Women in construction initiative wins award on advancement of women
The inaugural Advancement of Women in the Workplace Award announced this week was won by Radmila Desic from Construction Skills Queensland for her programs to attract, recruit, retain and train women in the construction industry.Run by the Centre for Leadership for Women together with Diversity Council Australia and Avril Henry Pty Ltd, the Award honours exemplary initiatives that promote women's advancement in the workplace.
This year the Award recognises Ms Desic for establishing the
Women In Construction initiative to develop industry pathways for women, repositioning them as employees of first-choice and advancing the construction industry’s commitment to gender equity and accessibility of the trades.
Other ground-breaking initiatives for women were also recognised in the Queensland Public Sector, Royal Australian Navy, and the WA and NSW Police forces.
Dr Diann Rodgers-Healy, Founder of the Centre for Leadership for Women says the winners are all outstanding women: "They have advanced women's empowerment in sectors which are well known to be masculinist in culture and presence."
Nareen Young, DCA CEO says she is inspired by what the women have achieved: "Each has translated a personal passion for advancing women into real outcomes in their workplaces."
Winning the Silver Award was Louise Perram-Fisk whose
Inspiring Women Series, designed to support women to develop their careers and empower their lives within the Queensland Public sector, is now an ongoing program for the Queensland Government.
Commander Jennifer Wittwer from the Royal Australian Navy won the Bronze Award for her
Navy Women’s Leadership Program, designed to provide Navy female leaders with the opportunity to attend, and participate in, various external leadership development events in support of the Navy’s Leadership and Values Cultural Reform Strategy now named New Generation Navy.
Commander Michelle Fyfe and Acting Sergeant Erica Silwood from Western Australia Police received the Highly Commended Award for establishing the
Western Australian Police Executive Committee for Women and its
Women in Leadership Strategy that aims to make changes to professional development programs so that women in the force can build their capacity to take on senior leadership roles in WA Police.
Inspector Nada McDonald of New South Wales Police Force also received the Highly Commended Award for supporting and developing women within the force through implementation of strategies aligned to achieving workplace goals.
Further information about the winners and their projects can be found
here.
DCA offers a range of products and services that can assist employers make real progress in attracting, retaining and promoting women:
- Leading edge, sophisticated and holistic diversity strategies
- A program to assist managers to implement flexible work practices
- Pay equity audits
- Executive and manager coaching in diversity leadership.
Call us on (02) 9035 2852 or email us on
Sydney@dca.org.au to see how we can help you.