Invest in women to propel the industry forward

Investing in women for the betterment of Australian wine is the theme of this year’s Australian Women in Wine (AWIW) National Symposium in Hobart on Friday 22 November.

AWIW founder and chair Jane Thomson OAM says that amidst tough times in Australian wine, one key area is still not being given due attention: that investing in women and increasing gender diversity is key to attracting and retaining the top talent needed to overcome challenges and propel the industry forward.

“It’s only through properly investing in women, rather than just talking about an industry gender problem, that we can hope to see positive change,” she says.

Inspired by the Investing in Women theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, Investing in Women for the Betterment of Australian Wine will look specifically at how this can and should be applied in wine, and how this benefits the whole industry.

“With the same people in the same positions of power making the same decisions and implementing the same strategies, how on earth can we expect anything to improve?” Thomson says.

“We need diversity at every level of this industry, and that starts with investing in women.

“Investing in them not just at the beginning of their career, but as they climb the ranks too.

“Ensuring their incredible talent, training, experience and capabilities are retained and used for the betterment of the entire industry.”

The latest McKinsey Diversity Matters report shows that companies with representation of women exceeding 30 percent are significantly more likely to financially outperform those with 30 percent or fewer, and that the penalty for lack of diversity is getting more expensive each year.

Symposium speakers include women from outside the industry…

Catherine Fox AM
A leading commentator on women in the workforce. A Walkley Award-winning journalist, author and presenter, she has published six books including Stop Fixing Women and her latest book Breaking the Boss Bias: How to Get More Women into Leadership was released in August.

Sheetal Deo
A lawyer, diversity advocate and diversity and inclusion practitioner who operates under the mantra, “If it’s not intersectional, it’s not inclusive.” Sheetal is driven to effect positive social and systemic changes through an intersectional lens and was a recent speaker on this topic on the SBS Insight television program.

Sherri Ring
A dynamic leader in employee engagement, wellbeing and workplace happiness. With a belief that a happy workplace is not just good for people but also good for business, Sherri has been at the forefront of transforming workplaces across Australia for over 30 years.

Cait McMahon PhD, OAM
A thought leader, innovator and educator on work-related extreme stress and trauma, especially focusing on the media and human rights fields. She has trained people across the globe and in-person on psychological safety, resilience and wellbeing for more than 30 years.

Amanda Thompson
Award-winning financial planner and author, who draws on her 20 years of financial advising and life experiences to educate and support women to overcome the fear of finances and own their financial future.

Sarah Courtney
Her career has spanned engineering, stockbroking, politics, viticulture and professional directorships. Sarah was a Minister in the Tasmanian Government until her retirement from Parliament in February 2022. Prior to her involvement in politics, Sarah worked for almost a decade in the financial services industry.

Bianca Welsh
Co-owns Stillwater Restaurant and Seven Rooms and also runs a mental health business ‘From Experience’ which provides education and advice to workplaces on how to be a mentally healthy workplace.

Women from within the industry will also share their insights and experiences including Angie Bradbury, Samantha Connew, Keira O’Brien, Cyntha Semmens and Curly Haslam-Coates.

The full-day event will take place at the Franklin Wharf in Hobart and is preceded by a welcome dinner at the same venue the evening before. Registrations are now open at womeninwine.com.au.

Australian Women in Wine (AWIW), established in 2015, is run by The Fabulous Ladies’ Wine Society and overseen by an advisory board of industry luminaries.

Current AWIW board members include Corrina Wright, Jeni Port, Shirley Fraser, Rachel Triggs, Alexia Roberts and Jane Thomson OAM (chair).