MAVIS ROBERTSON 2026 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY MELBOURNE

BALANCING THE SCALES WITH SHEETAL DEO

Join us for the 2026 Mavis Robertson International Women’s Day Celebration with guest speaker Sheetal Deo. 

In her keynote Balancing the Scales: From Good Intentions to Systemic Impact, Sheetal explores how the superannuation sector can move from good intentions to real, systemic impact – making equity work for all women. 

The UN theme for International Women’s Day this year, Balancing the Scales, invites us to look beyond equality as sameness and focus on equity as impact. 

Sheetal Deo is a legal professional, policy strategist and intersectional equity practitioner with more than a decade of experience working at the intersection of law, work and systems reform. She is the Founder and Principal of Shakti Legal Solutions – an award-winning law practice improving access to justice through practical, people-centred solutions. She is also Lead Consultant at The Diversity Collective – a social enterprise helping organisations turn equity commitments into measurable, sustainable change. 

In her keynote, Sheetal explores how intersectionality helps us understand why current approaches work well for some women – and less well for others. She asks a practical leadership question – what becomes possible when we design from the margins, not averages? Drawing on lived experience, research, and legal and policy expertise, this session offers a roadmap for moving from awareness to systemic impact – helping the superannuation sector continue to improve equity for all women. 

Sheetal Deo - Founder & Principal Solicitor, Shakti Legal Solutions

Sheetal Deo (She/Her) is a legal professional, strategist, and intersectional DEI practitioner with a strong commitment to social justice and systemic change.

She is the founder and principal of Shakti Legal Solutions, an award winning, innovative, low-bono law firm designed to improve access to legal assistance through a unique ‘triage,’ and ‘pay what you can’ model for eligible clients. She is also the lead consultant for ‘The Diversity Collective,’ a purpose-driven social enterprise designed to mainstream marginalised education, experience, and expertise.

Sheetal was formerly the Education Director at Diversity Council Australia, where she led and executed their education strategy and project-managed the globally renowned “RISE Project’ (a multi-million dollar government-funded project addressing gendered racism across Australian workplaces).

Sheetal holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Political Science from the University of the Fraser Valley (Canada), and a Juris Doctor, Master of Laws, and Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from Bond University (Australia). Her intersectional approach is grounded in subject matter and lived expertise, and impact-focused, making her a sought-after speaker and consultant in the DEI space.


This event is open to all (members, non-members, all genders)

THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT. PLEASE CONTACT wis@womeninsuper.com.au IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN THE WAITLIST