Symes Group have partnered and collaborated with a Girl and Her World for several events and are thrilled to share their story- word out more
Tell me about A Girl and Her World, what it is, what you're trying to achieve, and why you are involved?
A Girl & her world started in response to the need of a friend who was trying to figure out how to get her teenage Girl to high school 5 years ago. We talked about the barriers to Girls getting to school and staying there in rural Fiji and what we could do to help overcome these barriers. The team includes Joanna Hawkins, Jennie Quintera, Jackie Robertson, Kym Cross and Urmila Prasad.
Global research shows that educating Girls unlocks all sort of great outcomes and breaks poverty cycles. That’s what pulls me in to this work, it’s not a hand out. It can be transformative. We have seen Girls finish school, the first females in their families ever to do so. Many of them with outstanding grades that go on to win them scholarships to University. We also provide income generating projects for the Girls’ mums, enabling them to become financially self-sufficient and in time, take back their daughters’ education expenses with dignity.
What keeps you motivated and committed?
The stories of change. The women and Girls who show us their resilience against breathtaking odds. The joy and gratitude that comes from the families. The grit and commitment and determination of Urmila (A Girl and Her World Coordinator in Fiji) and her super supportive family who have been through so much this year. None of this would be possible without them. Urmila and the local team do the real work. We don’t come with a set of assumptions or with our capes and trumpets hoping to save the day. Local people always know the solutions to their own problems and inevitably outside solutions.
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The inspirational Jane Kennedy has worked tirelessly with her amazing team of A Girl and Her World in Australia and Fiji to support girls and their families in the Pacific Islands. We find out what inspires her and what the plans are for 2017.
International Womens Day
DIVERSITY
BH: How did your career in IT begin?
SM: I started my IT career as a side gig whilst teaching scuba diving in Sydney harbour. I really loved scuba diving but found the cold winter dives too much, so I got an office job temping in IT. Within a few months of hard work and building up relationships, I worked my way up to being the IT supervisor and shortly after that the IT manager.
In 2008 my partner and I decided to do the traditional Aussie thing and packed up our lives to hit London on a working holiday.
I was lucky enough to snag a job at a small investment bank as their head of IT and worked for a great chief financial officer whilst there, who taught me that you don’t need to be an extrovert to be a great leader.
BH: You were nominated for the Telstra Women’s Business Awards businesswoman of the year, can you describe your leadership progression?
SM: Upon moving back to Newcastle I took up an IT role in Pacific National – which is a great Aussie company providing hundreds of jobs in regional areas. I have been lucky enough to progress quickly within PN, and its parent company Asciano, after doing a variety of roles including service delivery, program delivery, customer experience, innovation and now applications management. I credit this in part to a stack of hard work, but also to great peers and a very supportive CIO who was open to adding diverse skills into IT and actively promoted women.
Lastly, in 2012 I finished my MBA in computing which gave me some great tools and taught me a lot about leadership.
BH: What are your career aspirations?
SM: In five years I hope to be in a fulfilling and challenging role that I love, ideally in a coastal or regional location.
I see the next step as a CIO role – and am actively working towards that with great determination!
Being a CIO for me would mean I've broadened my IT experience and business acumen enough to be trusted with the top job – and I would see it as an honour to represent IT for an organisation.
BH: How unique is it to be a female CIO and why are there not many female CIOs?
SM: I don't come across many female IT CIOs, in fact I can name only a handful of them in our industry at the top.
I think this is partially due to the fact there are fewer females in C-suite roles but also because CIOs commonly originate from technical backgrounds such as engineering or infrastructure – of which fewer females choose or are encouraged to study.
Whilst programs like FITT are doing fantastic work encouraging girls to study STEM programs, we still have some catching up to do.
Another factor is that women may be less likely to put up their hand for roles.
I recently learned a great lesson when taking over the applications portfolio for the organisation I work for – just because I haven't done a similar role before or don't have the technical depth doesn't mean I can't take on a role, learn on the way and apply my other skills to be successful.
The other factor could be gender discrimination or similarity bias – with most CIOs normally being placed by the CEO, CFO or board, who are predominately male in most countries.
BH: What in your opinion will it take to change the balance of female leadership in IT?
SM: A few simple things could go a long way to turn the tide.
More women in junior IT roles would help the promotion of women to senior roles.
Flexible working conditions that support family life would help – to make it easier to juggle any senior role with other commitments.
These would help but probably the most powerful would be more senior leaders mentoring and encouraging and promoting women into senior roles, like my previous boss who is an active supporter of diversity and women.
Source: https://www.wgea.gov.au/lead/setting-gender-targets
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