“I had no concept of what any of that would mean, but I just held onto those goals,” says Steele, who can now boast a remarkable 13-year swimming career, with the titles of Paralympian and gold medalist under her belt. 

“We forget that we have this power within us to decide what it is that we want to have in our lives,” says Steele.

Connecting to this power from a young age, Steele won her first gold medal in competitive swimming at just 14. Then, at age 17, she represented Australia for the first time at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics in the 400-metre freestyle, breaking a national record. 

Steele was born with a congenital disability called Arthrogryposis, which affects the range of motion in the joints and impacts the cartilage in the body. She also developed Amniotic band syndrome (ABS) in the womb, affecting the shape of both her hands. 

“Sport has been everything,” says Steele. “It has shaped me. It has shaped how I react to things, and how I have managed my disability.”

“We create our own reality,” she says. 

“Things are always going to happen in your life, but it’s how you react to those things. And so when I was a kid – and when I was early in my swimming career – I would react in a way that was like a victim because the world was telling me I was a victim. But then I realised I could change that narrative and go ‘well, you might see me like that, but I don’t see myself like that’.”

Throughout her swimming career, Steele has represented Australia internationally five times, including at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics. She’s also been captain of a number of Aussie swimming teams and held a Victorian Institute of Sport scholarship for eight years. 

After swimming, Steele took up wheelchair rugby. She was the only woman to be selected to play for Victoria at a national level. 

Today, Steele is an award-winning sportswoman, experienced personal coach and motivational speaker, who works in the personal development space as The Self Belief Agent. 

She’s also the Project Manager for the ‘Building Inclusive Sport Clubs’ program to promote the access and inclusion of people with disabilities in sporting clubs across Australia, working with Disability Sport Australia.

Recently, Steele was selected by the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation to become a Change Our Game ambassador. Steele is joined by seven other inspiring women in this movement to raise awareness on key issues in women’s sport. 

Steele is using this advocacy platform to create equitable change for all people with disabilities in sport. 

Emphasising the importance of her role with the Change Our Game movement, Steele says she’s proud that she and the other ambassadors have a direct opportunity to help other people feel the positive, life-changing aspects of sport that they’ve experienced. 

She says they’re able to do this “by breaking down inclusion and access issues and being able to share our expertise and make it easier for people to access the sports that they want to play.”

Looking back at her own sporting career, Steele can see clearly the changes she wished had been in place when she was competing at such a high level. These are the changes she’s working to implement for the next generation. 

And while there are some days where this change might feel impossible, Steele remains optimistic about the future.

“There are going to be days when you feel like you’re hitting your head against a brick wall,” she says. “And on those days, you just need to go for a walk or a swim in the ocean.”

“We’re not going to change the world in 24 hours because there’s so many different ways that people view women and sport and disability.” 

“We’ve all got our own perceptions or ideals of how people are meant to behave, but sometimes we need to put them aside for a bit so we can learn from other people,” she adds. 

“It’s okay if you just go, and take a deep breath, and start again.”

Change Our Game Ambassadors are using their platforms to help drive change and raise awareness on key issues and barriers for women in sport. Change Our Game is led by the Office of Women in Sport and Recreation to level the playing field for women and girls. Be sure to follow the Ambassadors’ journeys through @ChangeOurGame on socials.

The post ‘We create our own reality’: Paralympian Elle Steele on changing the narrative for women with disability appeared first on Women's Agenda.

“I remember a patient once said to me that her fertility and having children was never important to her. She never really even thought she’d become a mother, but having the threat of that option taken away from her was actually quite distressing,” says A/Prof Michelle Peate, the Program Leader for the Psychosocial Health and Wellbeing Research (emPoWeR) Unit, University of Melbourne. 

Around 4000 women in Australia and 440 women in New Zealand are diagnosed with breast cancer each year who are under the age of 45. Some treatments for breast cancer, such as chemotherapy and hormone therapy, may induce premature menopause and can reduce a woman’s chance of having children in the future.

While treatments can affect each person differently, it’s important to discuss fertility options with a breast cancer or fertility specialist as soon as possible. 

Dr Peate says that once breast cancer treatment begins, there can be irreversible damage to fertility, so “it’s really important to have those discussions early and give people all the options so they can make an informed choice.”

“My perspective is a lot about giving everyone the information they need to make the right choice for themselves, which may be to preserve and freeze embryos or eggs, or it may be about making sure they all know that there’s a risk and know that there are options available to them,” she says.  

Whether or not you’ve had children, are single or in a relationship or haven’t thought much about family planning, Dr Peate recommends talking to your doctors about your fertility options. 

“And if the doctor is not able to provide that information, find another doctor who will,” she says. “Just make sure you have an informed decision.”

Values-driven options

One resource that might be useful for breast cancer patients is a ‘decision aid’, such as booklets or websites that contain information to help inform on fertility preservation options and the impact of cancer on fertility. 

An advocate for value-driven decisions, Dr Peate was one of the first people in the world to incorporate this aspect into a fertility decision aid.

“What’s the right thing to do really comes down to what’s important to the individual’s values,” she says. “So our decision aid always has at the end this thing called a ‘values clarification exercise’.”

Some examples of values-driven options that a fertility decision aid might give include whether it’s important for the patient that their children are biologically related to them. If so, then Dr Peate says looking into fertility preservation options may be right for that patient, to preserve that genetic link. Whereas, if adoption appeals to the patient, then it might be less important to consider those fertility preservation options. 

Through her research, Dr Peate says she and her team proved that decision aids with values-driven options “resulted in improved decision outcomes.”

“Women were more satisfied with their decision,” she says. “They did have less regret, as they were making choices consistent with their values.” 

POEMS Trial

Research into fertility options for breast cancer patients has been quickly evolving. One innovative, new treatment option for young women with breast cancer has emerged from the POEMS clinical trial, to better preserve fertility during chemotherapy. 

POEMS, which stands for Prevention of Early Menopause Study, was conducted in Australia and New Zealand by Breast Cancer Trials and globally by the SouthWest Oncology Group (USA).  

One of Australia’s most prominent research-orientated cancer surgeons, Professor Christobel Saunders says she’s excited about the POEMS trials results as it showed “it was safe to interrupt hormone therapy after about 18 months to try to become pregnant.”

“This is very important for women with ER positive breast cancer who may be looking at 10 years of treatment and very diminished fertility at the end of this,” says Professor Saunders. 

“This trial looked at how Zoladex may protect ovaries during chemo. Thanks to the trial and the women who participated, this is now standard of care and has allowed many women to maintain their ovarian function after chemo.”

Clinical trials such as POEMS can offer the best possible treatment and care to patients, says Professor Saunders, who encourages women with breast cancer to consider joining one to further their knowledge and help the next generation of patients. 

