Tamika Jarvis

Speaker

Tamika is a Widjabul Wia-Bal Bundjalung woman connected to the Aboriginal communities in Redfern, the Central Coast, and Northern Rivers regions. Tamika became a mother at a young age (20) and a mother of three before 30.

She is passionate about advocating the complex barriers young parents experience which systematically prevent their equal access to opportunities. Tamika often draws from her own lived experience and is dedicated to ensuring that young parents have equitable access to services, opportunity, and participation within the workforce - particularly STEM. Tamika contributes her insights from her experiences and her expertise to advocacy at YWCA Australia through her role on the organisation’s Young Women’s Council.

Tamika is postgraduate qualified and spent a decade within the Australian construction industry. During this time, she witnessed many injustices of this sector, and how this impacts housing insecurity, mental health, and First Nations workforce development and participation. This recently led Tamika to undertake an Atlantic Fellowship with the University of Melbourne (2024); focused on applying self-determination principles to address Aboriginal housing needs.