Jane Caro

Catherine Jane Caro AM (born 24 June 1957)^[3] is a feminist social commentator, writer and lecturer based in Australia.

Jane Caro AM
Caro at the 2010 Global Atheist Convention
Personal details
Born	Catherine Jane Caro (1957-06-24) 24 June 1957 (age 67) London, England
Political party	Reason
Spouse	Ralph Dunning[1]
Children	2[2]
Alma mater	Macquarie University (BA 1977)
Website	janecaro.com.au

Early life and education

Caro was born in London in 1957 and emigrated to Australia with her parents as a five-year-old in 1963. She attended Macquarie University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with a major in English literature in 1977.^[4]

Working life

Caro started her career in marketing, however soon moved into advertising.^[4][5]

Caro has appeared on Channel Seven's Sunrise, ABC television's Q&A and as a regular panellist on The Gruen Transfer. Caro has worked in the advertising industry and lectures in advertising at the School of Humanities and Communication Arts at University of Western Sydney.^[6] Caro was a speaker at the 2014 Festival of Dangerous Ideas.^[7]

She is on the boards of the NSW Public Education Foundation^[8] and Bell Shakespeare,^[9] and is an ambassador for the National Secular Lobby.^[10]

In Australia, Caro is represented by Wall Media management.^[11]

A proponent of public education, Caro is also a feminist and atheist.^[12][13] Caro had been tipped to run against Tony Abbott in the 2019 Australian federal election, for his long-held Sydney seat in the Australian House of Representatives, the Division of Warringah, but instead publicly advocated voting for the Australian Greens, Sarah Hanson-Young specifically.^[14]

Caro stood as a Reason Party candidate for a New South Wales Australian Senate seat in the 2022 Australian federal election.^[15]

Awards and recognition

In 2018, Caro won the Women in Leadership Award in the 2018 Walkley Awards.^[16] She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours in recognition of her "significant service to the broadcast media as a journalist, social commentator and author".^[17] In 2023 she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the B & T Women in Media Awards.^[18]

Publications

• ——; Bonnor, Chris (2007). The Stupid Country: How Australia Is Dismantling Public Education. ISBN 9781742246246.
• ——; Fox, Catherine (2008). The F Word: How We Learned to Swear by Feminism. UNSW Press. ISBN 9780868408231.
• —— (2011). Just a Girl. University of Queensland Press. ISBN 9780702238802.^[19]
• ——; Bonner, Chris (2012). What Makes a Good School?. New South Books. ISBN 9781742241418.
• —— (2015). Just a Queen. Univ. of Queensland Press. ISBN 9780702253621.
• —— (2015). Plain-Speaking Jane. Pan Macmillan Australia Pty, Limited. ISBN 9781743534847.
• —— (2017). "Unbreakable": Women Share Stories of Resilience and Hope. University of Queensland Press. ISBN 9780702259678.^[20]
• —— (2018). Just Flesh and Blood. University of Queensland Press. ISBN 9780702260018.
• —— (2019). Accidental Feminists. Melbourne University Press. ISBN 9780522872835.
• —— (2022). The Mother. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9781760879662.^[21]
• —— (2025). Lyrebird. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9781761471537.^[22]

Edited works

• Caro, Jane, ed. (2013). Destroying the Joint: Why Women Have to Change the World. University of Queensland Press. ISBN 9780702249907.^[23]

Contribute

—— (2013). For God's Sake: An Atheist, a Jew, a Christian and a Muslim Debate Religion. ISBN 9781742612232.