“We know those in trials–and even those managed in centres that run trials– have better outcomes,” she says.

Join Breast Cancer Trials’ next free and online Q&A, happening Tuesday 20 February from 5-6:30pm (AEDT). The session will be moderated by author and journalist Annabel Crabb on the topic of breast cancer and fertility. To register click here.

The post Informed decision-making: Why all young women with breast cancer should consider fertility options before treatment appeared first on Women's Agenda.

Growing up, sport was a presence in the background of her life– played on TVs in the home or at bars– but it wasn’t until she got older that it began to emerge as an avenue of connection to other people. 

“In the backdrop of when I grew up– which was post 9/11– there were things that you could talk about with people that kind of became like a passport for your social interactions,” says Hussain.

“[Sports-related topics] were humanising and built connections with other people, where perhaps without those things, you would feel very isolated.”

It was after this realisation that she says she began to pay more attention to the current events of the sporting world, particularly cricket.

“I went to the cricket all the time with my community as a young person, so I just had that understanding and knowledge,” she said. “And when I spoke about sports, it just kind of melted away whatever barriers were between me and the rest of the world.”

As the Program Founder of her own consulting organisation Good.Human and a Board Member at the Victoria Women’s Trust, Hussain has graced the sports sector for over ten years, championing inclusion and diversity. She’s a respected media commentator and often speaks to organisations and community groups, sharing her experiences in the sector as a Muslim-Indian woman. 

Most recently, the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation for the Change Our Game movement selected Hussain to join a group of seven other women ambassadors raising awareness on key issues for women in sport. 

Between now and International Women’s Day 2024, she will be using this platform to foster belonging through sport and media, specifically with culturally and linguistically diverse women.

“It’s humbling to be an ambassador,” Hussian says. “Especially because I’m not an athlete.”

“I sort of inhabit this space in sport, where I represent a voice [for] non-athletes, kind of representative of the traditional sports fan or administrator.”

“So to be an ambassador in the capacity that I am representing people who aren’t traditionally in sport is very, very meaningful, and hopefully has an impact.”

Through her continued advocacy, Hussain says she wants to encourage and listen to other Muslim women and women of colour interested in getting involved in sport. 

“What I would love to see– and I think it’s starting to happen now– is conversations and opportunities and programs that wrap around cultures and communities to address their needs rather than kind of asking communities into existing avenues to participate in sport,” she explains.

And while Hussain does see change happening, it’s not always as meaningful as it has the potential to be. 

“That was really why I wanted to be part of this ambassador program,” she says. “To continue to hold that space quite visibly and show it is possible to inhabit.”

“We can be our full selves, with our cultural identities and religious identities and turn up in public spaces– particularly ones that are so important to the national psyche like sport.”

Hussain would love to see more meaningful diversity in positions of power in the sporting world, where there’s “agency and ability to actually impact the system”. 

Sport, she says, “has this incredible ability to bring people together, to remove those exclusionary barriers and create a level playing field”. 

While that doesn’t discount the fact that there’s been historical systemic barriers often counteracting this inclusion, Hussain notes that through her advocacy work, she often frames the conversation in a way that most sports-minded people can relate to: what’s fair or not fair. 

“I think there’s a natural feeling of fairness,” she says. “Sport is all about fairness.”

“If you’re best on the ground, it doesn’t matter where you’ve come from.”

Between now and International Women’s Day 2024, Change Our Game Ambassadors will use their platform to help drive change and raise awareness on key issues and barriers for women in sport. The Change Our Game series is put on by the Office of Women in Sport and Recreation. Be sure to follow the Ambassadors’ journeys through @ChangeOurGame on socials.

The post ‘Like a passport for your social interactions’: Rana Hussain uses sport to foster inclusion appeared first on Women's Agenda.

While there were very apparent barriers for Deaf men to participate in the sport, Hale would often watch them join local cricket clubs through their fathers, brothers, uncles and other support systems. 

For over 140 years, there had always been Deaf men’s cricket competitions– nationally, internationally and locally, in Victoria. The same couldn’t be said for women. 

“Deaf and hard of hearing men had so many more opportunities to enjoy the game, but also enjoy the camaraderie of being a part of a team, developing their cricket families and homes away from home,” says Hale. 

That’s why, at a Cricket Australia meeting in 2018, Hale brought up the possibility of creating a Deaf women’s competition.

“The staff member looked at me for a second and said ‘well, if you can get two teams up, we will put on an exhibition match’,” Hale recounts about the pivotal moment in her advocacy journey. 

“Within 48 hours, the Deaf community had come together, formed two teams, and changed the lives of many Deaf women and girls across Australia,” she says.

It was the first Deaf women’s cricket competition in Australia. Now, there are three fully formed Deaf women’s cricket teams playing for their states at the National Cricket Inclusion Championships in Brisbane in Marchant Park, and Hale says at least half of these women play regular cricket. 

“I feel really strongly about the phrase ‘You can’t be what you can’t see’,” says Hale.  “It is important that people with lived experience lead in the spaces that affect them.  Only they know intimately how being a person with that experience affects their lives and how they experience the world around them.”

As a proud Deaf woman herself, Hale has been leading and driving change through Deaf cricket for years. Most recently, she was selected as a Change Our Game ambassador to shine a light on the need for accessibility of Deaf women in sport. 

Hale is one of eight inspiring women chosen by the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation for the Change Our Game movement. It raises awareness on key issues through the platform between now and International Women’s Day 2024.

One of the biggest messages Hale is working to elevate is that not everyone is starting from the same place – a point particularly relevant to Deaf and hard of hearing women and girls.

“From my experiences in cricket, women and girls are only in recent times getting access to the game through their clubs in their own teams in safe and inclusive environments.”

“For Deaf and hard of hearing women and girls, many have never had the opportunity to pick up a ball or bat or understand the rules because of the double disadvantage they have had,” she says noting that it can often be hard for these players to “fit in and communicate effectively at local cricket clubs”.

“It’s for these reasons that we cannot have the same expectations and apply the same rules of men’s cricket to a group that is only just starting out. We need to pivot and adjust to fit,” she says. “This doesn’t make women’s and girls’ sports less deserving, important or exciting – it’s just a different starting point.”

Hale also says that while she feels a great responsibility to open doors for Deaf and hard of hearing women and girls, she cannot speak for everyone’s different lived experiences.

“Leadership for me means capturing as many voices of Deaf and hard of hearing people that I can, and elevating them all as equally as I can, by stepping out of the way, and opening the doors to let others lead,” she says.

What this really comes down to, Hale says, is having empathy and understanding that we all “have a deep human need to belong”. 

