In today's episode of beyond the green line, Shonelle Gleeson-Willey talks with 2019 National AgriFuture Rural Women's Award winner Jo Palmer.  Jo Palmer is the founder of Pointer Remote Roles, a platform that connects businesses with professionals all over Australia. The online network promotes work for rural dwellers, and has become a powerful tool to move businesses into the future: remote work, flexible hours, and therefore more equal opportunities for professionals.  Jo started off as a teacher in Wagga, then traveled overseas for a bit. Now she and her husband live in Riverina with their two daughters.  She shares a story of having to persevere in applying for her prestigious award: when she applied in 2018 they didn't even offer an interview. But, she tried again, and not only won the state award the next year, but the national award as well. As you hear her talk about how much can change in 12 months' time, we know you'll be reminded to stay confident and determined. You never know what new opportunities can open up the second or third time around.  Of course another notable element in her story is the timing: creating a company that cultivates online business connections, and then gaining attention about it right before the entire world had to go remote! Shonelle and Jo discuss the vastly different world of remote working in the post- Covid era, and how Jo found herself in the perfect storm: first creating this network and pushing it uphill for the first three years, and now watching it meet a gigantic need in the market.  Jo feels that the corporate world has been forced to advance at an accelerated rate; she explains a theory that it has moved forward a generation in two years. While many were waiting for the scales to tip more evenly, which would have realistically included a white male- dominated top tier retiring in a slow and staggered manner, now the workforce is seeing more women, minorities, and rural-dwellers suddenly receive new well-deserved opportunities.  Stay tuned to learn from Jo's expertise about rural Australia's challenges, and how remote work can now bring some of the sociological stability those areas have needed for decades. You'll learn how the biggest challenge to the success of setting up remote and hybrid work forces is actually the mindset of some company's management and leadership teams.  This episode will definitely inspire creative strategy and stir up excitement in you about the good parts of the future that's coming our way.  Connect here: https://agrifutures.com.au/people-leadership/rural-womens-award/2019-winners/ https://pointerremote.com/