Dr Skye Saunders
Gender and Law Advocate, Author
Specialty Areas
Feminist Policy and Politics, Women’s Affairs, Gender, Law and Justice, Motivational Speaking, Rural and Regional Issues and Policy, Sexuality, Social Justice and Human Rights, Women’s Safety
About Me
Dr Skye Saunders is a leading expert in gender and the law, with a special interest in sexual harassment in rural Australia. She is the author of the book Whispers from the Bush – The Workplace Sexual Harassment of Australian Rural Women (Federation Press). This work is the first in Australia to focus on the nature and reporting of sexual harassment in rural workplaces, shining a light on a largely hidden phenomenon.
Skye has since collaborated with the Victorian Women’s Trust to produce a short film called Grace Under Fire. Inspired by Skye’s book, the film tells the story of Australian women who have confronted sexual harassment in their rural workplace. The film, which also features Lt Gen David Morrison AO, is available to schools, workplaces and individuals who wish to host a screening.
Skye is also the Director of the Australian National University’s professional legal education programs. In her capacity as a legal academic, she recently taught a comparative US/ Australian Gender Law program at the University of Alabama.
Passionate about the empowerment of women in contemporary Australia, Skye was recently invited by the YWCA Canberra to interview Dr Anne Summers AO in a public ‘She Leads’ event.
Prior to joining the Australian National University, Skye practised as an Employment Relations/Discrimination solicitor in a large commercial firm. Skye advocates for gender equity and her research has captured broader public interest with recent articles in The Australian, The Age, Cleo, Canberra Times, ABC National and in Fairfax’s Daily Life.
Skye is a regular speaker at conferences, both in Australia and internationally. For example, she recently co-chaired the national No More Harm Conference (2017, Brisbane) and is a keynote speaker at the upcoming Australian Women in Agriculture Conference (Brisbane, 2017). She has also been invited to keynote at the upcoming ‘Feminism in London’ Conference (Oct 2017) and the ‘Women Being’ Conference in Edinburgh (October 2017).
