In honour of International Women’s Day (IWD) 2025, genU was proud to recognise the invaluable contributions of carers – many of whom are women – those who balance careers, family, and personal wellbeing while providing essential, unpaid care for loved ones.
An insightful online panel event, ‘The Invisible Load: Recognising the Strength Behind Caring,’ showcased four remarkable colleagues, who shared their experiences, challenges, and triumphs in juggling caregiving with their professional and personal lives.
genU CEO Clare Amies said the contributions of carers profoundly impacts the lives of those loved ones they support and plays a significant role in shaping our communities through displays of empathy, kindness and selfless sacrifice.
“Bringing together all of our employees for a candid and insightful discussion was a powerful way to show the challenges and the rewards these women get from their lived experiences,” Clare said.
“It was also a chance to acknowledge how the rich history of genU has been enhanced by the many carers who have given selflessly to care for loved ones, while balancing their own lives.
“We pay tribute to them for the invaluable contributions they have made in the lives of their loved ones, and the immeasurable impact they have created.”
In sharing their insights, our panelists presented powerful testimonials about the complex dynamic of careers, family relationships, personal wellbeing, social lives and financial security.
What shone through was the unreserved care each staff member provided to their loved ones and how they balanced it with everything else in life, as a powerful reminder of the dedication caring requires.
“You do what you do for the ones you love, don’t you? You don’t care that you’re not getting paid because you just do it out of love.” Sam Chapman, genU Vacancy and Occupancy Coordinator
Isabella Tassi, genU Behaviour Support Practitioner Graduate
As a single parent to two children and a foster dog carer, Isabella also regularly cares for her terminally ill mother. Isabella is deeply committed to advocating for women and children, experience working within child protection and domestic and family violence.
The juggle is real
“I recently graduated [after] going through four years of full-time study. My son was two when I first enrolled and my daughter was four, so going through that, and as any parent understands, enduring the responsibilities that come with being a parent, was challenging in terms of the invisibilities around the sacrifices that was made.
“In appearance to everyone else, it kind of looked like I was managing quite well. But the times when I wasn’t, they weren’t really visible. That was really difficult and I don’t know how I got through it, but I did. I also have my mother who’s terminally ill in the last few years, she’s been battling cancer.
“So we have just all come together. I think that one of the strengths that have come out of the duty of care with family and friends is very much around gratitude and what my mum calls them ‘glimmers’. Just those small things that happen as you go by about your day, and it just really grounded me. I think having that perspective was absolutely critical in my tenacity to be able to get to where I am today.”
Managing the impact on your health and wellbeing
“I had to create a community that had around me of people that shared similar values.
“I found it was really critical for me to survive to have trusted and like-minded people – 90% of them are females and they all just jump in, are very intuitive and know when I am down.
“Even just the aspect of, ‘oh, I haven’t eaten today’, and that’s why I’m feeling tired … and just for a friend to check in to ground me a little bit.
“I’ve only lived in this Barwon region for four years, so in that period I’ve been able to accumulate some really beautiful people in my community and like they say, it takes a village and it really does.”
Louise Sheehy, MatchWorks National Partnership Manager
Louise is the lead for iNDEPTh, the MatchWorks neurodivergent employment strategy, which aims to ensure service design and delivery is neuro-inclusive. Louise cares for her neurodivergent son and is passionate about supporting the neurodivergent community.
Lived experience having a positive influence on the type of work you’ve chosen
“I’ve had a multitude of careers; however, over the last 20 years, my career was very much focused in terms of looking at what I could do to help my own personal situation.
“Obviously any parent who’s raising kids, you end up having to look for jobs that are going to suit you. And I often talk about the CEO of Microsoft who said, ‘Microsoft didn’t pick me, I picked Microsoft’ when he was trying to sell his whole flexible working arrangements and all the rest of it.
“But that’s the reality. When my children were at school, I had to pick roles that fitted around my availability to be able to do school drop offs, go to appointments and all that sort of stuff.
“And that’s the reality, particularly if you’re doing it on your own as well, which I was. It also shaped in terms of being limited as well, which made me look for opportunities where I could flourish professionally as well, and it has been great in terms of that.
“I’m not working for some corporation. I consciously will pick not-for-profit, because I like to make sure that I align with those values.
“It has to impact on you, because the minute you become a parent or you end up caring for a loved one, be that your parents or whatever, your priorities shift, so you have to make sure that professionally you know, kind of that you can fit that in as well.”
Sam Chapman, genU Vacancy and Occupancy Coordinator
Sam works full-time in the SDA Housing team as the Vacancy Coordinator, where she supports people with disability in need of specialised housing. As a mum to two children, aged eight and nine, Samantha balances her professional life with caring for her sister, who has an intellectual disability and attends genU full-time.
Strengths you discovered during your journey of caring for a loved one
“For me I really feel like I can do anything.
“It’s really during such difficult times I’ve really learned to stay calm and help others stay calm in difficult situations.
“And really, staying positive as well for me, you know, with my situation, I really had to keep my dad positive more than anything, so I’ve just really built that resilience over time.
“It’s been a great learning experience.
“It’s amazing what trauma can actually, you know, the good things that can come out of it.”
Lived experience having a positive influence on the type of work you’ve chosen
“I feel that [caring] can hold you back from career opportunities and that would be women worldwide.
“I would say it’s a bit becoming a bit more [easier] with men now able to take that maternity leave, which is so great to see that. For me, I had probably had two years off because of maternity leave and I feel like it did hold me back a little bit in my career path.
“But I’m in this career because of my sister. Being in this industry is the best thing, and I’ve done it for her, and to learn about everything I have in the disability sector has been really important.”
Titania Mayer, genU Culture and Capability Coordinator
Titania works in the Culture and Capability team. From a young age she witnessed her mother take on the unpaid role of carer for her father, who battled Dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s Disease. Titania has continued to support her mother through life’s challenges.
Strengths you discovered during your journey of caring for a loved one
“I think I can reflect on that a little bit with seeing my mum and her strengths.
“She was born in Cambodia and came here before I was born. English was her second language, and it was when my father had become ill that she decided to study a certificate in aged care purely for the reason that when she would go to visit my dad that she could be there as an extra support.
“That was super inspirational for me to see and also to see how these unplanned things can happen, and the path you then decide to take. It really empowered in the same time she was quite scared to do that.
“The courage that it took for her to do that, I know it was very tough and I was happy to support her through all of that as well.”
The panel concluded with a session led by genU Client Wellbeing Officer Gary Ingels discussing the importance of self-care and strategies to ensure carers can care for their own wellbeing and maintain a ‘full cup’ from which to pour from.