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Two leading ladies who have risen to key leadership roles in sport recently discussed the challenges many women face in 'levelling the playing field' and offer their top tips. I’m the person I am because I failed.” This is the surprising confession made by World Champion, dual Olympian and five-time Olympic medallist, Melanie Wright (nee Schlanger) – who lives and studies on the Gold Coast. The athlete has reached great heights during her swimming career – winning one gold and two silver medals at the London Olympics, plus a fighting fourth in the 100m freestyle final. She is now studying to become a doctor - commenced studying medicine at Bond University earlier this year - and has already completed Bachelor of Biomedical Science and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA). According to Melanie, 30, people need to hear about and understand failure more. “I think it’s one of those lessons that goes missing. It comes along and people feel really bad they don’t really take the opportunity to make themselves better and to learn those lessons. I think failure, in general, teaches you to be resilient if you’re willing to keep going. That just comes along with failure. [And] all the other things that go along with it,” Melanie told the audience at the Bond University Women’s Network’s annual 'Speak Up Forum' recently. “It’s really up to you to decide if you’re going to make that disappointment into something better. I think that’s something that is lost on a lot of people, athletes included. It took me a really really long time to come back from [not being able to sleep prior to a big race and not achieving the desired outcome] and realise failure was not necessarily something that was a bad thing.That’s when I October 2016
really started to succeed a lot more. If you can embrace that fact, and be willing to fail, you’re more likely to push yourself and to take those risks. And, you’re more than likely to find the things that are really important to you and to go for it.” Bond University Assistant Professor Dr Lisa Gowthorp who was the event MC said the forum was a great opportunity to recognise the challenges many women face in levelling the playing field' in a range of industries. Also speaking at the event was Caitlin Sippel who discussed the challenges and successes she has faced working in sports management. Since graduating from Bond University four years ago, Caitlin has been working in sports management as Hockey Queensland's program manager, where she has led the delivery of a competition management system for all hockey associations and clubs throughout Queensland, along with Hockey Australia's first national online registration database. “As Mel, and so many women before her have shown, women take gold in sport, so why can’t we take gold in the office too? I believe it is a very simple concept – we can choose to be bound by the glass ceiling or we can smash right through it. I prefer the latter and it is that attitude and tenacity that has helped me get to
I think failure, in general, teaches you to be resilient if you’re willing to keep going. 10
this point,” Caitlin says. “[Growing up] not for one moment was I ever deterred from choosing sport because the industry is a so-called ‘man’s world’. Bring it on. If we are truly going to level the playing field, it is about each of us believing that we have something to offer in the first place and having the drive and confidence to go after what we want”. Life has never been more hectic for working women, Caitlin says. “We don’t just want to participate; we want to be the best we can, in everything we do. And that is extremely difficult when we are fighting every day to be given the same opportunities as our male counterparts.Yes, sport has always traditionally been tagged as a male dominated arena where women couldn’t prosper, but even in the four short years I have spent in the industry, that is changing and I am so proud to be part of that change. Queensland is the only state hockey governing body in Australia to have ever had a female CEO – and we have had two in a row which is a remarkable achievement for any sport”. “I have been extremely lucky in my career so far to have had two strong female leaders who have mentored and encouraged me to grow and who have shown me that it is possible to break through the glass ceiling placed over women in this industry. These ladies have been my greatest asset. They have given me the opportunity to show my strengths, and also challenged me to improve my weaknesses.They have allowed me to use my initiative and vision to lead change within hockey in Queensland.”