Women & Leadership Australia – Mini Mag

June 2010

Our mid-year special

We here at Women & Leadership Australia thought we'd devote our June Mini Mag to something very special – a profile of St John of God Health Care and a Q&A with Dawn O’Neil, CEO of Lifeline.

So, with winter just falling on most of the country, we invite you to snuggle up to two very heart-warming Women & Leadership Australia stories. Enjoy!

AMAZING WORKPLACE
St John of God Health Care

We were very proud to include St John of God Health Care as the key Sponsor of the recent Australian Regional Women Leaders Convention.

Equally, the people at St John of God Health Care have a lot to be proud of. The gender split within the organisation belies the ‘usual’ corporate distribution of seniority; 70% of managers are female while 84% of all employees are women.

In 2009, the group’s success in supporting women in the workplace was rewarded with the receipt of an eighth consecutive Australian Government Employer of Choice for Women award.

The story of St John of God Health Care actually starts in the 1890s, when a group of young Irish women toiled under the harsh glare of the Western Australian sun, providing nursing care in the chaos of the goldfields – a remote region where others daren’t go lest they breathe the typhoid-ridden air.

Read more

INSPIRING WOMEN
Dawn O’Neil
CEO, Lifeline

“I think that you have to be a role model when you are in a leadership position. Women still today need strong encouragement to believe in themselves, their abilities and right to leadership roles.

"Women make excellent leaders because by nature they often have the necessary qualities of personal humility and professional will to build greatness.”

Soon after high school, Dawn headed overseas, spending half a year travelling across Africa.

This, combined with other events, had a life-changing influence that opened her eyes to humanity's struggles, sparking a lifelong interest in social justice.

For her laudable and tireless work with Lifeline, Dawn was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2009.

Meet Dawn

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More women and leadership news

Gala Dinner to assist homeless women and children
On Saturday 26th June the Rotary Club of Sydney Darling Harbour is presenting a night of entertainment and dancing at the Shangri-La Hotel Sydney. The 2010 charity partner is the Women’s and Girls’ Emergency Centre (WAGEC) in Surry Hills – a drop-in centre for homeless women and their children. More

Pay gap widens yet again
The gender pay gap in Australian businesses has widened according to ABS stats released yesterday. ABS data shows that women’s average weekly earnings are now 82% of men’s, meaning that since this time last year the gap has widened by 0.8 of a percentage point. More

National Women in the workplace survey
Bain & Company is launching a study on gender parity, taking the gender parity debate a step further in the Australian workplace and examining the implications. This study will be compared to global data collected by Bain earlier this year. Complete the online survey here

Pay paid maternity leave: The best Mother’s Day present
Figures released today from the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency’s (EOWA) 2009 Survey of reporting organisations shows that 53.4% now provide paid maternity leave to employees, an increase from 50.8% in 2008. More

Australian Rural Women's Award 2010
Western Australian farmer Sue Middleton – a passionate advocate for turning piggery waste into usable energy – is the winner of the 2010 Australian RIRDC Rural Women’s Award. Alana Johnson, a rural philanthropy advocate from Victoria, is the Award runner-up. More

Women & Leadership Australia Partners

Our 2009 Australian Women's Leadership Symposium Partners:

Visit a full list of our partners, all of whom we thank for their support of the Australian Women & Leadership Forums.

Join our supporters
Are you interested in promoting your organisation's brand to like-minded women? If so, contact Women & Leadership Australia for information on sponsorship opportunities available in 2010: Ph 1300 138 037.