“We need to ask ourselves: ‘Are we doing things the way that we have always done them, just because it’s the ‘rules’, or are there truly things that we can adjust in our sports to make them more inclusive of everyone?’,” she says.

“Sometimes the smallest adjustments can make the biggest difference to inclusion.”

Between now and International Women’s Day 2024, Change Our Game Ambassadors will use their platform to help drive change and raising awareness on key issues and barriers for women in sport. The Change Our Game series is put on by the Office of Women in Sport and Recreation. Be sure to follow the Ambassadors’ journeys through @ChangeOurGame on socials.

The post ‘The smallest adjustments can make the biggest difference’: Melissa Hale is changing the game for deaf women in cricket appeared first on Women's Agenda.

She hasn’t taken promotion after promotion with a sole focus on one industry, nor did she start her first career in psychology with leadership aspirations. She hasn’t served in a CFO position, which is the most common prelude to taking a CEO role. 

Rather, she’s taken opportunities as they have come up and been driven largely by the need to build financial security for her family. Now, she wants to share more about this drive to help normalise conversations about earning more money as an immediate and necessary ambition for many women. 

“As a single parent for around 15 years, if I’m brutally honest, a lot of the career decisions I’ve made were driven by financial necessity, for a long time,” she says. 

“I tried to search for and pick jobs that paid well so I could provide financial security for my girls.” 

But while there was no set career plan, Taylor does say one thing she did deliberately do was examine opportunities carefully to determine how and if they could take her to the next step.  

“If it wasn’t the perfect opportunity or the one I really wanted, I would reframe it in terms of being another opportunity for my career that could lead to the thing I really wanted. And in the meantime, it could pay the salary I needed.”  

While Taylor always ensured the opportunities she did pursue would align with her values, she is open about the financial goals she had earlier on in her career in the hope it normalises the conversation among women. 

Taylor’s kids are now independent, but her drive for achieving better financial outcomes has seen her make career changes, shift industries, pick up management positions and increasingly take on more responsibilities. 

Having been in the CEO role of Women & Leadership Australia for around 18 months now, an organisation that provides courses and symposiums to support women in leadership, Taylor’s career now incorporates leadership of the organisation, as well as advocating for women’s financial security and empowerment. She does this by sharing some of her own experiences, as well as leveraging the research work Women & Leadership Australia does and the anecdotal evidence they have from the thousands of women they work with every year, to highlight some of the barriers facing women on pay, promotion and opportunity. 

She also says that it’s important to think about what your years of experience bring and might extend to. 

“I think we actually need to start talking about that. ‘Hey, I need to be paid well for the skills and the knowledge that I’ve accumulated over 40 years of working.”’

Taylor started her career in psychology but moved out of clinical work before moving into vocational education and training. 

She took a job with Mission Australia and worked her way up the ranks and into higher management positions, giving her the experience to become Deputy CEO of the Australian Institute of Management. Taylor’s first CEO role was at Government Skills Australia 

Taylor says she’s in a dream role at Women & Leadership Australia now, especially being a “card-carrying feminist” since the age of 14 and quickly realising that almost everyone working for Women & Leadership Australia is doing so because of their strong belief in the power of gender equity. She adds that the diversity of their workforce extends well beyond gender and results in a “range of terrific humans who work for us.” 

“The key role of a CEO is to set the structure, set the strategy, set the tone and set the culture so that people can actually do their job to the best of their ability,” she says. “So with those things set, it’s then getting out of their way and letting them do those jobs.” 

Sparking conversations is also essential for a leader, she says, even if it’s just about saying “hello”. She shares a strategy she once used in an office which involved putting time aside early to respond to emails and set things up for the day before actually blocking out time in the diary to ensure she was available to greet and check in with team members as they were starting the day. 

Taylor says setting a tone around culture and strategy should be a no-brainer for leaders, but that she has seen many senior managers who routinely do the opposite and ultimately make it harder for people to succeed. 

Looking into 2024, Taylor will be leading Women & Leadership Australia as it further grows its leadership courses and continues a national program of conferences. 

She believes the next year will be pivotal for addressing some of the barriers holding women back from leadership. 

Pay transparency particularly is set to be a game changer, with the Workplace Gender Equality Agency set to release the gender pay gaps of organisations with more than 100 employees within the first few months of the year. 

“If people call it naming and shaming then so be it,” she says on firms seeing their gender pay gaps published. “If you have more than 100 employees, then you have an HR team. You should have the resources to address gender inequity. 

Taylor says we should expect the competition for talent to also be a key issue for leaders in 2024, given the continued skills shortage and Australia’s low unemployment figures. That means workplaces will need to work harder at providing great policies for potential and existing talent, especially around flexibility, work-from-home options, paid parental leave and other areas. She especially wants to see more men taking up flexibility, highlighting how such trends will ultimately support women. 

“Leaders need to focus on shifting the conversation about flexibility being a woman’s issue,” she says. 

“Flexibility is about breaking down patriarchal structures which we know don’t just negatively affect women – they negatively affect men as well.” 

Taylor also sees 2024 as bringing a greater push for more evidence on how leadership programs and other activities are actually shifting the dial for women in leadership. Women & Leadership Australia has been measuring such activities for some time, with a 2021 survey of 2000 participants highlighting what their programs have delivered for them. 

The push for transparency on program success will also be important considering the gender pay gap data WGEA will be publishing. Organisations will want to see evidence of what works. 

“We don’t want participants to be taking on courses and wasting their time on things that might be nice to do and feel good but don’t actually impact their world or work in any way,” she says. 

Taylor highlights the role of Women & Leadership Australia in providing an alternative to more traditional coaching, especially for women who may spend a lot of time at work and at home dealing with the needs and demands of others and aspire to build on their own personal 

“We hear from women that coaching is often just another way of trying to get them to do things a certain way when actually they want to do things their own way. And they ask, ‘why is my style or my approach less valued than others? Why do I need to be coached to be a certain way?” 

As for providing a women-only program, Taylor says that the research shows women’s only programs provide psychologically safe environments. “We get the pushback, ‘what about the men’? But frankly, men have had it all their way for a really long time. And I’m not saying they don’t need support, but there is a whole lot of stuff out there that has been designed by men, for men.” 

Taylor says that in her 18 months in the role, she’s genuinely been overwhelmed by the quality of the programs and symposiums. 

“Yes the outcomes for women are driven by the quality of the content and the teaching and the practical solutions offered, but it’s also driven by the psychological safety of providing a women’s only environment,” she says. 

Women’s Agenda has partnered with Women & Leadership Australia in 2024 to elevate the voices of women involved in their symposiums and programs and to report back from their events. You can check out all the upcoming symposiums here. https://www.wla.edu.au/symposium/

The post A woman’s path to CEO rarely follows the many men before them appeared first on Women's Agenda.

