-Walton.

Narrated by singer and producer Kate Miller-Heidke.

Daisy Bindi couldn't understand why her boss paid wages to the white workers, but not to her. She was no different to them. And neither were all the other Aboriginal workers who were being treated like slaves.

In 1946 Daisy decided enough was enough. She helped lead a three-year strike which won Aboriginal workers fairer pay and better working conditions.

Narrated by singer, actor and radio presenter Christine Anu.

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners are advised that the following episode of Fierce Girls contains the names of people who have died.