WOMEN LEADING THE WAY AT CORANGAMITE CMA

Tomorrow, 8 March, is International Women’s Day, a day where the world honours the achievements of women across all aspects of life – social, economic, cultural, and political – while also advocating for gender equality.

It’s a day on which the leadership team at Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CMA) is proud. There, women are taking charge as Chair (Cath Jenkins), CEO (Dr Amber Clarke), three out of four senior leadership positions, and across 67% of all roles within the organisation.

The representation of female employees and women in leadership positions at the CMA hasn’t always been strong. In 2018 the gender ratio of the management team was 75% male and 25% female, and the authority made a concerted effort to turn this around.

“Acknowledging the benefits of a gender balance in key decision-making positions, Corangamite CMA actively sought to close the gender gap,” said Acting CEO Sarah Holland Clift.

“Everyone has the right to equal opportunity in employment, so we focused on removing barriers and providing employees with supports to overcome obstacles and historical inequities to provide a truly level playing field.”

“Today diversity and inclusion are part of everything that we do at Corangamite CMA. We are committed to embracing and reflecting the diversity of our community and to supporting inclusion and participation by everyone in our workplace and through the ways we work,” Ms Holland Clift continued.

Key initiatives implemented by the CMA included embedding flexible work arrangements and providing the option for part time work and job share arrangements. Today 100% of Corangamite CMA employees work flexibly.

“To remove barriers for females in management roles, we carefully consider team structure, how to reshuffle responsibilities across the team, and the creation of new part time positions to ensure part time staff are not simply doing a full-time role in less time.”

“We know that organisations that embrace diversity and inclusion have higher employee engagement, improved performance, greater innovation, better retention of talent, and improved employee wellbeing. We’re so proud of what we’ve achieved in promoting gender equity across Corangamite CMA.”