CBCC - Special edition - March 2023

Bravetogether 2023

A SPECIAL CBCC MAGAZINE EDITION capturing moments from Women in Leadership 2023 celebration!

Our 450 guests gathered to celebrate women.

From the IWD2023 event to Focus Groups analyzing the challenges of returning to work after a break. Find out all the activities of the CBCC for women's empowerment.

Thank you sincerely to everyone involved!

Our road-map to embracing equity:

As an individual, we need to help ourselves and prepare for leadership.

As a family, we need to educate our children to understand and embrace equity.

In our workplace we need to trust the people we work with as well as ourselves. To trust in your ability to lead and win and keep the respect of your staff, customers and suppliers and the wider community.

And last but not least we all need to bring more value to the table. Aspire to succeed. See the gaps and seek to fill them.

WallyMehanna

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Empowering Women in our community

At CBCC, we are committed to empowering women in our community. Our annual Women in Leadership event brings together local businesses, charities, not-for-profits, schools, and government agencies to discuss the challenges faced by women in business and how to support them.

Our Women's Committee focuses on creating tangible outcomes that drive change and improve the lives of women in our community. We work closely with our CEO to ensure that our annual event is aligned with the concerns of women.

In addition to our current initiatives, we have future projects to support women in the workforce. Our Brave program provides a platform for women to share their stories and experiences of returning to work after a break, while our Back to Business program offers solutions and opportunities for women looking to reenter the workforce after maternity or

other reasons.

Our commitment to empowering women extends to our Women's Safety Charter, which ensures that women's safety is a top priority in all aspects of our operations.

We recognise the strengths of the Western Sydney community in its cultural diversity, vast knowledge, and varied skills and expertise.

We continue to embrace the enthusiasm of our community for events that support women, businesses, and the wider community.

We provide a valuable network for women in business to support and connect with each other, tackling pressing issues and providing a platform for women's voices to be heard. With our ongoing initiatives and future projects, we are dedicated to empowering women and creating positive change in our community.

CBCC Women's Committee

TRACY MINETT

CEO at Minett Group & patient-fronting pharmacist

Award-winning female entrepreneur recognised for her business skills business acumen, superior patient care, her contributions to the pharmacy industry as well as her commitment to the community.

ANTOINETTE KHALIL

Principal solicitor at Khalil Lawyers

Antoinette prides herself in prioritising your needs and going above and beyond to make your legal journey as smooth as possible.

LEAH OSTERMEYER

Director & Head of Finance at Collappor8

Leah is a superhuman all-rounder. An accountant, web developer and IT specialist. She is passionate about helping women with technology, digital and financial literacy as a means to breaking glass ceiling as she has done.

JO JOHNSTON

Director & Economist at Collappor8

Jo is a social warrior on a mission to create a more equal and inclusive community. She is hiring and growing her business as well as improving the communities she works in.

CBCC Women's Committee

DR. MICHELLE CULL

Associate Dean, Engagement, School of Business, Senior Lecturer, Accounting

Dr. Michelle inspires students to challenge the norm and create innovative approaches to how business is accomplished in Australia and globally.

ZAKI

Amera is an experienced executive leader with a passion for ensuring excellence in Customer Service and relationship management.

ALLISON ATTARD

Executive

Director

at BNI Global

At BNI, we're Changing the Way the World Does Business through interaction, conduct & business.

The Women's Committee strives to improve the lives and wellbeing of women by addressing pressing issues, amplifying their voices, and fostering connections and inspiration among successful women.

AMERA

Acting CEO of Tender Loving Care Disability Services

WOMEN'S DAY

The world celebrated International Women’s Day 2023 on Wednesday 8th March, including the CBCC with our annual Women In Leadership event at the William Inglis Hotel in Warwick Farm.

Over 400 guests attended our event, representing local businesses, charities, not-for-profits, schools, and government agencies such as the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Defence Force.

Our special guest, the Hon. Mark Coure MP, kicked the night off with a statement on the inclusion and diversity of Western Sydney.

Not only do we have strong female representation in our business community, but we also have a culturally diverse group of leaders.

#EmbraceEquity

Sharing their moment of empowerment, i4give founders Daniel and Leila Abdallah discussed the power of forgiveness in the wake of tragedy.

Later on, we welcomed our second guest panel: Professor Clare Pollock, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost at Western Sydney University; Demi Stefanova, COO at Quickstep Group; and Petra Geara Fagerstorm Esq, LLM.

