In recognition of International Women’s Day, the CACC held events in both Melbourne and Sydney to explore the topic of gender diversity. In Melbourne, CACC corporate sponsor, Drake International hosted a panel including four industry leaders: René Lalande, CEO, Transdev Australasia, Honourary Consul of Canada, Melbourne; Susan Oliver, Founding Chairman, Scale Investors; Amanda O'Brien, CEO, Xtreme Freight and Chairman, Supply Chain & Logistics Association of Australia; and Lisa Williams, Chief Procurement Officer, The Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport & Resources (DEDJTR). In Sydney, the event was hosted by CACC corporate sponsor, KPMG, and included a panel discussion with some prestigious guests: Ms. Angela J Bogdan, Consul General of Canada; Liz Griffin, Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Commonwealth Bank; Craig Mennie, National Leader Transaction Services, KPMG Australia; and Libby Davies, Chief Executive Officer, White Ribbon. The discussions started with a look at the backgrounds of the panelists. In Sydney, most started in teaching, before moving onto other professions; while in Melbourne, the panelists initially began in traditionally male-dominated occupations. Regardless of their beginnings, all of panelists have a passion for encouraging and supporting the impact that women can have in the workplace. With moderator, Melissa Wharton, Founder, Thread, directing both events, other common themes prevailed in both panels. A question about “feminism” raised many valid points related to how words can take on different meanings for different people and how people have different associations with words. The consensus was that “gender equality” was more appropriate term to use today. However, the notion of feminism should not be dismissed. In Melbourne, Susan states, “It’s part of a proud history of women that have fought for something – and we should remember and give credit for that history”. In Sydney, Libby remarked “Feminism has a very important function in drawing the attention of every one of us –...
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