I Did That: Kickstarting Gender Equality
The founder of Advancing Women in Business and Sport, Michelle Redfern, was sick of organisations paying lip service to gender equality and so started a business to show organisations the actions they can take. In the last five years she has helped introduce gender equality programs at more than a dozen business and sports organisations.
How did you put your words into action?
At the age of 50, I left my corporate career to start my own business as a workplace gender equality consultant and adviser. It was a financially risky move as, let’s face it, I am a woman in Australia, so I was already on the wrong side of a lifetime wages and superannuation gap. But after 30 years of working in the corporate sector, 20 of that as a senior and executive leader, and serving on committees and boards in the sporting sector, I wanted to be part of the solution to close the gender gap. I knew I had the skills, the networks and the drive to make a difference. I knew that I had the contacts and the relationships with powerful people (often men) to change the way business and sport worked so that women and girls would be able to reach their full potential.
How did that impact your life and the lives of others?
My wife says that it is the best career move I have ever made because I am healthy, happy and fulfilled. I am less anxious and while I remain incredibly dissatisfied at the treatment of women across the globe, I am working every single day to change that.
I have worked with thousands of women in the last five years, directly through my client work or indirectly through my networks. My greatest joy is to receive a text or a note from a woman who says she now has the confidence to go after her goals or to resolve what she thought was an intractable issue, because I have got her back.
I am equally buoyed when a man says to me that they have had an “aha” moment when they’ve learnt things from me, and they intend to make changes to their own lives … because gender equality is good for them too!
What motivated you?
I was fed up with organisations paying lip service to gender equality. There was an industry of experts and consultants who were, in my opinion, just restating the problem without showing people and organisations what to do about it. At the same time, I also knew that executives were becoming aware that they needed to do more in terms of workplace gender equality and needed to work with someone who got it … which was me. I have led operational and client-facing organisations, with profit and loss responsibility, for a long time so I get what it means to deliver outcomes for shareholders and stakeholders. I also knew that no one was showing execs how to do that by having diverse teams where everyone belonged.
How did you do it?
A good plan and trial and error! I read somewhere that if you knew what was really going to happen in the first couple of years of starting a business, you wouldn’t start one. I had a wobbly moment in my first year, so I called on a friend, Judy Pridmore, to give me a different perspective and to help me refine my strategy. My ability to build trusting relationships and a strong network have been pivotal in establishing and growing my business. In summary, a lofty vision, a good strategy, a great network and being humble enough to ask for help then flex and change direction when needed.
What did you learn along the way?
I taught myself practical things like how to create a website, how to manage social media for great effect, marketing and much more. I have learnt how to let go of things that do not matter (I am, and always will be, a recovering perfectionist!). I’ve learnt about the generosity of women in business. I cannot imagine how to say thank you to the myriad of women who have given me their time, advice, wisdom, tips, tools and contacts for no other reason than they want to see me be successful. I love this a lot, because it debunks patriarchal myths about catty, competitive women.
What advice would you give to others trying to make a difference?
Be 100 per cent sure about your “why”. Whatever you are trying to do, there will be good times and there will be tough times. When the tough times hit, you must have your purpose, your why, to hang onto. I know when Covid hit and I saw email after email from clients cancelling or postponing gender equality work we were doing, I was devastated. I simply shifted my focus to supporting women as much as I could, in whatever way I could, until things stabilised. I have days when I want to pull the doona over my head because the road to gender equality just seems so rough and so long. But then I remember the women and girls that I have already helped and think about how many more need help and I haul myself out from under the doona and crack on with the day.
Have an I Did That story about effecting real change that you’d like to share? Email hello@tonicmag.com.au
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