International Women’s Day offers an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the achievements that women are making in their careers, and to show appreciation for their hard work and contributions to society.

In celebration of International Women’s Day 2023, we reached out to women and asked them to share their experiences of overcoming challenges and achieving success in their professional journeys. Below are their personal stories highlighting what they cherish most about their jobs and how they have managed to navigate and triumph over obstacles.

Tamara Wikaruk

Tell us about your role and what do you most enjoy?

I am the Relationship Manager of The Oranges Toolkit and am responsible for managing client relationships and ensuring that we are offering exceptional service by developing a deep understanding of our client’s individual needs. What I most enjoy about my role is the many different organisations and people I meet and am able to build long-term relationships with. Seeing, hearing, and feeling the positive ripple effect our programs have on people makes me so proud to be part of an organisation making a difference in people’s lives, and having a dual purpose of supporting mental health in the workplace and as Camp Qualities Social enterprise giving profits back to helping kids facing Cancer treatment in Australia give me purpose and a sense of satisfaction.

What unique challenges have you faced in your career as a woman? How did you overcome them?

As a woman and a young mum starting out my career in a male-dominated industry 20 years ago in Real Estate I was faced with many challenges from lack of respect, dismissive behaviour, and in some cases even outright harassment, I addressed these challenges by learning to stand up for myself, and become more outspoken in demonstrating my capabilities and building stronger relationships with my colleagues and peers. I have educated and empowered myself by learning more about the issues I faced and finding mentors and role models, and advocating for change within the industry. Over the last 12 months with the change in my career into the mental health and wellbeing space, I’ve found it refreshing to be part of this broader community.

Who supports you to feel like anything is possible? Who inspires you? Who helps you see the world through new eyes?

My first and most important source of support comes from the people closest to me, my family, friends, and mentors, their unwavering encouragement continues to motivate me to believe that anything is possible. I am also motivated and inspired by the people I come across in my daily life. It could be someone I met at a networking event, an inspirational speaker I’m fortunate enough to listen to, or even a random stranger I interact with on my travels. Everyone has a unique story to tell and often their tales help me to open my eyes to new possibilities.

Who is a woman that has had a significant impact on your life or career, and why?

Christina Guidotti has had a significant impact on my life and career, she was my mentor for many years and always gave me the best advice (sometimes not what I wanted to hear) but supported my path to success for me. She believed in me and not only did she guide me through some tough times she pushed me to reach my goals. She reminded me of having a strong work ethic, a positive attitude, and a willingness to take on new challenges. Christina reminded me of the power of resilience and perseverance and always encouraged me to strive to better myself, she was and still is an inspiring role model whom I will always admire and look up to.

How do you approach mentoring or supporting other women in your industry or community, and why do you think this is important?

Mentoring and supporting other women in business not just helps support women to stay in certain industries but it helps women to thrive. Supporting other women can encourage each other to take risks and excel in their careers. Mentoring has been very important in my career as I feel it’s a safe place to build skills, it provides support and encouragement, and a sense of belonging. Mentors are great to offer career advice, industry network access, and emotional support. I wouldn’t be where I am today without my tribe of beautiful women in business around me.

How can we encourage more women to pursue leadership positions, and what are some of the benefits of having more women in leadership roles?

Encouraging more women to pursue leadership roles involves creating an environment that is conducive to women’s success. This means providing access to resources, mentors, and support networks, offering flexible working arrangements, reducing bias giving women the opportunity to demonstrate their capacity as strong and capable leaders. It has been well researched the benefits of having more women in leadership roles, studies have found that when women are represented in leadership teams, organisations tend to have more diverse attitudes, more effective decision-making, and better problem-solving. More women in leadership roles can also create a positive role model for women and girls in the wider population, seeing successful, capable women in positions of power can break down gender stereotypes and stand as a symbol of what is possible for all women.

Sylvana Mahmic

Tell us about your role and what do you most enjoy?

I am the CEO of Plumtree Children’s Services. What I enjoy most about the role is working with families of children with disability and delay, and seeing all the wonderful changes that happen.

What unique challenges have you faced in your career as a woman? How did you overcome them?

I am also the parent of a young man who has a disability. When I started out in this role, I was viewed with suspicion by many professional colleagues. They saw it as a weakness when I spoke honestly to them about what I felt as a parent. Thankfully things have changed, and we now understand that it’s critical to listen to the experiences of parents, because it gives us new insights and can improve the way we support them.

