As a prolific speaker, writer and the King Center Youth Influencer of the Year, Yasmin Poole continues to advocate for young people to have a place in the Australian political domain. Yasmin also strives for greater intersectional diversity and representation within the political realm. We were initially drawn to Yasmin from her first appearance on ABC programme, Q&A and we have been avidly following her career since. This interview was a real ‘fan-girl’ moment for us, so continue reading below to learn more about her education, advocacy and what’s next for the inspirational Yasmin Poole.
HM: We wanted to say thank you for taking the time, we know you’re incredibly busy! In getting started, we would like you to tell us about your time at uni. We know you’re doing a degree in law and international relations at ANU. Talk us through how you started and how you picked that course.
Y: Well it was a bit of a nonlinear journey – I actually started at Monash. During my gap I had always wanted to go to ANU but I just couldn’t afford to move interstate. A lot of my gap year was spent working as a receptionist and not making very much money, so initially I decided to stay in Melbourne. For me, the journey into law and international relations felt intuitive – I spent high school public speaking and thinking about political issues, so law seemed like a logical choice. I initially wanted to become a diplomat or an international lawyer. So I did my first year down in Melbourne, but after doing both I realised I loved the more conceptual nature of international relations as opposed to the blackletter law; I couldn’t see myself in that sort of career. I ended up saving enough to go up to ANU who had a great international relations program. The fact that all the embassies were there was fantastic but it was a journey to financially get scholarships. When I didn’t receive one it was stressful thinking whether or not I had enough money. In first year, everyone would be going to events and I couldn’t even pay for a $20 ticket because I had to pay for food and rent. But, moving was the best decision I have made.
HM: So your path to ANU essentially was an investment in yourself – which must have felt like a risk compared to the typical normal path of attending a Melbourne based university. You have an extreme amount of “extracurricular” activities going on, how do you find balancing this with study? Are you taking a lighter load?
Y: I’m actually taking a full load and I’m doing my thesis this semester which should be interesting. It’s a good question because I’ve gotten it wrong many times. I remember in my first year I said yes to literally everything. In one sense I don’t regret it because everything I did, whether it be in my first year or my gap year, contributed to what I’m doing right now, and helped me build a platform that snowballed into other amazing opportunities. In the beginning it was definitely a case of not knowing what to say no to. One thing I think I did well was writing a list of everything I was interested in, for example, internships, volunteering, clubs and societies, anything that looked cool. What helped was creating a map of my year. A word of advice in terms of what types of opportunities to take on, is to consider whether this will teach me new skills and is it aligned with what I want to do. For example, in my first year of university, I was planning a lot of events, with a lot of overlap – look for things that broaden your skill set, and also be strategic with your time.
HM: Moving on to the advocacy element of your life now, which also seems to be the most public element of your life, what were some of the key drivers in starting your journey?
Y: Much of what I do is driven by my own experiences. I grew up in a rural area with mum, who is a Muslim immigrant. Despite people often having good intentions, I’d see how she would be treated differently, assumptions that she couldn’t speak English or the way that people would treat her when she wore traditional wear. That kind of stayed with me, becoming the key driver for why I care so much about diversity and inclusion.
I then started to focus more on young people getting engaged in politics. I was a young person interested in politics and I saw the barriers that we were facing, particularly young women’s representations in institutions. That would frustrate me, so I spoke up about it. I started to explore race and further understand Australia’s racial history. It was kind of through a path of volunteering combined with social media that I started my media work. Q&A happened and that gave me an amazing platform which snowballed. I have a poster up here, saying “speak your truth even if your voice shakes” and that’s something that I really tried to hold in my core. It’s not easy, but you know I think about how powerful it would be to see other women, like ourselves, stepping forward and demanding better.
HM: Do you see a role for further engagement in parliament and political advocacy as playing a larger role going forward?
Y: Hugely. If we look at the government, it’s just so far from what Australia looks like and it’s out of step with the kinds of people I see in the street. That means that we’re creating policies that largely don’t cater to all of us. For example, with reference to the Budget, it’s not overtly discriminating against women but what it does is make women invisible in this equation. If we look at the way that the pandemic has affected women. For instance, it is women who are taking on the bulk of unpaid care, women who are more likely to lose their jobs to care for their children, and women who represent the majority of casual workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic. These are all products of a system that has ignored women’s gendered contributions for a very long time.
