Women-owned businesses to support this International Women’s Day

Poppy Lissiman‘s eponymous brand is known for its vivid colours and avantgarde designs. The Perth-born designer launched her label back in 2008 and since then has grown an impressive collection of all-vegan, ethically made bags, sunglasses and other accessories.

As far as women owned businesses in Australia go, Poppy Lissiman’s is one of the brightest, most fun and boundary-pushing.

Taneia Hill had an extensive background in makeup artistry and owning her own beauty salon when she identified a gap in the market. When thinking of wastefulness and overconsumption, we often point our finger and blame the fashion industry. However, the cosmetics is also guilty of excessive waste with the industry posited to contribute over 120 billion units of rubbish to global waste per year.

That’s when Taneia launched Effect Beauty Co., a company that set out to create lashes that are not only high-quality but also reusable.

When Adama Kamara’s nephew began suffering from a bout of eczema, she accidentally stumbled upon a business idea. Adama rediscovered shea butter on a family holiday to West Africa. She was so impressed with the nifty all-rounder that she brought back eight kilos of it back to Australia and began experimenting with oils and other ingredients for friends and family.

Eventually, she landed on the recipe for Just Shea. Alongside enriching shea butter, Just Shea came to include Moringa Oil, Marula Oil, Baobab Oil and Kakadu Plum. In her growing business, Adama has committed to empowering African women, boosting agriculture, aiding in cultural preservation and promoting small-scale initiatives.

Maeva Heim began conceptualising the idea of BREAD all the way back in her Mum’s braiding salon in Perth where the scent and texture of haircare perforated all of her senses.

As she grew older and noticed that she didn’t feel represented in the mainstream haircare offerings, she took matters into her own hands and created BREAD. Since launching in 2020, BREAD has become a cult-obsession within the beauty community.

Busi Faulkner arrived in Queensland from Zimbabwe to work as a registered nurse on a skilled migrant Visa and a decade later, at just 33, she suffered a heart attack. When Busi and her husband presented at the emergency department, they were turned away. Several days later, after chasing a second opinion from another doctor, Busi was informed she had experience a heart attack. The doctors told the young nurse they were marvelled that she survived despite the damage to her heart.

Busi needed to hire nursing care while she recovered. During this time, she realised that these types of services were often geared to older people and she wanted to change that. She found that due to the ramifications of her heart attack, employers were resistant to hiring her for a job as a home care nurse – so she did it herself.

Home Care Nurses Australia provides nursing care and services to a whole range of people beyond just older people, including physically compromised people, housebound people, terminally, chronically or acutely ill, family caregivers and accident victims.

When Melanie Gleeson had a dream to open a spa in the Mornington Peninsula, she took out a $5,000 credit card to make that dream a reality. Now, almost 25 years on, Endota Spa is one of the most recognised brands in the industry with over 110 locations and employs 2,000 therapists; 90 per cent of them women.