Pulling Up Australia On Diversity

Feeling frustrated by the lack of representation, Ashlene Nand started an Instagram account in 2019 to promote Australian women of colour. By 2020, she was calling out Australia’s top fashion and beauty brands for their lack of diversity, highlighting over 140 brands using predominately white women by sharing screenshots of their social media pages. This initiative sparked the "Pull-Up" campaign, which prompted major brands like Vogue Australia, Zimmerman and McoBeauty to adopt more inclusive advertising policies.

During that same year, Ashlene faced trolling and online bullying, an experience she detailed on Medium. Recognising that brown women often struggle to be heard in this country, she rebranded her account to Unlearning Shit, transforming it into a platform advocating for systemic change in Australia as society unlearns and decolonizes harmful norms.

Throughout her journey, Ashlene has connected with influential voices like Ruby Hamad, author of the transformative White Tears/Brown Scars, and actress/advocate Pallavi Sharda. She is incredibly proud of the strong, supportive community that has formed around Unlearning Shit, driven by like-minded individuals committed to making real change in Australia.



You can join the community on the Unlearning Shit Instagram here.
Read more of Ashlene's story here.