Also, I was often mistaken as an interpreter because of my cultural background!

Who supports you to feel like anything is possible? Who inspires you? Who helps you see the world through new eyes?  

My mother has been my biggest supporter and I am so grateful for her strength, feistiness, intelligence, and her love of community. She helped me raise my children and encouraged me to work in the community. She also encouraged me to build family leadership through Now & Next, a by families for families program that we co-designed with parents. She said that this has been my most important and lasting achievement.

Who is a woman that has had a significant impact on your life or career, and why?

My elder sister has been my coach for almost 30 years. It’s her unique perspective as a scientist and successful business owner that has challenged me to see things from a different angle.

How can we better support and empower women, particularly those from marginalized communities, in the workplace and beyond?

Building peer groups so they can connect with each other, share experiences and learn together, and linking these groups to other supports can be empowering. We’ve found this happens with parents at Now & Next.

How do you approach mentoring or supporting other women in your industry or community, and why do you think this is important?

Being respectful and open to new ideas

Listening to and acting on feedback when appropriate

Being positive and encouraging

Suggesting choices… there are many ways to achieve something

This is because creating a welcoming environment helps people to thrive!

How can we encourage more women to pursue leadership positions, and what are some of the benefits of having more women in leadership roles?

We can encourage more women to pursue leadership positions by creating more welcoming and flexible environments so they can balance their personal and work lives. Supporting and valuing diversity in the workplace also gives women a strong message that they can lead by being authentic and true to themselves.

What is one change you would like to see in the world in terms of gender equality, and how do you think we can work towards making it a reality?

Better education for girls benefits entire communities. Enabling universal access to quality early childhood education and care will make it possible for many more women to be part of the workforce.

Tracey Duff

Tell us about your role and what do you most enjoy?

I am the General Manager of Blue Light Card Australia. We’re the premium discount service for frontline workers in emergency services, healthcare, aged care, defence and emergency services volunteers. The most enjoyable part of my role is being able to make a real difference in the lives of such a worthy group of people who are always there for all of us, by helping them save money on their everyday purchases.

What unique challenges have you faced in your career as a woman?  My career challenges have evolved over the years however the major challenges have all had a common theme; finding balance.

Balancing motherhood and work was particularly tough. I went back to work when my now adult son was 10 weeks old. I felt an unspoken pressure to almost pretend like I didn’t have a son. By this I mean that I agreed to late afternoon meetings like I didn’t have to get to daycare by 6pm, attended after work events 3 nights a week, I worked until midnight after bathing, feeding and putting him to bed and withdrew from all other activities that weren’t child or work related, including my first marriage.

How did you overcome them?

I’d love to say that I have the magic formula for balance, but in all honesty I don’t. Up until a year ago, I took a “soldier on” approach to life and powered through to ensure I took care of my son and was able to provide shelter, food, clothing and daycare for him. It really was such a challenging time. I got him through school and uni, and even now, I think of his needs ahead of my own.

Then came COVID. The consistent anxiety of lockdowns, fear of getting it, wearing masks, food shortages, employee stress, having to make people redundant, worrying about how the business I was working in would survive, and my lack of balance eventually took its toll.

I collapsed with Stage 3 Burnout. My Doctor told me that there was no choice but to take a long break from work to focus on my own health and wellbeing. I had no idea how to do that. I ended up taking 6 months off work to rest and worked on the reasons why I was driven to approach my career and life in the way I did. What I learnt early on is that when we won’t stop ourselves, sometimes our bodies will do it for us.

It was the most challenging time of my life as my body and mind completely shut down, but I wouldn’t change it for the world as I now have a new set of personal skills, increased sense of wellbeing and strategies to ensure my boundaries are clear and my health is important. This is what I share with other women so that they can choose a healthier path much earlier than I did.

Since then I’ve chosen a fulfilling career with purpose, have a supportive CEO, awesome team, supportive culture and I look forward to it every single day. My mental health and wellbeing is too important not to.

Who supports you to feel like anything is possible? 

My husband is my greatest supporter. There is nothing that he doesn’t support me with. I completed my MBA a few years ago which I could never have done without his support. For the two years I studied, he did all of the housework, ironing, shopping, cleaning and running our kids around so that I could come home from work and hit the books. He did this while working full time as well. He still does a lot of the extra stuff at home to enable me to work in the role I have now, which often requires working in different time zones. He has a very successful career too, but with different responsibilities. He says it makes him happy to see me succeed. I’m so blessed to have him.

