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Women
rise to occasion on merit |
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| SOME had hoped a woman might have been our next governor-general. Decades ago this would have been exceptional. By the 1990s, though, at least a handful of women would have been suitable candidates. This year maybe 10 or 20 women deserve to be on any list and in 10 years hundreds will fit the bill. And the pleasing thing is that each will earn her place by being among the best people for the job. The time for "token females" is thankfully near an end. Yet it still makes news today when a woman succeeds. This year Marie Bashir was appointed Governor of NSW. Professor Bashir's career as a psychiatrist and work with the community had been largely out of the public eye, but her achievements stood apart from those of her famous husband, former Sydney lord mayor and SBS head Nicholas Shehadie. A few weeks ago Natasha
Stott Despoja replaced Meg Lees as head of the Democrats. Her rise to
the leadership is important, but it is one many women in the Labor, Liberal
and National parties cannot hope to match soon, due to personal allegiances,
"doing your time" or just plain old boys clubs. The same applies
in law, medicine and business, where few women reach the level of director
or chief executive. |
But that will change as more women take advantage of equal access to education and jobs. Younger women today say they are not so aware of a career glass ceiling, although they still find difficulty when they want children. Governments and businesses must make workplaces family-friendly for women who want to balance children and careers. At present many women who succeed do so without children, or have to wait until offspring are grown. One of the big challenges is to make sure that more women, with or without children, find career success, with the help of partners, flexibility and fellow women as role models. To this end Christine
Nixon yesterday became the first female police commissioner of Victoria.
She did it on merit, in a culture most unyielding to change. Ms Nixon's
father Ross, also a former NSW assistant commissioner, says he did not
want her to join the police, but "as has happened in the Nixon family
for many years, I lost the arguments." Ms Nixon armed herself with
education. "She set out to be a success from day one ... and I think
she's proved herself," her father says. Now she has the chance to
show she is the right person for the job.
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