“It’s not where people want to be, no one goes into marriage thinking they’re going to get divorced,” Elliott from boutique family law firm Broun Abrahams Burreket says. The divorce rate in Australia is 2.2 divorces per 1,000 residents as of 2022, according to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, and Elliott says no one divorce case is the same.

Divorces in Australia can cost anywhere between $300 and $100,000 – although Elliott says she’s witnessed costs surge beyond this.

And in this economic climate, it’s women who will be hit the hardest when they are faced with a divorce, as it widens the already existing gender pay gap. A study from 2022 found women experience a decline in income as large as 50 per cent after a divorce, while the income of men suffered minimal, if any, loss. It’s even worse for our most vulnerable women, including women experiencing domestic violence.

Speaking with Women’s Agenda, Elliott, who has more than 15 years’ experience in family law, discusses the challenges of divorce, including the financial burden of the legal process, and how legal loans can lighten the load.

Option 1: Mediation

There are three main processes to resolve the issues that arise from separation and divorce, including the divorce itself, property settlement and arrangements for children, if there are children involved. The minimum cost of the divorce itself – that is, applying for a divorce and having it considered by the Court – is $350, but can cost up to $1060, plus legal costs.

While property settlement and parenting arrangements can be settled through other legal pathways, Elliott says going to court will often skyrocket the total cost of divorce.

“If you can stay out of court, often that means your costs are lower because once you’re in court, the decision making is out of your control,” Elliott says.

One option to work out property settlement and arrangements for children is through mediation.

“More than half of my matters now would be resolved at mediation,” Elliott says.

“In both property and parenting matters, you have to try and mediate first before you go to court. The court rules require you to do that, unless it’s urgent or you fall within another exception.”

Mediation can cost from $4,000 to $30,000, depending on each case. It involves the parties involved in the divorce, their lawyers and a mediator, often a retired judge or counsellor.

“You sit down and you try and resolve your dispute by talking about it, going back and forth, putting various positions and hopefully moving closer together and meeting somewhere in the middle,” Elliott explains.

Option 2: Collaborative Practice

Another option Elliott offers her clients is collaborative practice.

“Collaboration is slightly different to mediation… it’s very much led by the clients and how quickly they want to move things along,” she explains.

In the room are the parties, their lawyers and a “collaborative coach”, who all sign an agreement before commencing proceedings which says in part that if the collaboration fails, the parties must get new lawyers.

“Part of the idea is that everyone’s very motivated, including the parties and their lawyers, to resolve the dispute during the collaborative process rather than going to Court,” Elliott says.

Option 3: Litigation

If parties can’t resolve their dispute out of Court, another option is litigation, which means going to court. Elliott says this is often the most expensive pathway.

“You have to pay court fees, but also lawyers have to go to court to appear for you on each occasion,” she says.

Cases can have several court days, and while the court usually says the final hearing for the case will be within a year of commencing proceedings, Elliott says it can be longer than that, which of course means it can raise the costs of the process.

“The reason why costs can build up as much as they do is that, family law, as you would expect, is a very emotional area of law. People sometimes can be running on emotion and that can make them less objective,” Elliott says.

What if I can’t afford my divorce?

A report from The Separation Guide this year found nearly half (46.6 per cent) of couples doing through divorce attempted to file divorce without any legal advice, highlighting just how much the financial burden of divorce weighs on people in Australia.

A divorce with no legal advice can be detrimental to women, particularly women in dangerous situations, like cases of family and domestic violence. According to a survey from Australian Family Lawyers this year, lawyers cited domestic violence, coercive control and abuse as the top reason for divorce.

“There are a lot of women in really difficult situations, whatever kind of violence it might be, and financial abuse is obviously very real and present,” Elliott says.

“They might not feel like they have any access to funds to be able to leave a really difficult situation.”

Just seven years ago, there were no options for couples to access a legal loan for their divorce. Plenti was the first organisation to offer this option. Now, the organisation has partnered with more than 620 family law firms across Australia.

As the Head of Legal Finance, Rose Dravitzki oversees lending from Plenti, who are committed to assisting people throughout the process of a divorce, and often women are are impacted the most.

“We work with family lawyers very closely,” she says.

“We partner with them and they essentially let us know when their clients might need some assistance with funding their matter so they can achieve a fair outcome for their families.”

For the last seven years, Plenti has been providing loans to people who are struggling to afford their divorce, and this can be for several different circumstances.

“Sometimes the other side – often the husband, but not always – might have the greater income,” Dravitzki explains.

“Sometimes people can be working too, but they just don’t have enough. With current price pressures, as well as inflation… people are struggling to meet their current bills.

“So a divorce on top… that’s a lot.”

Like Elliott, Dravitzki notes how the emotional aspects of divorce can increase costs.

“It’s hard for some people to take a step back and say, ‘maybe we can work this out in a more amicable way and it will cost less’,” Dravitzki says.

To address this issue, Plenti offers legal loans to people going through divorce and struggling with the costs associated with the process. Lawyers can either refer clients to Plenti, or people seeking a loan can go to Plenti’s website themselves and apply there.

As the only company offering legal loans to people going through divorce to carry a credit licence, Dravitzki said the loans ease the financial pressures of what is a “highly emotionally charged” situation.

In navigating the complex terrain of divorce, legal finance solutions like those provided by Plenti offer a lifeline to individuals grappling with the emotional and financial burdens of this highly challenging chapter of life.

You can find out more about Plenti’s legal fee loans here.

The post Divorce can be heavy. Family law practice director Alicia Elliott explains how to lighten the load appeared first on Women's Agenda.

Successful recipients will attend a two-day AGSM short course ‘The Authentic Communicator: Activating Presence’ from February 12 to 13 2024, held in Sydney and will gain access to AGSM’s leadership resources and events. The application deadline has been extended and we encourage you to apply now for this opportunity.

Returning to work after taking extended time off can be truly daunting. In the digital age we live in, systems and processes change daily, workplaces adapt and roles shift. 

It’s inevitable then, that workers may feel underprepared and out of depth upon their return from a career break.

Since the majority of workers taking time off are women, for various reasons, the female workforce in Australia face several challenges throughout their career trajectory, including skill deficits, a ‘part-time promotions cliff’ and overall lack of confidence.

Tracey Flynn is the Director of Executive Education at the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) at the University of NSW (UNSW). She is heading an annual program aimed at addressing these issues.

“It’s a very challenging business environment and quite a complex one,” Flynn says.

“If you have taken a career break, it can be challenging to understand what that (work) ecosystem looks like now. It can be a little bit daunting for some people.