Who inspires you?

If you’d asked me that 2 years ago, I would have chosen a superwoman who was powering her way through life in a corporate job with the kids all thriving and a loving partner by her side. Now I would say I’m inspired by women that take time for themselves, that know the importance of self-care, that can set healthy boundaries and aren’t scared to say no when things get overwhelming. That is what I call real empowerment. Being kind to yourself is what success looks like to me now.

Who helps you see the world through new eyes?  The role that I have now helps me to see that world through the eyes of our members at Blue Light Card who work in emergency services, aged care, defence and healthcare. Before working here I had no idea of the sacrifice that they made for each of us, nor the trauma that they experience every single day. It’s given me a new appreciation for what is really important.

Who is a woman that has had a significant impact on your life or career, and why?

My mum has had a significant impact on my life. She taught me about sacrifice, chasing your dreams and always finding a way to get things done. She immigrated to Australia from India with my dad when she was 21, had 3 kids under the age of 3 by the time she was 24 and my youngest sister at 32.

She always wanted to study so she waited until we were old enough and spent 13 years completing the first of her 3 degrees. At the time, she balanced this with work and helping one of my sisters raise her daughter. If you asked her what she sacrificed, she would tell you that she stopped watching TV for that whole time to ensure she could prioritise her study. I would say that she sacrificed herself for us and I am forever grateful. I remember watching her graduate and don’t think I’ve ever been more proud. A lot of my greatest strengths are gifts from her, especially my drive and determination to help others.

What do you think are some of the biggest challenges facing women in the workplace today, and how can we address them?

We seem to struggle with being authentically ourselves. Being nurturing can be seen as a submissive behaviour in some workplace cultures but I actually think it is our greatest strength as leaders. Rather than trying to be more like men, I think we should stay true to ourselves and use the gifts and nature we have as women to make a difference. There’s a reason some of the greatest companies with the most supportive cultures are led by women.

How can we better support and empower women, particularly those from marginalized communities, in the workplace and beyond?

It’s not just about closing the gender pay gap or having flexible working arrangements. It goes beyond this if we are trying to create diverse and inclusive cultures for women from marginalized communities. For example, if you only ever have educated, Caucasian females writing job ads for your company, you’re likely to have a lot of educated, Caucasian women applying. Actively seeking to hire a diverse and inclusive workforce involves consulting with different communities on what would be appealing to their candidates, creating a psychologically safe workplace for them where differences or challenges were catered for and also creating roles where their backgrounds and cultures could be celebrated. It will take more than policies. It takes genuine action.

How do you approach mentoring or supporting other women in your industry or community, and why do you think this is important? I’ve learnt over the years that not all women want to push to the top of their industry and that meeting them where they are and encouraging them to achieve what their goals are works best. I’ve also learnt that support at work is not the only area of importance. Supporting women with their mental health, partners, friendships and children is equally important. We don’t stop being human because we are in the workplace. Having support from your manager can often make challenging situations less intimidating which makes all the difference.

How can we encourage more women to pursue leadership positions, and what are some of the benefits of having more women in leadership roles?

There’s the old saying that “You can’t be what you can’t see” and for women it is especially true. Being a woman in leadership is a huge responsibility because although we are thriving, there aren’t as many of us in the C-Suite. This can of course be for many reasons but the only unfortunate one is because we didn’t throw the ladder down to help others get there too. A lot of women still hold the debilitating belief that there isn’t room for everyone at the top so they don’t help others get up there. Once we rid ourselves of the scarcity rule, we’ll do much better for the next generation. They are going to be amazing, if we give them the courage to do it.

What is one change you would like to see in the world in terms of gender equality, and how do you think we can work towards making it a reality?

I would like to stop focusing on gender equity and focus more on human equity. If there is a way for us to close a gap for any minority then we should explore that. Women are strong, capable and adaptive. We just need to believe that rather than thinking otherwise. We don’t have to do it like men. We are unique in our own way and will achieve because of that.

Kath Harris Human Resources works alongside businesses to build solid HR processes, policies and procedures that energise them to break new ground. Where people and culture flourish, the workplace becomes a hub of inspiration, innovation and progress.  Click here to arrange a chat.