Xplore for Success's Blog

Women’s Voice

xploreforsuccess — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:54:40 +0000

Did you see the article on Coalition Women given the silent treatment in SMH today http://www.smh.com.au/national/coalition-women-given-the-silent-treatment-in-parliament-20090914-fnwa.html?skin=text-only? What do you think? Discrimination? Women taking the second place? Women not speaking up? Boy’s Club?

This is an important question for both men and women. Even if we have women at the table do they get heard and if not, why not?

Chief Executive Women’s (CEW) Dinner

xploreforsuccess — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:58:27 +0000

Last night I attended the CEW dinner at the Westin. About 800 people attended including probably 10% men. Naseema Sparks spoke of the CEW and it work “women leaders enabling women leaders” and how much we need to support women in Australia to get closer to inclusive workplaces. Gail Kelly spoke about leadership. I loved her comment you want the right people on the bus going in the right direction. Her other key take out for me was being present in whatever you are doing. If you are with family be with them totally, if you are at work do that….. This focus bring productivity and success. In my work through Xplore for Success I often experience women (and men) who spend time at work wishing they were elsewhere and time at home thinking about work. To be ‘present’ is not always easy but the reward great.

How does a migrant get their first job here?

xploreforsuccess — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:31:57 +0000

If everyone says you need to have had a job here?

Thilaka arrived from Sri Lanka about 6 months ago. She has completed a course in Australia and speaks good (but not perfect) English. She spoke at our Suited for Work dinner last night and was a real hit.

Here are her qualifications:

2009 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (Currently following) TAFE NSW – Northern Sydney Institute, Australia

2008 Certificate of Teaching in Higher Education University of Colombo – Sri Lanka

2007 Postgraduate Diploma in Distance Education Indira Gandhi National Open University – India

2003 Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems (MIS) degree with Honours University College Dublin – Ireland

She needs a break to get her first job in Australia. She is really keen and would love an opportunity. Here are her key attributes:

• IT Teaching: Over eight years experience in preparing IT teaching materials and teaching online and face-to-face at university, vocational education and secondary school levels.

• Curriculum Development: Over four years experience in designing and developing curriculums for IT degree programmes. • Training and Assessment: Over eight years experience in preparing and conducting IT training and assessments for university and vocational education level.

• Communication: Bilingual – Excellent command of written/spoken English/Sinhalese. Over eight years experience in conducting presentations, online tutoring and mentoring and academic and non-academic counseling.

If you email me at diryall@mac.com I will send her full resume to you. Please help her get a break and get started in OZ (she will be on the channel 10 news between 5 and 6 pm tomorrow….Di

Women and their progress

xploreforsuccess — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:11:37 +0000

I really want women to take the time to work out what they want from their lives both their career and all the other bits – family, friends, personal fitness and health, financial situation, everything. Then sit down and work out what the first steps are in each of these areas. Then have the confidence to take the first step! If you need a help then find it!

When we talk about the glass ceiling there are certainly barriers to cross and detour around but also women need to speak openly and rationally about money, their career aspirations and their successes. We need to practice these skills and then use them. Mentors help to open doors and offer advice, networks provide opportunities. Opportunities are there, bias is there, but if we are clear about our goals and go for them, then progress will be made.

The challenges of a new not for profit

xploreforsuccess — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 11:08:56 +0000

Over the last 18 months, I have been involved with a group starting up a new not-for-profit in Sydney. Called Suited for Work it provides work clothing and support for disadvantaged wormn seeking to re-enter the workforce. Modelled on Dress for Success and other similar organisations good used work clothes are donated by women most in the workplace. A number of challenges face a new charity; getting all the right approvals, getting a group of people prepared to give their time and of course money. Each quarter we run a fund-raising dinner and on September 15 we have a film nigh pre-release of Valentino. If you would like to know more about what we are doing in Sydney you can find us at http://www.sfw.org.au. Of course, donations of money, clothes, time and expertise are what we need to make a difference.

A trip to Italy….

xploreforsuccess — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 23:20:52 +0000

I have been silent for a while as I popped off to Italy and have only just emerged from the jet-lag cloud….

What a wonderful time. I spent a week learning more Italian in Verona at Lingua.it. Verona is a delightful city and staying in an Italian home was fantastic. (www.lingua.it) How special to be a part of real family life.

Then a week at San Felice di Benaco on Lake Garda with my son and his family. This small but wonderful town was a relaxing retreat. It had everything in an easy walk: restaurants, cafes, suppermarket, butcher, fishmonger and of course the lake was not too far.

Why is gender diversity off the agenda?

xploreforsuccess — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:29:35 +0000

Why as women do we tolerate the situation in Australia today. Yesterday I attended a roundtable with Ines Alberdi of Spain is is the Executive Director of UNIFEM. We talked about many factors that affected the success of women in Australia in organisations and why we are so far behind. Liz Broderick tabled the briefing note on Gender Equality Stats 2009 for Australia. It is a document well worth reviewing although very depressing. Here are a few that resonated with me: Australia is ranked 41st for women’s participation in the workforce, women undertake two thirds of the unpaid work in Australian households, women earan 84.3 cent in the male dollar, 22% of women have experienced sexual harassment and are four times more likely than men to experience this in the workplace.

