Born in France and arriving to Australia in 1951, Mirka Mora is an iconic painter and sculptor who continues to leave an unparalleled mark on the development of contemporary art in Australia. Stay tuned for Mirka’s exhibition at Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne, later this year. Photo – Sean Fennessy for The Design Files.

For the past 20 years, Hana Assafiri has run Melbourne’s Morrocan Soup Bar, and more recently, she opened our favourite shoot-day-lunch spot, Moroccan Deli-cacy.  But that’s certainly not all: the vocal feminist and activist is also the founder of Speed Date a Muslim, a community event to combat Islamophobia. Photo – courtesy of Hana Assafiri.

Lots of creatives pursue multiple disciplines, but Kara Rosenlund is one amazing woman who succeeds at all to which she turns her hand! The photographer/author/stylist/businesswoman and our dear collaborator is a sincere and prolific ‘do-er’. See more of her brilliant work here. Photo – Eve Wilson for The Design Files.

An Australian entrepreneur now living in the US, Shoes of Prey co-founder Jodie Fox has built a hugely successful global brand in a highly-saturated, competitive industry. This award-winning busineswoman is nothing short of remarkable – read our interview here and see for yourself! Photo – courtesy of Shoes of Prey.

An academic and author, Dr Susan Carland has become a spokesperson for women in Islam in this country. The erudite and pragmatic wonder-woman teaches gender studies, politics, and sociology at Monash University. Read about her extraordinary routine here. Photo – Eve Wilson for The Design Files.

If I had a dollar for every time we talk about Kristina Karlsson’s adept business sense in our office… Responsible for founding kikki.K after arriving to Melbourne from her native Sweden, what was once a little business operating out of a tiny one bedroom apartment is today a multi-national stationery and gifts go-to. This passionate lady is also hosting her own IWD event for #PressforProgress this evening, and our very own editor, Lucy Feagins will be in attendance. The event will stream live on the kikki.K Facebook tonight! Photo – courtesy of kikki.K.

Lucy had the pleasure of interviewing Sue Carr back in 2013, and it was an inspiring chat she recalls frequently. The matriarch of the Carr Design Group, ‘One of Australia’s Most Influential Women’ has done some seriously incredible work in what was, and remains to be (for now!), a male-dominated sector. Photo – Sharyn Cairns.