Chloe Warburton and Alison Fitzsimmons at GMW
Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW) is supporting gender equality by providing opportunities for women to achieve their leadership goals.
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s Gender Equality Scorecard 2021-22 found only 41 per cent of managers in workplaces across Australia are women.
In June 2022, GMW created a Gender Equality Action Plan to help ensure the corporation was providing equal opportunities for all employees. One of the aims of this plan was to create more leadership opportunities for women. To support this, GMW has had a number of staff participate in People Measures’ Women in Leadership Development course.
The five-month course consists of a mixture of in-person and online workshops that provides participants with development experience to help upskill and prepare for future roles. GMW senior communications and engagement officer, Chloe Warburton was one of three GMW employees to undertake the course earlier in 2023. She said it had been a hugely beneficial experience. “
The course helped us identify our strengths and allowed each of us to develop our own personal style of leadership,” she said.
“It was a really diverse mix of participants. It was inspiring to be around women from different fields and in different stages of their careers who were all looking to learn more about how they can influence their workplaces for the better.
“It was fantastic to be involved in and it is great that GMW is providing this opportunity to its staff.” Three more GMW employees recently commenced the program, including People Culture and Safety advisor Alison Fitzsimmons.
“I’m really excited to be part of the course,” she said. “It’s great to get the chance to develop some new skills and network with others who are eager to do the same.” People Culture and Safety general manager Glenda Smith said providing opportunities like the Women in Leadership Development course was invaluable.
“Initiatives like this benefit not only the employee but the corporation,” she said. “It has been wonderful to see the staff who have participated in the course integrate the learnings from it into the workplace.
“It shows the importance of our Gender Equality Action Plan. When people of all genders are empowered and respected in the workplace, everyone benefits.”
