Liz Darlington-Brown
Posted in: Uncategorized,
Mar 07, 2019
The Modern (Struggling) Woman
It’s International Women’s Day, and while we pay homage to the amazing women who have come before us, who’ve paved the way in history to allow us to have the rights and privileges that we have now, I want to take a moment and talk about a type of woman that has all these rights, but is still operating in a world designed to disadvantage them. The Working Mum Women have fought for their right to earn a living, to be independent of their partner, and to pursue their inte...
Liz Darlington-Brown
Posted in: culture change, Gender Equality, organisational culture change, toxic workplace culture,
Dec 06, 2018The Band-Aid Effect
#Metoo has seen a rise in women AND men ending the silence of sexual misconduct and bad behaviour in the workplace. Though we’ve seen many people come forward with allegations of misconduct and engage in conversations around how this campaign empowers others to similarly come forward, there has been very little discussion as to why this has gone on unreported for so long and how it can change. In my last blog post I touched a little on some big-name companies who have...
Liz Darlington-Brown
Posted in: Diversity & Inclusion, Gender Equality,
Nov 19, 2018Who is responsible for role-modelling gender equality?
When we dive into the details on the fight for gender equality, we tend to focus our attention on the large corporations — the giants in the business world. While it is incredibly important to make sure that the biggest influencers in the market are progressive and tackling the on-going problem of gender equality, we cannot ignore the influence of small and medium enterprises (SME’s). A whopping 40 per cent of the workforce is made up of SME’s, and this large chunk o...
Katriina Tahka
Posted in: culture change, organisational culture change, toxic workplace culture,
Sep 05, 2018
The #metoo Thunderstorm
The emergence of the #metoo campaign has been a significant milestone in the fight for equality. Though as the rolling thunder that is the global #metoo campaign continues to hit more high-profile companies and individuals, the question I have is will the momentum brought on by #metoo be enough to change the underlying toxic workplace cultures that exhibit these similar behaviours? Over the last few weeks we've seen more senior leaders step down or be suspended, with the recent h...
Katriina Tahka
Posted in: Closing the Gender Gap, culture change, Gender Equality, organisational culture change,
Jun 17, 2018
Breaking Down the Boys Club: How Formal Sponsorship Can Accelerate Female Performanc...
Once conducted behind closed doors, corporate sponsorship is being brought into the open as a way to support emerging female leaders and improve retention in male dominated industries. Similar to a mentor, a corporate sponsor is there to help emerging leaders achieve their professional goals. Beyond providing advice and guidance, a sponsor acts as an active champion in the workplace. After recognising the hard work and abilities of an emerging leader, a formal sponsor shares the...
Katriina Tahka
Posted in: bad behaviour, HR for Growth,
May 24, 2018Lying on Resumes
We have recently seen the unravelling of lies made on CV’s by people in prominent positions, with the likes of Giuseppe Conte, the man nominated to be Italy’s next Prime Minister and even the former Labor MP, Barry Urban, who has recently resigned after similar lies had been exposed. While we usually encounter smaller, less dramatic fibs on Resumes— such as stating that a person led a project on their own, as opposed to co-leading the project with another team member— it ...
Katriina Tahka
Posted in: Girls and STEM Education, press release, STEM+T, Women In STEM,
May 23, 2018Industry competitors partner to create visible career pathways for our children
Last week, A Human Agency hosted a Construction & Infrastructure Roundtable discussion with a number of influential leaders in the construction and infrastructure industries. Katriina Tahka lead the discussion, with insightful input by our guest speakers Jannene McLean from CSIRO and Allegra Spender from ABCN. The construction industry is an important part of Australian business. Seeks insight & resources data shows that the construction industry has had a lengthy pe...
Katriina Tahka
Posted in: organisational culture change,
May 02, 2018
On Saying ‘Just’ Too Often
A few weeks ago one of the participants in our Sponsorship Program forwarded us an article titled ‘Just’ Say No [1] and asked for our opinion on the frequent use of ‘just’ by women, the different way females make requests compared to males and whether the difference is really a bad thing or not? We thought we’d share our thoughts with you on this topic which has really stirred up a lot of great debate amongst both women and men. It seemed I was hearing “just”...
Liz Darlington-Brown
Posted in: EOFY, HR for Growth,
Mar 07, 2018Get it right this financial year!
Small businesses are an important part of the Australian economy and are an essential part of our society. A Human Agency loves small businesses, and we believe in supporting them to see growth and success within their industries. The new financial year is a great time to have a deep look into your business and see how you can make changes to lay a stronger foundation, to ensure your business is working in the best possible way. Making key changes to the way you operate your busin...
Natalie Galea
Posted in: Learning & Development,
Jan 22, 2018Stepping Forward with Natalie Galea
Last year I learnt a valuable lesson. I said ‘yes’ to multiple opportunities that would normally make me feel very uncomfortable. What’s more, I even enjoyed the process. It began when I was nominated by Australia for a position on an international sporting committee. The committee is charged with representing athletes’ interests and as a result, members must be Olympians or have competed at a World Championship. I qualified on both accounts. My concern was that despite...
Jonathan Oller
Posted in: Diversity & Inclusion, Gender Equality,
Jan 08, 2018Do The Nordic Countries Really Do It Better?
I’ve been in Australia for the better part of a month now (which I know is not long) and whenever I tell someone I’m from Finland, they start praising how the Nordics do everything better. Yes, it is true that things are pretty great up north, and yes there are countless articles that state how Australia needs to replicate the way Nordic countries do life, so I decided to take a real look into it to see if the Nordics really do it better. Let’s start with the easiest ...