Moderated by Antoinette Khalil, CBCC Women’s Committee Chair and Principal Lawyer at Khalil Lawyers, our guest speakers discussed the challenges still faced by women in business today in Australia, and how education, mentorship, and confidence are essential for women leaders.

The CBCC has held an annual Women In Leadership event since our establishment in 2017. In recent years, we have seen our community embrace our event with enthusiasm, with participation numbers increasing with each passing year.

The cultural diversity, vast knowledge, and varied skills and expertise of the Western Sydney community are our strengths, and the CBCC is excited to continue supporting our women, our businesses, and our wider community throughout 2023 and beyond.

FOCUS GROUP WOMEN IN BUSINESS

30TH JANUARY 2023

CBCC Women's Committee held the first focus group for Women in Business on 30th January 2023 at Bankstown RSL. More than 40 attendees participated in lively, engaged discussions about the issues facing women today. Attendees discussed how we can all help women in the South-West and each other, to break down the barriers facing women in business and leadership. The CBCC ensured that the room was a welcoming platform where women can support women, network, and connect with other amazing women. The focus group was a safe place to share their voice and stories to the community to inspire others to change the narrative.

The event kicked off with networking

opportunities, with opening remarks from our CEO Wally Mehanna and the CBCC Women’s Committee Head and Board Member, Antoinette Khalil. The participants were split up into three round tables to write down and discuss the barriers that exist when it comes to women in business.

Women spoke on the financial burden they face after slowly returning from maternity leave, income disparity, and societal expectations discouraging them to handle work commitment. The main issues identified were access to childcare, improve confidence in women and promote the resources that can help women grow.

As a whole, participants agreed that generational, cultural, and language barriers must be overcome. Discouraging social expectations on a woman’s capacity to handle work must be confronted now and in the future.

Following the discussion, groups were invited to share what they would like the CBCC to advocate for on behalf of them to the government (pre-election), such as removing invisible discrimination in job ads that prevent women from re-entering the workforce.

"Recent experience necessary" discriminates.

There was talk of the value of flexible jobs for healthier work-life balance and schemes for women who are entering/reentering the workplace. We talked about compounding discrimination faced by many in Western Sydney and cultural influences around gender roles.

The CBCC’s first women’s focus group ended with a lunch and further networking opportunities.

We are amazed with positive response and knowledge from the women who attended, and are eager to organise more events to do our part to work towards a better future. The committee will convene, discuss these findings, and work toward solutions that bring real impactful changes for women. Together we can do so much more for women working everywhere, starting from our rich multicultural roots in the Canterbury Bankstown region.

We thank each and every participant who attended our Focus Group. Without you, we would not be able to understand, explore and plan future steps to create change. With this success in our belt, hope to see even more participants in our Focus Groups in the future!

CBCC Women's Committee activities

The key to solving significant problems is collaboration. Watch our Focus Group Video.

ProfessionalLegalServicestailoredtoyourneeds

Khalil Lawyers are your trusted legal team for all of your Family, Property and Commercial legal matters Khalil Lawyers takes pride in prioritising your needs and going above and beyond to make your legal journey as smooth as possible. Every client and legal matter is important to us as we strive to make a difference in the community. At Khalil Lawyers, our approach is based on a foundation of integrity, genuine care and compassion – we understand that a simple gesture of kindness and empathy can make a complicated process that much more comfortable Contact us today for an initial consultation on 1300 KHALIL or (02) 7202 2312 Flinders Centre, Level 8, 25 Restwell Street, Bankstown NSW 2200 www.khalillawyers.com.au

KHALIL LAWYERS IN THE COMMUNITY

Khalil Lawyers are a corporate partner of the Canterbury Bankstown Chamber of Commerce (CBCC) and are a major spnosor of the 2023, International Women’s Day event held by the CBCC.

Antoinette Khalil plays an active role as a Board Member and Chair of the Women’s Committee of the CBCC.

Khalil Lawyers are also proud sponsors of the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs, with this year sponsoring Jersey Number 5, worn by Josh Ado Carr. We wish the club and all the players all the best for the 2023 Season.

At #TenderLovingCare, we believe that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Join us in spreading love, unity, and peace by supporting our mission to empower people of determination..

Women's empowerment is one of the staples of the CBCC.

"Empower a woman, and you empower a community. Give her strength, and she will carry her loved ones through the toughest of times. But support her endlessly, and there will be no limit to what she can achieve."

- Unknown

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