“Having skills to be able to adapt and acknowledge those changes are helpful.”

The ‘yes’ woman

People take career breaks for several reasons – health issues, relocation, travel, carer responsibilities and, one of the most common reasons, parental leave.

No matter the reason, it’s mainly women who are taking time off. A survey from Hays found while 29 per cent of male workers in Australia and New Zealand reported having taken a career break, 64 per cent of female workers reported the same.

Although it’s not the sole reason, parental leave is certainly the main reason women take career breaks. According to the 2023 Women’s Ambition Report, conducted by Women’s Agenda, 40 per cent of women who responded to the survey had taken a career break for childcare commitments in the past ten years.

Tracey Flynn from AGSM says career breaks, without the right support, can interfere with the trajectory of a person’s career, and since it’s largely women taking time off, the skill deficits that come from career breaks impact female workers the most.

“The pace at which organisations and businesses are evolving, particularly around things like technology and processes and systems are ever-changing,” Flynn says.

“It really does affect women because there’s a lot going on, especially when you take a career break to have a family.”

Although 43 per cent of respondents to the 2023 Women’s Ambition survey said they are “more ambitious than ever before”, 32 per cent also said they lack confidence in balancing work and other responsibilities.

“Sometimes, there’s a lack of confidence because you’re not as familiar with what the new environment might look like,” Flynn says.

“There’s also having to juggle family and work.”

Through her work, Flynn has also noticed women who return to work after a career break often “overcompensate” at work, like taking on extra tasks, to make up for their “time off”.

“There’s a sense of needing to exert extra effort to compensate for the fact that they also have other responsibilities,” Flynn says.

“It can get quite overwhelming, and women tend to be a bit tough on themselves. Sometimes, they aim to demonstrate their ability to accomplish amazing things, which they certainly can. However, it seems they are being overly harsh on themselves instead of showing kindness.”

Support at work

Without the right support in place, a female employee’s return to work can be met with a range of challenges, including a loss of skills, a ‘part-time promotions cliff’ and lack of confidence.

Women’s Agenda’s 2023 Women’s Ambition Report found 16 per cent said their work arrangements are hindering their ability to get promoted. Meanwhile, 27 per cent say a lack of visibility to their team is hindering their career, and 37 per cent say it’s a lack of visibility to upper management.

Flynn says workplaces need to be more supportive for people, particularly women, returning to work after an extended leave.

“I think having an organisation that’s empathetic is important,” she says, “and there are a lot of amazing organisations in Australia and around the world that have great systems and processes and opportunities for women to come back easily.”

While workplaces have the responsibility to make their return as comfortable as possible, it’s important to ensure that individuals also have the confidence to pick up where they left off.

One of the ways to do so, Flynn says, is through “authentic communication”.

“Authentic communication is really about using communication as a tool to ensure that you can share the messages that you need to pass on,” she says.

“But also in turn that you are a deep listener that you are taking in the information that you’re receiving and then thinking about what you need or want to say in order to communicate your message.

“It allows people to be a lot more confident and communicate on their feet, to think about how they project their voice, and how they can ensure that they are designing their messages to suit the audience.”

In Women’s Agenda’s research, more than half of respondents (57 per cent) said communication was one of their top skills for their present and future careers, while 46 per cent said empathy was their top skill.

The idea of “authentic communication” shapes this year’s Career Comeback Sponsorship Program, run by AGSM and UNSW. It’s a two-day program involving workshops, speeches, networking and more to assist people returning from a career break.

“This program gives a lot of skills for people to be able to work through some of those challenges and not feel so overwhelmed or self-conscious when they’re communicating,” Flynn says.

Above all, though, Flynn’s main suggestion for people making a career comeback is to be kind to themselves. 

“Be kind to yourself. It’s a big step. There’s a lot going on typically when you do come back from a career break,” she says.

“It’s important to take things slowly and to be open and honest with yourself and the people you’re working with.”

The Career Comeback Sponsorship will be held on 12-13 February 2024. Applications for the program close on 1 December 2023.

The post How to make a comeback from a career break? Authentic communication is key appeared first on Women's Agenda.

But since receiving a small loan from CARE UK’s Lendwithcare program, Ning has grown her small sewing business– something that has not only helped her earn money to care for her family, but also created jobs for members in her community.

It’s made a significant difference, not just for Ning, but for those around her. The Lendwithcare loan wasn’t a “hand out” – it was a “hand up”.

Ning is one of many women that could make a difference in their communities. However, in low-income and middle-income countries, there is a $1.7 trillion financing gap for female entrepreneurs.

The Lendwithcare program is set to change that. Originally launched by CARE UK, the program will be launched this week by CARE Australia, enabling supporters to make small loans to new and aspiring small business owners. A loan for as little as $25 can help grow their business, and once it is up and running, the loan is repaid to the lender.

Lendwithcare Australia will primarily focus on low-to-middle income countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Vietnam and the Philippines, where many women struggle to secure financing for small ventures. 

CARE has been operating for over 75 years, working to save lives, end poverty and achieve social justice. The organisation places a particular focus on women and girls, with the Lendwithcare Australia platform being a crucial way of reaching them. 

Peter Walton, the CEO of CARE Australia, says the program is a sustainable way to create positive change in the region and can transform lives, especially the lives of women and children. Walton says for every woman who lifts herself out of poverty, she brings four people with her.

“It is a platform rallying Australians to make a direct impact on the lives of people who often don’t have access to the hand up that they need to support their families,” he says.

“Lendwithcare Australia creates a virtuous cycle of empowerment and opportunity. Borrowers gain the means to support themselves and empower their communities. 

“Lenders, in turn, experience the satisfaction of seeing their initial loan not only transform one life, but also continuously multiply its impact when re-lent to more and more deserving individuals.”

Lendwithcare Australia goes beyond the traditional process where people donate money and may not initially see its true impact. 

With Lendwithcare Australia, lenders can decide who they loan to and how much money they invest into their business. CARE Australia lends 100 per cent of the money provided by the lender to the borrowers and does not take any portion of the loan for profit.

The small loan helps the individual start up or grow their business; and from there, they can earn a living, provide for their families and, most importantly, employ members of their community.

Once the business grows, the business owner repays the loan to the donor, who can then choose to re-lend their money to support another business, withdraw it, or donate it to CARE Australia.

Suzi Chinnery, the head of capability and impact at CARE Australia, says Lendwithcare Australia is a “thoughtful approach to support”. Focusing on female business owners is a key part of the Lendwithcare strategy to alleviate financial inequity and achieve social justice, Chinnery said.

“When a woman has access to financial services, her opportunities improve dramatically – gaining independence, the freedom to pursue education, the opportunity to start a business, for great decision-making power in her home and to be a leader,” she says.

