Helen Conway has been recognised for her years of service across a range of professional spheres. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS) Growing up in a family of five girls and one boy, Helen Conway saw no differentiation between the expectations set for herself and her siblings to get an education and be financially independent. "I thought the world was pretty equal until I got into the workplace and I found out that, actually, it wasn't very equal at all," she told AAP.