Content area
Dr Kate O’Shaughnessy
Dr Kate O’Shaughnessy completed a Bachelor of Arts with Honours at the University of Western Australia in 1997. She conducted field research in Yogyakarta during 2004, for her PhD on women, marriage and divorce in central Java 1974 – 2004 (this was published as "Gender, State and Social Power in Contemporary Indonesia" with Routledge in 2009). Kate’s research entailed interviews with women who had experienced divorce- NGO workers, Religious and State Court officials and judges, and archival research encompassing examination of around 150 unpublished records of divorce cases from the religious and state courts, as well as media reports and literature. After being awarded her PhD from the University of Western Australia in 2007, Kate entered the Graduate Trainee Program with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in 2007 where she is currently employed.
Kate took up a three year posted position of Third Secretary, Australian High Commission in Accra, Ghana, in November 2009. Kate’s experiences in Indonesia have demonstrated her abilities to conduct research, to adapt to an unfamiliar cultural situation and develop professional networks in a challenging environment. This experience (including language abilities) was critical to obtaining an initial position at DFAT, and subsequently to proving her suitability for a posting at a small Australian embassy in West Africa.