I find it fascinating and troubling to see how communities are rendered invisible. This includes women, but also thinking inter-sectionally, women of colour, disabled women, members of the LGBTQI+ community. It’s layered – I don’t think the government can solve everything. I think a lot of these issues should be worked out in society as well. I want to use my platform to encourage more young women to step up and encourage politicians to do better in calling out sexism or making gendered policy.
HM: We were fascinated by your discussion of permission and struggling with a sense of legitimacy. How can we build this now?
Y: I think that sense of permission has to start inside of us, it’s not a switch, it really isn’t. It’s about getting comfortable to really step into your own opinions and realise that your beliefs and experiences are valid and important.
I realise I used to introduce myself and just say “hi I’m Yasmin and I’m just a University student” and then once a woman pulled me aside and said, “why did you say ‘just’ a University student – she was like no, own it, you’re the youngest person in this room, just be bold”. I was already policing myself. I thought don’t look at me I’m just a University student – so now I say yeah I’m young, yeah I’m a woman and yeah I’m an Asian Australian. I’m proud of all of those things. I may be different but it gives me a different point of view. I really step into that. The same goes for any woman in whatever walk of life. I thank my mother and all of the mothers that we have – so many women have sacrificed so much and haven’t been recognised.
HM: We watched you on Q&A and couldn’t believe how well you spoke – how have you kind of built that level of public speaking up and do you still find it difficult to speak to audiences and engage with other politicians like Bill Shorten? Is it something that you still have to actively work towards?
Y: I remember before Q&A, I was volunteering at this climate change thing and I met Bill Shorten for the first time. He was the first politician I had ever met. We ended up taking a selfie and I was like ‘this is crazy’! Fast forward a few years to Q&A – I just thought it was a cool turn of events. But I do get this comment sometimes and it’s funny, I don’t necessarily think about speaking in a certain way. But what I do want to do is always be well informed and well researched. For instance, with Q&A they don’t give you the questions but they do give you topics. I made sure to really know my stuff, so if I was going to challenge somebody I could back it up with facts and statistics. That is something that I really try to do as much as I can. I never want to just speak up without knowing what I’m saying. I think what also helped is that I’ve been really privileged to do a bunch of public speaking to young women, government and businesses.
I’ve not only worked on my message, I’ve learned from others as well about different ways of framing things. Even before Q&A, I talked to feminist scholar Cynthia Enloe who is 81 years old and lives in the United States. She was saying how she’s sick of urgency being used to say that gender equality isn’t important and I was like that’s a really good point. It’s all those kinds of things that I’ve picked up, but it’s definitely a lot of practise and research. I mean even with Q&A, it’s also frustration that helps me speak better. Instead of being nervous, I actually completely disagree which kind of makes it easier to frame my words.
HM: Given all of your incredible work and busy schedule, is there anything you particularly love doing to wind down?
Y: I really love self-produced music, I would love to produce music one day, particularly electronic self-produced music. Maybe it’s a bit embarrassing but I have been listening to a lot of Grimes recently, I’m just such a fan. It really takes you out of your frame of mind and world and kind of helps you to just think bigger – it’s hard to explain in words. I just love finding really new and interesting people. I spend a lot of my time with my headphones on, like 90 percent of my day I have my headphones on listening to that kind of music and I love that.
HM: I guess for our last question we usually just ask people what’s next in the pipeline for you. What are you up to in this weird time?
Y: In terms of plans, I mean I am in my final year of university so I’m going to be starting my thesis on intersectionality in the legal system, specifically indigenous women and the right to vote involving the Roach case. I’m so excited and that’s probably my number one priority. Apart from that, I’m going to continue my work on the board of YWCA and Oz Harvest. YWCA does incredible work on intersectionality, I highly recommend it if anyone’s interested in intersectional feminism.
Then also probably public speaking and media and just seeing where that leads. Again, emphasising that young women need to be heard in political spaces and that’s something I’m going to be continuing to really demand and push for. It’s all a kind of balancing act and I find that things just pop up unexpectedly, just like with the King Centre – I could have never imagined that. I am speaking my truth and seeing where it lands. I think it’s going to be a really good year, especially after last year it can only get better. I’m completely open minded, whatever happens will happen!
HM: Thank You so much for spending your time with us it’s been fantastic to talk with you.
Y: Keep up the good work guys. It’s awesome what you’re doing.
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