MEGAN KOUFOS
LESSONS FROM THE AWSN LEADER FORUMS By Megan Koufos, Program Manager at AWSN The Australian Women in Security Network (AWSN)
societal level to better support mental health
recently held its first two Leader Forum roundtables
and manage burnout in our industry?
as part of its Women in Security leadership initiative,
• How do you maintain work/life balance?
proudly supported by the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD).
HOW DO WE INCREASE DIVERSITY IN SECURITY LEADERSHIP ROLES?
The aim of the AWSN Leader Forums is to provide a
This is a key question for our industry, and one
space for women to come together, connect, discuss,
faced by many organisations. The answer is: focus
collaborate and learn. They provide a platform for
on what is working, where successful strategies are
women in the Women in Leadership programs to
being implemented and then amplify those ideas and
discuss common issues, share ideas, ask questions
solutions across the industry.
and be inspired. Some of the key ideas and solutions tabled at the Each forum begins with a presentation from a guest
forum included:
speaker. This is followed by several small group discussions, held simultaneously. Participants are
• Training the workforce and employers on how
free to join their topic of choice. All small group
to embed a focus on diversity into organisation
participants then come together to share what they
culture.
have learnt.
• Changing the mindset of interviewers who unconsciously have different expectations and
The topics that garnered most discussion is the last
apply different competency and experience
two forum sessions were:
criteria when hiring someone different from themselves. They should apply the same
• What strategies/initiatives would you like to see to increase diversity in security leadership roles? • What practices/ideas/solutions could be implemented at a personal/organisational/
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W O M E N I N S E C U R I T Y M A G A Z I N E
criteria to all applicants, regardless of gender, background or appearance. • The McKinsey & Company Lean in Report was discussed. It showed (page 8) that
S E P T E M B E R • O C T O B E R 2022
