In the lead up to International Women's Day (IWD) this Sunday, Susan Law- the chief executive officer of Armidale Regional Council (ARC) - is facing a vote of no confidence at an extraordinary meeting called for by seven ARC councillors.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Does she think the move is related in any way to her gender?
"Let me say it this way," Ms Law said.
"A friend of mine with whom I have a discussion from time to time says if you want something done, something fixed, things sorted out, things moved along, things changed- then that is Susan. If you want world peace and to sing Kumbaya, then that is not Susan.
"At my advanced age, I have sufficient self-awareness to know that I'm not necessarily the most comfortable or the most calming of chief executives and I suppose those are the characteristics most associated with women rather than men. Challenging, confronting and progressing are the things I like to think I do best -and sometimes people are surprised that this comes from a woman.
"To quote Julia Gillard - my gender doesn't explain everything, but it doesn't explain nothing either."
sometimes people are surprised that this comes from a woman
Ms Law has an impressive CV which, before joining ARC in July 2018, included leadership positions in local government including General Manager Health Care Otago (NZ), chief executive at both Adelaide City Council and the City of Charles Sturt.
She says she'd be lying if she said gender had not been an issue at any time throughout her career.
"Certainly I remember back in the 80's being the only woman in a board meeting and when the tea trolley was brought in the eyes turned to me, and there was an expectation that I would pour the tea," she said.
"I just sat there steadfastly refusing to pour the tea until eventually, another man got up to pour the tea, and then I went to help him."
Things have improved over the years though, according to Ms Law, although some barriers still need to be overcome.
"When I first went into local government, which was in South Australia back in the late 1990s, of the 13 metropolitan councils there were only two female CEOs which was disappointing because we were clearly a minority," she said.
"While it was said that there was no barrier to women becoming a chief executive officer at local government, there were what I call invisible barriers.
"It's difficult if you're a woman and have the primary child care responsibilities...being at council meetings late at night is difficult, late community meetings those sort of things just make it just that bit more difficult for women to participate."
On the flip side, gender can also enable better performance; Ms Law says.
"I'd like to think that being a woman has helped me become a better leader and manager," she said.
"I have had all single-gender teams, and I've always found it is a much more productive, collaborative and focused leadership team when there are both males and females in the group.
I know it is a gross generalization but in my experience women collaborate to get on with the job
"I know it is a gross generalisation but in my experience women collaborate to get on with the job and seem to spend less time looking after their own particular patch...sometimes with men there is a bit of a barrier of them protecting their own patch, and this seems to dissipate when there is a mixture of men and women."
ARC has a gender-balanced executive team with two women and two men on board, but that is just the start of equality according to Ms Law.
"Being of that gender is only the surface," she said.
"What's important is valuing and honouring the diversity that different genders bring to a) a council and b) an executive team, and how they all work together.
"I would like to think that ( and I'm not saying I've achieved this by any means) but I'd like to think that we are looking to value the different strengths that different people have including what they bring as women or as men."
However, Ms Law is not necessarily a fan of a diversity quota system.
"I think it's much more about valuing different strengths," Ms Law said.
"I mean certainly in the '80s there was no valuing of the kind of collaboration that I think women are particularly good at. Therefore, if a man and a woman went for a job - and collaboration wasn't valued - it was more difficult for the woman to demonstrate the kind of skills she could bring."
International Women's Day on March 8 is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality. The first IWD gathering occurred more than a century ago in 1911 and was supported by over a million people.
The International Women's Day 2020 campaign theme is #EachforEqual
Read also:
Vanessa Arundale
Everyone has a story to tell and I like to help them do it.
Everyone has a story to tell and I like to help them do it.