With the launch of the platform on October 30, Lendwithcare Australia is leading the way in sustainable charitable support, knowing well that it’s women who can make the biggest differences in our world today.

The post A hand up, not a hand out: CARE Australia’s Lendwithcare platform, a sustainable approach to charitable support  appeared first on Women's Agenda.

“For the 50 per cent of patients who are diagnosed with breast cancer as a result of symptoms or from a doctor finding an abnormality, a lump is by far the most common finding,” says Dr Nick Zdenkowski, Medical Adviser at Breast Cancer Trials – Australia’s breast cancer clinical trials research group.  

“The challenge, of course, is that most lumps are not cancer, and many cancers do not present as a lump. This is where the nuances are important.”

If symptoms do present, people should seek medical advice but it’s important not to panic as nine out of ten breast changes aren’t due to cancer. 

There are some clues, however, that can help identify when a lump is more suspicious for a diagnosis of cancer. Dr Zdenkowski says to look out for lumps that are new or progressively getting worse, lumps that don’t resolve along the menstrual cycle, those that pull at the skin or are fixed to the chest wall, those that associate with swelling in the skin or under the armpit or lumps that associate with any other unusual symptoms like nipple discharge or pain. 

Nevertheless, many patients– over half of those diagnosed with breast cancer– do not present, which is why routine mammographic breast screening is so important, says Dr Zdenkowski. 

“Screen-detected cancers are typically detected at an earlier stage when the prognosis is better and cure is more likely,” he says.

This was the case for Diane Barker, who underwent routine breast cancer screening before she was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer. She had noticed a bit of swelling in her right breast but didn’t present with any other unusual symptoms. Thanks to doctors finding the cancer in her testing results, Diane was able to begin her treatment urgently.

“I didn’t know how far it had spread and the pathology was showing that it was an extremely fast growing cancer,” said Diane. “It had a 90 per cent reproduction rate so it was really crazy the speed at which it was spreading.”

“The PET scan results showed that it had spread to my lymph nodes which was a worry but it hasn’t spread beyond the lymph nodes,” she said, noting that if it had spread to any other organ, she probably wouldn’t have survived. 

BreastScreen Australia recommends women aged 50-74 without breast cancer symptoms should get a screening mammogram every two years. In New Zealand this test is free for women aged between 45 and 69 years. 

Dr Zdenkowski has seen patients as well who’ve received prompt diagnosis and treatment because they went to see their general practitioner for assessment straight away after noticing an unusual symptom or lump.

“One who found their cancer and was able to avoid having chemotherapy because it was found so early,” says Dr Zdenkowski. 

“This is a good outcome, to be able to avoid the short and long term side effects of chemotherapy, which is generally used for specific subtypes of breast cancer, and those that are diagnosed at a later stage (larger cancers, or cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes).”

When checking for signs of breast cancer, it’s important to note that breast shape and size can be affected by other factors as well, including menstrual cycle, pregnancy, weight and age. 

For men, the most common symptom of breast cancer is a painless lump in the breast, often behind the nipple. 

“Our advice these days is to know your breasts, and how they change from day to day and week to week, throughout the menstrual cycle and after menopause,” says Dr Zdenkowski. “Changes that seem unusual are then more likely to be noticed.”

“Don’t be afraid to go and see your doctor about these changes. Often a scan such as a mammogram or ultrasound is all that is needed to provide reassurance that there is no evidence of cancer.”

It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the latest free and online Q&A event from Breast Cancer Trials will be on the topic of triple negative breast cancer. Moderated by Author and Journalist Annabel Crabb, join leading breast cancer researchers and women with a history of triple negative breast cancer to discuss the latest in research, clinical trials and treatments.

The post Not all breast cancer presents as a lump. Here’s why routine screenings are crucial appeared first on Women's Agenda.

It was at her next appointment, when the radiologist entered her room, that Diane says she first felt that something was amiss.

“Normally it was just the cinematographer who was doing the scan [but this time] she went out and got the radiologist and she said ‘oh, you know, I think we probably need to come back for a biopsy’,” Diane says.

“That’s when I started to feel a bit uneasy about it.”

Diane’s second indication that something was wrong came when she tried to delay her biopsy appointment due to work commitments but the radiologist wanted to fast track it.

“That’s when I started to feel really worried because I thought she’d actually seen something there that might be of concern.”

Following more tests, Diane was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, and although she’d been “sort of preparing” herself for the news, she says “nothing really prepares you for that”.

“The PET scan results showed that it had spread to my lymph nodes which was a worry but it hadn’t spread beyond the lymph nodes, meaning it hadn’t metastasized to another organ,” she says. “Which is good because if it had metastasized to any other organ, I wouldn’t be speaking to you now.”

Compared to other types of breast cancer, triple negative breast cancer is more aggressive and has a greater propensity to develop into a metastatic stage, with poorer clinical outcomes as shown by higher relapse rates and lower survival rates. 

It accounts for 15 per cent of all breast cancers, and doesn’t contain the most common types of receptors known to make most breast cancers grow–oestrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2).

While a new diagnosis of triple negative breast cancer is undoubtedly a frightening prospect, medical oncologist and translational researcher Stephen Luen assures patients that outcomes are continuing to improve as new research developments emerge. 

“In the current medical context, it is important to understand that triple negative breast cancer is the breast cancer subtype with the greatest sensitivity to chemotherapy, is frequently recognised by the patient’s immune system opening up new treatment options to re-ignite the immune system, and has recently received new approvals in Australia for new drugs with new drug targets,” he says. 

“Although treatment for triple negative breast cancer remains intensive and tough for patients, we are now curing the majority of newly diagnosed patients.”

Despite her initial fear, this was the case for Diane, who successfully finished her active treatment last March and says she’s been staying positive since then and receiving regular checkups.

When Karen Alexander, another patient, first received her triple negative breast cancer diagnosis, she tried to quell her worry by staying away from google and only looking at websites that her oncologist had referred her towards.

“It wasn’t until sometime after I’d finished my treatment, I was on one of the ‘approved websites’ looking for information on how long some of the side effects of chemo would last and stumbled on a discussion thread – which very quickly had me convinced that the cancer was going to come back and I only had another 5 years to live,” says Karen.

Concerned over what she’d seen, Karen reached out to her oncologist who reassured her that while not everyone has good outcomes, that wasn’t the case for Karen’s personal situation.

Luckily Karen says her partner, Rowan, offered the kind of positive support that helped her lean towards hope throughout her diagnosis.

And in supporting anyone else with triple negative breast cancer, she recommends steering clear of assumptions.

