Hi there!

I recently applied to take part in the Homeward Bound initiative (by the way, you can follow the journey by signing up!).

“Homeward Bound is a groundbreaking leadership, strategic and science initiative for women, set against the backdrop of Antarctica.

The initiative, turned global movement, aims to heighten the influence and impact of women with a science background in order to influence policy and decision making as it shapes our planet.”

I got inspired to write this short post on Leadership, Diversity and Integrity and invite you to share your thoughts!

What does leadership mean to me?

This I believe that leadership is a privilege and responsibility to develop and share a vision and strategy, empower others, inspire them and make a positive change. Each of us has a particular gender, culture, values, professional and personal experiences… This human diversity provides an endless source of possibilities to move closer to a better world. A great leader makes the most of this diversity and its potential and help people shine individually, professionally and in interaction with others. This successful leadership leads to inspired teams, high quality project outputs and impacts.

I have deep belief in woman leadership. It very sad to see that nowadays, female leaders are still a minority.  I am quite conscious about the numerous challenges women have to face at the workplace and I strongly wish to contribute to raise awareness about the issue and make things change.

Do diverse teams always perform better than non-diverse teams?

It is often found that diverse teams are more creative, innovative and solve issues more efficiently than non-diverse teams. However, diversity is also a challenge and poor leadership can produce the opposite result.

We need to recognise the value of different perspectives and ensure the inclusion of each individual and their thoughts. This conscious inclusion might take us some additional effort and time but will pay-off!

Aspirational targets are NOT the same as quotas and DON’T undermine merit-based appointments

Some institutions set aspirational targets to have a more diverse workforce (e.g. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, or females in the ranks of Management and Senior Leaders). Some people have claimed that these aspirational targets are quotas and won’t work. I believe differently.

 I am convinced that these aspirational targets will benefit us all and that we all have a role and responsibility to reach them.

Here is how CSIRO defines aspirational targets : “A level of representation to which we aspire in order to feel confident that we have sourced our talent from the widest and best recruitment pool possible, and that none of our best and brightest have chosen to leave CSIRO because they feel that the existing system does not support their development.”

Together, we are stronger. Let’s make our workplace a more diverse and equitable place!