PENELOPE
TWEMLOW
LIVING LOUD AND PROUD
Career lessons from one of Queensland’s most
successful women.
You could be forgiven for feeling
intimidated by Penelope Twemlow at
first. A proud USQ alumna, she’s made
a career of forging to the forefront of
heavily male-dominated industries, has
a list of tertiary qualifications numbering
almost into double digits and could
reverse-park a naval warship before
she learned to drive a car. And yet, the
more you learn about her the more her
robust energy and drive become inspiring
rather than daunting. She’s a woman
dedicated to achieving her utmost
potential, all the while paving the way for
generations of girls to follow in her hard-
won footsteps. Tenacious, intelligent and
bold, she dreams of watching television
shows where female strength and power
are depicted as normal, rather than
remarkable, traits.
‘One of the mottos I’ve lived by since I
was a little girl is that you have to be loud
to be heard. I am a determined woman
with a loud voice, which I’ve found is
useful when speaking out for equality,
diversity and justice.’
And her voice and determination are
not going unnoticed. Currently holding
three executive positions as founder
and Chair of Women in Power, Chair
of the Queensland Electrical Safety
Education Committee and CEO of
Energy Skills Queensland, Penelope
was also named the 2016 Telstra
Queensland Business Women’s For
Purpose and Social Enterprise Award
winner. She’s also a proud ambassador
for mental health and domestic violence
services and awareness, two causes she
holds particularly close to her heart.
But her success is not a matter of luck.
She makes no mention of having simply
been ‘in the right place at the right time’.
From a young age, Penelope invested
time and energy into understanding
her values, aptitudes and professional
preferences and then purposefully
exploring a range of potential careers.
She sought data, interviewed industry
professionals and undertook work
experience in order to eliminate or
confirm her interest in different fields.