“Listen to them,” she says. “They’ll generally let you know what they need– whether it is a laugh or a cuddle– but do remember that what they are dealing with can be overwhelming and sometimes frightening, so have some tissues handy – you might need them for yourself.”

It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the latest free and online Q&A event from Breast Cancer Trials will be on the topic of triple negative breast cancer. Moderated by Author and Journalist Annabel Crabb, join leading breast cancer researchers and women with a history of triple negative breast cancer to discuss the latest in research, clinical trials and treatments.

The post Feeling scared after a triple negative breast cancer diagnosis? Seeking medical advice can ease your mind appeared first on Women's Agenda.

But providing crisis assistance in isolation doesn’t solve the broader problem. Empowering women after providing crisis assistance is the next step to a long-term solution, and there are charities in Australia making this possible.

On Friday September 15, Australian philanthropic charity 100 Women announced five new organisations to receive grants of up to $50,000 to support their causes – from women’s health and safety to empowering women through work, education and housing.

These grants were made possible by the support of Ostelin, Australia’s number one Vitamin D and Bone Health brand, and their initiative Project Strong. Ostelin’s project celebrates and empowers the strength of all women from the inside out.

Since the establishment of the partnership, 100 Women and Ostelin have changed the lives of more than 21,000 women and girls. Founded in 2014, the philanthropic charity has funded 34 major projects, raised $1.25 million collectively Every single dollar donated to the charity goes directly to the grants they award every year.

This year, Orana House, the Cana Communities and the Hunger Project Australia were awarded a grant from 100 Women to fund their projects dedicated to empowering women gain emotional and financial independence.

Orana House

When it comes to women enduring family and domestic violence (FDV), there is a common but misguided question that people ask: “Why doesn’t she just leave?”

But Jasmyn Hutin from Orana House says there is another question we should be asking: “Where can she go?”

Orana House began 30 years ago with a “housing first model” via crisis accommodation service for victims of FDV. According to recent statistics, one in five women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15. What’s more, 53 per cent of perpetrators are intimate partners, and 69 per cent of assaults happen at home.

Although the housing first model is proven to be a successful model for charities in Australia and around the world, Hutin said there is a “diabolical rental crisis” in Western Australia, where Orana House is based.

While a typical vacancy rate between 2.5 and 3.5 per cent represents a balanced market, the rate in August 2023 in WA was at 0.9%. As a result, women and children could be on a waitlist for social housing for up to two years. 

“The women and children we support can’t languish on a waitlist – they’re in a critical situation that needs attention right now,” she said.

“They’re facing the dilemma between choosing homelessness or living with their perpetrator.”

Facilitated by 100 Women’s grant, Orana House can now eliminate that dilemma from the lives of these women and their children.

The Housing Families: Connect, Move, Succeed project involves a register for women to join, which connects them with socially conscious landlords who can offer affordable properties to these vulnerable women, for a sustainable future.

Hutin said the program will respond to the “critical bottleneck situation” of the housing market in WA.

“It’s essentially a program that helps us to support and advocate for women who have gone through family and domestic violence and have been living in refuge,” she said.

“We’ll assist them into the private rental market through bond assistance, rent top ups and more importantly, case management, so that there’s a really seamless and supported tenancy.”

In the last financial year, 117 women and their children were referred to the Orana Housing Families program for support with securing private rentals.

As a result, 57 women and 86 children were supported into accommodation while on the Housing Families register, through a combination of private rentals and transitional housing.

With the latest grant, Hutin said Orana House will be able to help an additional 50 women and their 140 children in finding affordable and sustainable private rental accommodation.

“The grant from 100 Women has the potential to save lives – and certainly increase their quality of living in the future.”

Cana Communities

Nine years ago, when she began volunteering for Cana Communities, Tor Taranto sat down at a table she thought she would never find herself at.

“There were women from jail, transitioning women… people who were different to me,” she said.

“I realised something – that we’re all people.”

It inspired Taranto to continue her volunteer work for Cana Communities in Sydney for three years, before moving to Perth and founding the Western Australia branch of Cana Communities.

Cana Communities is a not-for-profit charity. Founded in 1975, the organisation has worked with men and women who have experienced homelessness, addiction and mental health issues through a relational model.

“We basically provide a connection and a sense of belonging through our hospitality, our home spaces and our social enterprise,” Taranto said.

“I’ve been fortunate enough in my life to have people around me that have been able to support me, whether that’s through family, friends or money. And a lot of people don’t have that.”

But that’s exactly what Cana Communities provide through their work – family-style support to empower vulnerable people to get back on their feet.

On top of transitional housing and employment pathway opportunities, the grant for 100 Women will be used to hire a community nurse and an art therapist for Cana Communities in WA.

The project, called the Life Transformation Program, will provide the care that vulnerable women need in order for them to re-establish familial relationships, improve relational skills, gain independence, access work opportunities and more.

“Having a community nurse who can be there regularly will break down some of the barriers people face navigating the healthcare system,” Taranto said.

“And as for the art therapist, so many people in our community have such tremendous trauma, but it actually helps people if you get them to draw.

“They don’t have to articulate with words, which is expected from so many other organisations out there.”

Cana Communities expects the program to reach 20 women directly, aged between 20-60 years old and coming from all walks of life. Alongside this, their families will also be positively impacted from the support provided.

But it’s not about the service the organisations provides, or certain KPIs they need to meet, Taranto said, and it never has been.

“We’re not ‘yes’ people, we’re not do-gooders, we actually have firm discussions around what that person needs and why they need it, because quite often what presents isn’t actually the underlying issue,” she said.

“We follow the needs of society – the marginalised people of society.

“We have a vision and we know what our mission is. As long as we go with that, we can basically respond to anything.”

The Hunger Project Australia

The grants awarded by 100 Women and Ostelin on September 15 were not solely confined to Australian charities and initiatives. With the aim of having a global impact, The Hunger Project Australia was the fifth recipient of the grant.

In the northeastern state of Bihar in India, nearly half (46 per cent) of adolescent girls will be married before they turn 18. But this is not a statistic The Hunger Project Australia is willing to accept.

Thanks to the grant awarded by 100 Women and Ostelin, the charity can now run a multifaceted, grassroots initiative to end early and forced marriages of young girls in Bihar, India.

The program involves training workshops, material development and rigorous project evaluation that is expected to directly reach and impact 1,400 adolescent girls, while having an indirect impact on around 7,000 other members of the wider community.

The workshops will teach these girls vital skills of communication, negotiation, and decision-making. They will also be education on sexual and reproductive health and rights, menstrual hygiene management, nutrition, healthy lifestyle recommendations, digital literacy, and cyber safety – all with the overarching goal to break the cycle of child marriages.

The post Empowering Aussie women after crisis through grants provided by 100 Women and Ostelin appeared first on Women's Agenda.

