Dee-Ann Prather
AgriFutures Tea Tree Oil Advisory Panel
Please finish this sentence: Female leaders are…
…brave and resilient. It takes bravery to be different; to stand in your own shoes and be true to yourself when the traditional role model of a leader is a male. This is becoming easier over time as traditionally female traits (e.g. compassion and empathy) are increasingly being valued in good leaders. Resilience is needed to bounce back from the bias that is continuously directed at you, far more often unconsciously than consciously.
What initiatives are you taking to help #womenlead?
During the 20 years of business, we’ve predominantly been a majority staffed female business. Although, at the moment, we have equal balance at 50%. We don’t have particular initiatives for women as our programs (work from home, flexible hours etc) are available equally for male and female staff. I am however the first one to participate in any event that supports women and will continue to actively look for ways to share my experience and knowledge to support other women.
What are the changes required to achieve an equal future for women?
I can only speak to western culture given my background and experience. The journey to equality for women in other cultures often has a different baseline. From a business perspective, we must strive for equal representation. This starts at the board level and should encompass the entire organisation. Studies have shown that diversity on boards is beneficial to the economic performance of companies. Equality makes sense commercially as well as morally.
What does International Women’s Day mean to you?
Recognition that although progress has been made, there is a lot more to be done to achieve equality. I am grateful that International Women’s Day creates “noise” and hope the noise gets louder. In the meantime, I will choose to challenge.
Lisa Anderson
AgriFutures Pasture Seeds Advisory Panel (Chair)
Please finish this sentence: Female leaders are…
…everywhere. They lead from the front, but they also lead from behind and beside. Really, women lead from any position whether you call them a leader or not.
What initiatives are you taking to help #womenlead? I celebrate diversity on committees, panels and boards. It is immensely valuable to have a large range of different perspectives to collectively problem solve or formulate strategic direction. A lone female in a sea is never enough – there needs to be a far more diverse skillset, outlook and viewpoint. In the long run we all benefit by engaging far more broadly and considering a greater range of possibilities. I encourage women to put their hand up to join these groups and for selection panels to consider the importance of selecting for difference.
What are the changes required to achieve an equal future for women? The changes required to achieve an equal future for women are so many. We need to simply keep this conversation going all year around. Sadly, sexual harassment and sexual discrimination remain ubiquitous. It was pointed out to me recently that as an older woman I don’t experience this as much as I did when I was a young professional woman. It’s easy to think that things have improved over the decades but as recent news highlights, young professional women continue to suffer the poor attitude and behaviour that I did – whether it is extreme and overt or far more subtle and unconscious. All of us – men and women; young and old – in all workplaces and all communities need to challenge this culture. Be conscious of the challenges to an equal future for women. Make the opportunities happen.
What does International Women’s Day mean to you? My abiding memory of International Women’s Days’ past occurred at the breakfast events organised by Business and Professional Women (BPW) or the pioneering women of the Wagga Wagga Women’s Health Centre. Festooned with ribbons of purple (dignity), green (hope) and white (purity) local women gathered to celebrate the achievements of women locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Whilst the celebrating of women is an important part of the day so to is pausing to remind ourselves of the seen and unseen hurdles women are confronted with economically, socially and politically and what we must do to challenge them. This year I am joining other agribusiness women for lunch to celebrate courage and determination.
Susan Wilson
AgriFutures Emerging Industries Advisory Panel (Deputy chair)
Please finish this sentence: Female leaders are…
…resilient, resourceful and inspiring. They’re courageous. They re-write the rule book, showing us what’s possible. I have enormous respect for the barriers they manage and overcome every day so they can win a seat at the table.
What initiatives are you taking to help #womenlead?
I’m active in the mentoring space – female CEO’s internationalising companies, regional female leaders, female STEM researchers. There’s too much compromise women still accept in their careers that they need to challenge. Hopefully, I can help them lead that change. As my dairy farming father said to me, “There is nothing you cannot do”.
What are the changes required to achieve an equal future for women?
We need to build communities where gender truly doesn’t enter into our thinking and decision making. It’s about how we engage women and men into the conversation, how we raise and educate our children, how we structure, ritualise and reward our workplaces. It’s big and it’s still a journey.
What does International Women’s Day mean to you?
The celebration of that journey. It’s also a strong reminder that we need to keep the momentum going.
