Question: The theme for International Women’s Day is Count Her In: Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress. What does this mean to you, and from your position as a leader, how important is it to empower and support women?
Answer: Yvonne Timson – Community Vision CEO
It is critical for me to empower and support other women, both inside my organisation as CEO of Community Vision and outside in my everyday life. We know this disparity continues, so I endeavour to provide as much support to other women as possible whether it is helpful insights on how to deal with certain situations, building confidence or engaging in full mentorships, every bit helps to overcome the significant obstacles for women and girls to achieve equal participation in the economy and community.
As women, we are very good at accepting the status quo and being satisfied with the things that we do achieve. This is why it is so important to show support for other women and boost them up, recognise their achievements and acknowledge the amazing work that is being done. I love the quote, “Don’t tell me the sky’s the limit when there are footprints on the moon.”
Within our organisation the giving of my time, my trust and my vulnerability to other women is pivotal. It is my responsibility to provide opportunities and a safe space to get things wrong and to learn. Most importantly, I allow the up-and-coming, smart amazing women working around me to also teach me, so we can grow together. That is empowering.
Q: Is there anything you would like to see change for women in the workforce, such as having more career opportunities and achieving pay equity?
A: Yvonne Timson – Community Vision CEO
Pay equity should be a minimum in the same roles, however with a warning that meritocracy is not the answer. Not all women have the same resources or support so there are times when we must be more flexible or put more into ensuring access, equality and inclusion. Being fair is different from everyone receiving the same treatment.
I believe we need to be more open to flexibility in our workplaces, where the roles allow for it. We also need to be more mindful of reading the expectations of women being the main carers and the stigma associated with when men take on these roles. Over the last few years, there have been some great examples where this has happened, but it is often in larger companies that have the resources to support and reinforce these policies.
Regarding more senior and board roles, I am not a fan of quotas, however, I accept that sometimes we must impose metrics such as these to shift the dial, otherwise it may not happen. A good example of this is how the Australian Labor Party adopted a mandatory pre-selection quota for women in all winnable seats. This has led to 48% women in the House and 69% women in the Senate. We need to see more of this across all organisations and sectors.
Q: What impact has investment and support from other women had on yourself, both personally and professionally?
A: Yvonne Timson – Community Vision CEO
I have been very lucky in my career to have had some amazing strong women to help support and guide me. And the journey hasn’t always been linear. They have been wildly different in helping to shape who I am, be comfortable with who I am and learn to leverage my strengths. Through this process, it has also helped me to realise that finding great, amazing women who are much smarter than me is a win for us both. And don’t forget the lesson that you don’t always get it right, and that’s ok too.