That’s according to a recent survey from Business NSW, that included responses from big business all the way through to sole traders. Together, the respondents employ nearly 80,000 workers. 

This lowering of business confidence is occurring Australia-wide, and points to uncertain, and perhaps tougher economic conditions ahead. The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show slowing economic growth and weak household consumption as the highest interest rates in a decade have stalled demand.

With concerns of a recession now on the horizon, businesses and employers will look for ways to cut their costs. It also makes it all the more important that employers are getting bang for their buck when it comes to the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies they may have in place. 

Below, we’ve outlined five non-negotiable DEI policies for employers that will help their business flourish in a slowing economy. 

Paid parental leave

When it comes to DEI policies, delivering paid parental leave to employees is a key action that has a proven, positive flow on effect for organisations. 

Employer-funded parental leave ensures new parents are supported as they embark upon one of the most challenging times in their lives and careers. It can lead to reduced staff turnover, which in turn leads to fewer recruitment and training costs for businesses.

In uncertain economic times, retaining your best talent can help ensure businesses keep their productivity high and employees satisfied. A top-tier paid parental leave policy can also be a key way for organisations to show they are leading with a “people-first” attitude.

Best practice paid parental leave policies from employers in Australia have removed ‘‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ carer labels to encourage both mothers and fathers to take up the leave. In the OECD, the average length of leave offered is 53 weeks, while countries like Iceland, Norway and Finland offer paid parental leave at around 80 per cent of a parent’s normal wage. 

Meanwhile, supporting new parents with paid parental leave has considerable advantages – not just for businesses, but for the entire economy. As noted by KPMG in a major report on paid parental leave in 2021, equal parenting models in families can give rise to a higher standard of living, and benefits for businesses, with increased productivity and workforce participation. It can also help reduce gender pay and superannuation gaps, and help mothers stay connected to the workforce. 

Sponsorship 

Another DEI policy that has innumerable positive benefits for businesses and provides a significant return on investment, are sponsorship programs that link senior leaders with emerging leaders within an organisation. 

As we’ve noted on Women’s Agenda previously, sponsorship can be a key way to dismantle systemic and behavioural barriers that hold women back in workplaces. This has never been more important as Australia’s economic growth slows.

Katriina Tähkä, Managing Director at Cultivate Sponsorship, knows the benefits of sponsorship first-hand and says now is not the time to back off on career development, even amid tougher economic conditions.

“Uncertain economic times can lead employees to also feel uncertain about job security and career progression at their current employer unless there are signs to the contrary,” Tähkä told Women’s Agenda.

“If people do not believe that their company and leaders genuinely care about their continued development or they feel overlooked and isolated it can lead to people changing jobs. Now is not the time to back off on career development; but to ensure that your most valuable resource, your people, know that they are valued.”

Tähkä says that sponsorship programs ensure that leaders have the skills they need to be effective sponsors, and that investing in emerging leaders is necessary if they are to be part of an organisation’s financial success. 

“Having a sponsor in your corner gives you a senior person in your company who understands your aspirations and is looking out for ways to keep you on the radar for opportunities,’ she said. 

“That connection will keep employees engaged even through the most challenging economic conditions. Engaged employees are more productive and will be key to helping any organisation to weather uncertainty. Leading with a people-first culture will always pay off in the long term.”

Flexible work practices 

On top of paid parental leave and sponsorship programs, continuing to offer employees flexible work options is critical in this uncertain economic period. According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), flexible work options are one of the key ways employers can ensure they are being responsive to their employees’ needs. As WGEA highlights, attracting and retaining diverse talent is critical to future-proofing businesses – all the more important if employers are looking at strategies to thrive in a shrinking economy. 

Whether it’s offering remote or hybrid work practices, flexible hours for working parents, or allowing some roles to shift to job-sharing arrangements – there are many ways that flexible work arrangements can fit into a business. 

With flexible work policies comes diverse talent, as well as more diverse leadership teams. And, as a growing body of evidence has made clear, there is a clear business case for more diverse leadership teams. They perform better, deliver greater profits, and achieve higher ESG outcomes. 

Data collection

Collecting data on your company’s DEI policies is also critical to ensuring you are getting the most out of the strategies that are in place. In an adverse economic climate, getting the most out of DEI practices can be a real benefit to any business. Moreover, tracking the outcomes and success of policies with clear metrics is critical to ensure there is accountability at the leadership level.

Also, having transparency around the goals of a company’s DEI strategy will mean employees are more confident in their workplace’s commitment to better outcomes. It can also help to educate and inspire employees, a key part of talent retention. 

Cultivate Sponsorship provides its clients with an Impact Report at the end of each program, which  provides a workplace with a comprehensive overview of employees’ sentiments on their career progression and DEI policies. It’s another transparency measure that can help an organisation decide if they need to make incremental changes to better its DEI outcomes. 

A commitment to preventing harassment, discrimination, and bullying 

One in three workers in Australia have experienced sexual harassment in their workplace over the last five years, according to a national survey undertaken in late 2022. Meanwhile, just half of employees say their employers have provided information on how to report an incident.

With a slate of changes following former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins’ Respect@Work report in 2020, there a number of new requirements for employers to take note of. Importantly, it is now incumbent upon businesses to prevent sexual harassment from occuring in their workplace, after legislation passed through federal parliament last year creating a “positive duty” for employers.  The respect@work.gov.au website provides information and resources for employers to help create respectful workplaces, free from harassment.

Preventing your employees from suffering from discrimination and bullying is just as vital to ensure workplaces are safe for everyone. As the economy slows, ensuring workplaces are safe is key to enabling employee productivity and wellbeing – both are essential for the financial success and resilience of a business. 

Ensuring your policies on harassment, discrimination, and bullying are up to date and implemented fully is non-negotiable in this economic climate. But most importantly leaders need to ‘walk the talk’. They need to be visible role models of the behaviours expected in the organisation even through the most challenging of times. Adversity can’t be an excuse for loosening the standards of respect expected of everyone.  

Leaders who are active sponsors of others will understand firsthand the barriers and challenges that others face and commit to overcoming them. Seeing your own company through another person’s eyes and lived experience is a powerful way to teach empathy and understanding, crucial for the decision makers to understand the potential multigenerational impact of the decisions they make now. If you take flexible work and paid parental leave off the table now and overlook inappropriate behaviour how will this impact the people in your organisation?

Although DEI is often first on the hit list of cost cutting; chances are that you will be cutting more than just the budget.

Learn more about Cultivate Sponsorship here.

The post With uncertain economic conditions on the horizon, these are 5 non-negotiable DEI policies for businesses  appeared first on Women's Agenda.