You may well think Dr Amber Tan has the world at her feet and job offers flowing in. A former Malaysian national who was born and raised in Ipoh (the gateway to the Cameron Highlands hill station), Amber migrated to Melbourne in 2011 with her partner and received an Australian Postgraduate Award scholarship in 2013 to complete her PhD at Monash University. A feat she accomplished in 2017 with no amendments.  Her thesis critically examined national security and public order laws in Malaysia and their impact on constitutionalism and the rule of law and Amber has also conducted extensive research into human rights abuses under these laws. Prior to academia, Amber was in private practice as a litigator in Malaysia having won a full scholarship to study at law at Kings College London where she graduated with 1st Class honours in 2007 and as one of only five students in her class to be awarded an Exhibition Prize. Yet Amber’s employment story is not one of which Australia can be proud. In this podcast with Claire Braund, Amber shares her story  - from her determination as a 14 year old to win an international scholarship to follow her dreams studying law in London to the systemic discrimination she experienced in Australia due to her multicultural background where she says “I felt like my career was crushed”. Forced to wait tables and sell her paintings to scratch a living for two years, Amber recalls being asked if she spoke English when applying for legal roles. “They weren’t  even looking at my CV beyond looking at my name.” Today Amber is on a mission to use her research into the challenges and discrimination facing Asian women in the workplace in Australia for positive change. As she says: “I don't want to be just part of another unfortunate statistic. I want to change the statistics". LinkedIn Amber Tan (guest) Claire Braund (host) Find out more about Women on Boards Visit our Events Calendar Subscribe (free) or join Women on Boards Follow us on LinkedIn