Today marks International Women’s Day, an opportunity to recognise the manifold achievements of women around the globe. Today also offers an opportunity to acknowledge that, despite the leaps society has taken to support the cultural, economic, political and social accomplishments of women; there is still much to be done in achieving equality across all business sectors.
Female executives are the least likely to be employed in industries such as resources, agriculture and property. Many companies employ capable women without promoting them to executive roles, despite the fact that 72% of CEO’s are concerned about a perceived lack of leadership skills within their organisation.
The benefits of empowering women within the workplace are well-documented. Companies with strong female leaders demonstrate higher ROE (return on equity) than those without. Women in STEM are making remarkable contributions in innovation and research across Australia, and many are role models within their chosen field.
At Premise, we proudly recognise the contribution of our female engineers, scientists and corporate professionals. Premise strives to develop a workplace that supports our Company Values. We offer flexible arrangements to support our working parents, and encourage our rising stars who are completing studies in engineering and its associated disciplines.
Today, Premise will be supporting a variety of International Women’s Day initiatives. We are proudly sponsoring The JCU Award for Best Woman in Engineering at the Townsville Zonta Club. We also have delegates attending the International Women’s Day Lunch, hosted in Brisbane by Engineers Australia. Our offices across Queensland will be marking the occasion with morning tea, offering every team a chance to discuss issues facing women in industry today.
Premise is also working on a Women in STEM Partnership that will help subside the cost of university textbooks and supplies for a worthy recipient, so please keep your eyes peeled for details. In celebration of International Women’s Day, we asked our Agricultural leaders, Dr Margaret Jewell and Dr Kimberley Wockner, what this occasion means for them:
Dr Margaret Jewell
Technical Operations Manager – Agriculture
I think International Women’s Day represents the challenges that have been faced by women for centuries to be treated equally with men. Our organisation does promote strong, intelligent women and encourages them to be innovative contributor’s to our professional team.
I still think there is a way to go and that our organisation could further promote the valuable contributions of the women in the team by treating the workplace concerns of men and women equally and ensuring that salaries are based on qualifications, skills, and experience rather than gender. While we see very positive improvements in the workplace compared with 10 or 20 years ago, there are still some battles that in a progressive country such as Australia, should not be having to be fought.
Dr Kimberley Wockner
Principal Agricultural Scientist
I believe that hard work, professionalism, integrity and resilience should always be valued in the workplace, regardless of sex. International Women’s Day is a good reminder for both women and men of the characteristics that should be celebrated as we work together.
I am fortunate to continually meet and work with people in the agricultural sector, who exhibit these qualities. It is these people, women and men, that are the reason that I enjoy coming to work every day and for whom I will be celebrating International Women’s Day.