International Women’s Day

Women’s College alumnae are breaking the bias, one uncomfortable conversation at a time: from access to portaloos to helping other women realise their ambitions.

CALL-OUT WORKPLACE BIAS! Women supporting women

INTERSECTIONAL CHALLENGES

Women BREAKING THE BIAS

WoRDS BY olIVIA mURPHY

HREE EXTRAORDINARY ALUMNAE came together for this year’s International Women’s Day to speak about their experiences in the workplace, and particularly the intersectional challenges

Tthat disabled, Indigenous and rural women face in realising their professional ambitions. Our speakers explained to today’s students that much work was still to be done to make the modern Australian workplace a welcoming place for women to succeed. Soon after leaving university, Philippa Childs discovered that the fields of agriculture, engineering and mining just aren’t ready to treat women as equals. Working on remote drill rigs with no privacy or even portaloos, she realised that this was an environment that was – quite literally – not set up for women yet. ‘They haven’t got that right,’ Pip said, and that’s ultimately why she changed into a different role, managing services provision for Cowra Shire. For Rebecca Wong and Chloe Wighton, workplace bias in the corporate world might not be as obvious, but it’s no less frustrating. They agreed there was a ‘culture of silence’ that made it difficult to speak up about undercurrents of hostility. ‘It’s often indirect’, said Rebecca, ‘the sorts of experiences that make me question if I’m overreacting’. That makes it hard to call out, but

‘canvassing the reactions of blind friends helps’.

Chloe pointed out that while the rise of campaigns like Black Lives Matter have prompted Australian corporations to talk about racism, she still experiences walking into a room ‘where it’s not warm, where you’re not valued’. And while Indigenous men – particularly sporting heroes – might be palatable enough for corporate Australia, ‘we have to work ten times harder to get recognition for Indigenous women’.

All three women agreed that the solution to breaking the bias may lie in having awkward conversations. There was no resistance towards International Women’s Day at her workplace, explained Pip, because it wasn’t mentioned at all. ‘Blokes don’t know what to say’ about working with women, ‘they don’t want to offend you. But we have to get those conversations happening’. Chloe acknowledged that while robust conversations aren’t comfortable, ‘they can lead to a place where change becomes possible’. Rebecca suggested we use humour to approach 'sensitive issues, and not forget that our individual experiences might translate into broader institutional problems, things that need to be addressed: ‘understanding that your experiences leave echoes in the experiences of others is really important’.

Unsurprisingly our current students wanted to know what the three alumnae had learned from their time at Women’s. Chloe, Pip and Rebecca all spoke of the transformative role that the college had played in their lives.

For Rebecca, College was a place of inspiration. Hearing from leading journalist Kate McClymont at one Formal Dinner had sparked an interest in reporting that led Rebecca to work as an editor of the student newspaper Honi Soit.

For Chloe, Women’s was crucial in helping negotiate acute culture shock. ‘For an Aboriginal girl from Gilgandra it was all so new’, she remembers, and ‘the one thing that kept me in Sydney was the fact that I was at Women’s.’ She fondly remembered that staff and older students ‘went out of their way to help with the issues I was having’. Their support meant Chloe was able to walk into a lecture or tutorial and feel on a level playing field with the rest of the students.

Pip explained that her entire attitude had changed at College. She had given up feeling competitive towards other women – at College she had been astonished by how much support and pride the students have in each other and in other women. She realised how excited she was to see other women achieving. Now, she said, ‘I want to support them in their endeavours. I just want to see other women do well.’

Level THE PLAYING FIELD

‘I want to support women in their endeavours. I just want to see other women do well.’

– PHILIPPA CHILDS

ALUMNA 2012-15 REBECCA WONG BA/Llb

Rebecca works at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. As a blind lawyer, Rebecca is passionate about institutional change and bringing diverse perspectives to the table.

The speakers

ALUMNA 2012-14 CHLOE WIGHTON BA (Archaeology)

Chloe is a Wiradjuri (Galari) woman from Gilgandra, NSW. She is the Senior Cultural Impact Advisor at the Special Broadcasting Service Australia, and a board director of the National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy and Redfern Jarjum College. She is currently completing an MA Museum & Heritage Studies. ALUMNA 2010-14 PHILIPPA CHILDS B Civil Eng (Hons)/ BSc, Grad.Dip. Secondary Teaching

Pip is the Manager of Cowra Services, Cowra Council and Principal Engineer of Cooee Engineering, a freelance engineering consultancy providing training and technical advice to the mining sector. She is also the co-owner of AgWorks Services & Heavy Haulage and Montrose Farm in Koorawatha NSW.