To discover more about a person’s professional achievements you can usually look them up on LinkedIn. When you search for Karen Batson’s page, however, there is just one word — Cookie. Yet that word alone speaks volumes and she has no need to advertise her skill set. Cookie has become a cult Melbourne institution since it opened its doors in 2003. Tourists mark it as a must-visit in their guidebooks, Melbournites flock there for an after work cocktail, and foodies bolt there to sample her innovative Thai cuisine.

Denise Drysdale makes it impossible to keep a straight face. The iconic entertainer, who’s channelled her madcap, bone dry brand of humour through our TV screens for the last five decades is against the scourge of seriousness that’s engulfing the country – reminding us we all need to muck around a little more.

Retirement means different things to different people. For some older women, it can be the reward for a lifetime of hard work, the time for holidays, to explore new pursuits and spend time with family, while for others it can feel like a loss of identity, or simply too much time to think. One of the latter, Beverley Streater found that retirement, initially, offered more challenges than rewards.

Increasingly, women over fifty are turning to alternative, supplementary income streams such as Airbnb, to assist with the rising cost of living. As a result, mature women are the fastest growing segment in this unique hosting community, and are often the highest-rated hosts on the platform. Our own Airbnb aficionado, Nadine Cresswell-Myatt takes a look at some of the benefits of becoming an Airbnb host, and the many ways it is empowering older women financially.

Lisa Hall is the free-spirited couturier behind the womenswear label, Madame Hall, creating bespoke, original attire for urban bohemians. Unlike other western fashion designers before her, Lisa was not content to simply fly home with a suitcase full of Indian fabrics, and instead, traded life in Sydney for a remote Indian town at the age of 48.

By immersing herself in what truly inspires her — art, traditional crafts, and colour as a reflection of everyday life, Madame Hall has flourished, attracting a dedicated community of followers and customers from around the world, and even gracing the pages of Australian Vogue on one Cate Blanchett.