Hi! I'm Dr Ruth De Souza.
I'm a nurse, facilitator, consultant, keynote speaker, writer, podcaster, and researcher, with professional expertise across the health and arts sectors.
My work focuses on cultural safety, birthing, migration and health, equity and inclusion, self-care, mental health, and digital health.
I’m a Fellow of the Australian College of Nursing, an Honorary Adjunct Professor in Nursing at Auckland University of Technology, and lecturer in the School of Art at RMIT University.
Welcome. I’m so glad you’re here.
Helping organisations and groups in health, arts and cultural sectors
Ensuring meaningful conversations with each other about issues of cultural safety, equity, and inclusion, drawing on my extensive experience as a clinician, group therapist, and researcher. Whether it’s a one-off event or a deeper process of strategic planning or team building, if you think you can use my skills, please reach out for a chat!
Services
Keynote Speaker
and MC
Combining authenticity, expertise, and a passion for social justice to leave a lasting impact on diverse audiences.
Ruth’s work as a public speaker, educator and podcaster enables her to make complex issues understandable and relevant to diverse communities.
Ruth brings authenticity, presence, and warmth to the room, combining her passion for social justice and inclusion with wide-ranging expertise.
Ruth’s talks inspire and motivate audiences and leave a genuine and lasting impact. With her broad experience, she can connect to specialist audiences across the health, arts, and cultural fields as well as the general public.
ART makes visible experiences, hopes, ideas.
It is a reflective space and socially it brings something new into the world—it contributes to knowledge and understanding.
Featured Post
Why don’t we treat menopause the way we treat birth?
In her insightful blog post, Ruth De Souza explores the contrasting societal perceptions and treatments of childbirth and menopause.
She highlights that while childbirth is often celebrated with rituals and joy, menopause tends to be overlooked, shrouded in ageism and sexism. De Souza emphasizes the lack of societal acknowledgment and support for menopausal individuals, noting the absence of celebratory practices or resources that typically accompany other life transitions.
Furthermore, De Souza critiques the individualized approach to managing both birth and menopause in neoliberal societies like Australia and New Zealand. She argues that health advice often fails to consider structural factors such as precarious employment, housing instability, and systemic inequalities faced by marginalized groups.
By addressing these disparities, De Souza calls for a more inclusive and supportive societal framework that recognizes and values the experiences of all individuals undergoing menopause.
7 January 2025Tēnā koutou e Justice Select Committee members My name is Dr Ruth De Souza (FACN). I am writing this submission as an individual New Zealand citizen. I write this as a Registered Nurse, educator, and a migrant to
I have spent most of my career working with birthing people. I will declare at the outset that I am interested in a critical, holistic, lifespan approach to reproductive and sexual health, rather than a biologically deterministic view. Just as
“…the neo-liberal academy has compelled me to compete and compare, to work on my own, to overwork, and to count narrowly. At various times, neoliberal ideologies have crept into my mind/writing/body, breaking me down. The academy’s “finite games” of winners
Birthing and Justice PODCAST
with Dr Ruth De Souza
A powerful podcast exploring birth, racism, and cultural safety
Childbirth is supposed to be empowering, but for many birthing people it is not. For Indigenous women, immigrant women and women of colour, birthing within the western healthcare system can be anything but affirming. It can feel unsafe.
In this raw and challenging talks series, health researcher, clinician and nursing educator Dr Ruth De Souza (RMIT University) hosts conversations about birth, racism and cultural safety with change makers working within the maternal health-care sector to break down the structures built on colonisation.
This is a series that will give birthing people hope and power when they’re at their most vulnerable.
HEALTH Beyond Boundaries
Health is not just the absence of disease—it’s shaped by culture, community, and connection. To truly care, we must embrace the whole person in their context.
Testimonials
Ruth guided our attendees through challenging topics with energy and humility, maintaining a positive learning environment."
Transforming RESEARCH
into Impact
Pioneering inclusive practices through research and collaboration across health, art, and cultural diversity.
Ruth De Souza is a distinguished researcher and leader in health equity, with expertise in cultural safety and migrant health. She has spearheaded initiatives like the Centre for Asian and Migrant Health Research and served as Vice Chancellor’s Research Fellow at RMIT University.
Her impactful projects include creating tools for emergency staff to support mental health crises and exploring technology’s role in combating social isolation for culturally diverse older adults.
Widely recognized for her work on cultural safety and migrant maternity, Ruth’s contributions continue to inspire transformative change in healthcare systems globally.
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CULTURAL SAFETY is about creating spaces
where people feel respected, valued, and understood—where their identity and experiences are not just acknowledged, but celebrated.