Many young women believe the problem is no longer there and yet the pay difference starts in the first year of work. Within 5 years it becomes apparent that women get less opportunity to work on the ‘top’ projects and it goes on from there. All this happens long before ‘babies’ although that is often the excuse. How can we make it change?

Can you support Suited for Work?

xploreforsuccess — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 07:39:48 +0000

Hope you and some of your friends can support “Suited for Work” by coming to our fundraising dinner, attending the pre-release film night, buying raffle tickets or donating clothes or money:

Suited For Work is an incorporated, not for profit association run by volunteers. We provide appropriate clothing and styling advice for women who may be seeking to re-enter the workforce after a period of unemployment or women who may need to dress formally for a range of other situations. Suited For Work can also provide support in terms of building confidence for a job interview, resume writing assistance or simply a friendly, supportive environment for women who may just need a little extra help to move forward.

Dinner: September 7

We are delighted to invite you to our third dinner for 2009 on September 7 which will be held at the Novotel at Darling Harbour (our final dinner this year will be on November 16th). Novotel is part of the Accor group of hotels which are a platinum sponsor for Suited for Work. Our guest speaker at this event will be Oonagh O’Reilly a freelance presenter and stand-up comedian.

Each of our dinners aims to raise the funds to pay the rent for our Showroom in Burwood. Our last dinner raised sufficient funds to pay the rent for three months through the dinner, raffle and silent auction held on the night. We are currently building our silent auction and raffle prizes and would love to hear from you if you have something you would be able to donate.

Date: September 7th
Time: 6.30pm for 7.00pm
Location: Novotel, 100 Murray St, Darling Harbour
Price: $80.00 or $800 for a table of 10
RSVP: http://www.sfw.org.au/Event.html and pay by Paypal from our website
Payment: Invoices are available for table bookings – email sfw.dinner@gmail.com
Enquiries: Please email sfw.dinner@gmail.com

Raffle: August

We are delighted to offer a wonderful prize donated by The Wine Society (http://www.winesociety.com.au/) this month. Two tickets for their Introduction to Wine course valued at $400. A comprehensive eight-hour course covering topics as diverse as the role of the winemaker, the effect of the climate in which the grapes are grown, how to spot faulty wines and, above all, the art of wine appreciation. You can participate in this course over 4 week nights or a full day on the weekend. Courses are run at the Tasting Room at 66 Bay Street, Ultimo. Buy your raffle tickets using Paypal at http://www.sfw.org.au/Raffle.html.

Film Night: September 15

See the pre-release of VALENTINO: THE LAST EMPEROR This is a feature-length film on the legendary fashion designer Valentino Garavani, in the wake of his exit in 2008 from the company he founded in Rome more than 45 years ago. Produced and directed by Matt Tyrnauer, special correspondent for Vanity Fair magazine, the film is an intimate, engaging and very funny fly-on-the-wall exploration of the singular worlds of one of Italy’s richest and most famous men. The film documents the colourful and dramatic closing act of Valentino’s celebrated career, tells the story of his extraordinary life and explores the larger themes affecting the fashion business today. In production from June 2005 to July 2007, the filmmakers shot over 250 hours of footage with exclusive, unprecedented access to Valentino and his entourage. Join us for the pre-release showing on September 15th at the Palace Verona, Paddington at 6 for 6.30pm. Cost $25 including a glass of bubbly to relax before the start. Buy your tickets at http://www.sfw.org.au/Film.html

Make a tax-deductible donation

You can also support Suited for Work through a financial donation which is tax deductible, simply go to http://www.sfw.org.au/Get_involved.html#Donate)

We hope you will support us to support women who need a helping hand.

Regards,

The Suited for Work Team

Do you agree? – Women ‘won’t push for better pay’

xploreforsuccess — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:47:07 +0000

In the SMH this morning the further supported the view that women won’t push for better pay. So many women seem to believe that if they do a good job they will be remunerated fairly. Unfortunately that doesn’t often happen. Men talk about their performance and relate it to remuneration almost every time. They talk about money about four times as often as women – see the research by HBR “Nice Girls Don’t Ask”. It is really important for women to learn how to negotiate better especially in terms of their salary package. See the full article at http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/lifematters/women-x2018wonx2019t-push-for-better-payx2019-20090803-e7ar.html

What is an inclusive workplace?

xploreforsuccess — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 02:41:10 +0000

Someone asked me today what makes an inclusive workplace. Here are some of my thoughts. It is a workplace where:

where leaders are aware of themselves and their strengths
where leader look to be surround by others with different strengths
where leaders understand that they WILL have subconscious biases and how to manage them
where leaders are transparent and honest and ensure that all their people have opportunity to grow
where leaders are the role models for the behaviours they want in their organisation
and people feel valued regardless of their style, gender, background or disability