SAs Most Influential Women As part of International Womens Week, The Advertiser celebrated some of Adelaides amazing women. We would like to congratulate our Principal, Mrs Jane Danvers on being voted one of SAs most influential women. Her interview with The Advertiser is below and was published in Saturdays paper. What in your opinion has been your greatest professional achievement to date? Becoming Principal of Wilderness School. It has been an exciting and challenging journey that continues to evolve and change. I have a strong belief in the intrinsic value of girls’ schools in nurturing and preparing young women for successful personal, public and professional lives. Being Principal enables me to make a real difference by providing learning opportunities that enable girls to become responsible, respectful and generous global citizens and leaders. How do you feel about being included in our list of SA’s Most Influential Women? Bemused, honored and humbled. It is wonderful as an educational leader to be recognised in this group of outstanding South Australian women. Has being a female helped or hindered in your career? It is often a challenge to juggle motherhood with a challenging career; however, being able to juggle many things at the same time has been a great asset along the way. I have three daughters and I have always wanted them to see that as women we can have rich and rewarding careers while still enjoying a balanced and happy family life. Do you think females are represented enough in the workforce? Females are not represented highly enough at senior executive levels. It concerns me that so many young women graduate from both school and university at the highest levels of success yet these numbers are not reflected in the number of female directors or CEOs in Australia (less than 10%). Is there a female role model you have looked up to or see as inspiration? The young women in our society who are prepared to stand up in the face of extraordinary adversity inspire me. Malala Yousafzai is extraordinary. At 14 she survived an assassination attempt after defying the Taliban by defending education for girls. Yousafzai’s courage challenges us to advocate on behalf of all young girls in the world who don’t have equal access to education. What one thing should business do to give women greater opportunities for success? Businesses should develop and support mentoring programs for women in the workforce to help them build their professional networks and social capital. This exchange of knowledge and experience benefits not only women but also adds to the long term sustainability of organisations. What one thing should the new state government, Labor or Liberal, do to increase opportunities for women? Identify and change existing welfare, tax and childcare arrangements that act as financial barriers for women returning to work. Which women – one present and one historical (deceased) – have inspired you the most, and why? Deceased -Eleanor Roosevelt She was a powerful advocate for social equity, racial equality, civil liberties and womens rights. I love her message that, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Alive -Sheryl Sandberg Sheryl Sandberg’s advice to young women to ‘lean in’. She offers compelling, and honest insights into how women can reach their potential and take their place at the decision-making and policy table. This is where real leadership is achieved. Do you support the enforcement of 50-50 quotas for women on boards, in parliament, cabinets and running government departments. Why? We need to be proactive about redressing the gender imbalance at senior levels of leadership. Men continue to significantly outnumber women across all leadership positions in the public and private sector. Setting goals and targets is one way we can work towards getting women into positions of policy and decision-making. Just hoping it will happen clearly isn’t working. Australian companies that have voluntarily set diversity goals have made real progress and are opening more opportunities for women at senior levels.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 07:27:56 +0000
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