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Glengarry Private Hospital promotes diversity ahead of International Women’s Day
Mar 02, 2021
Gender equity in the workplace is about recognising everyone has unique talents to bring to the table, according to Glengarry Private Hospital Chief Executive Officer, Leonie Gardiner.
Gender equity in the workplace is about recognising everyone has unique talents to bring to the table, according to Glengarry Private Hospital Chief Executive Officer, Leonie Gardiner.
Ms Gardiner leads an all-female executive team at the hospital and is a strong advocate for a diverse workplace.
“International Women’s Day [March 8] is a good time to reflect on the progress made in terms of fair and productive places of employment,” Ms Gardiner said.
“I have been in the health industry for 40 years and it’s been amazing to see the role of women in the workforce change and I look forward to seeing how it progresses further in the future.”
A mother of four, Ms Gardiner said she felt grateful to have enjoyed an amazing career as well as raising a family.
“Our executive team at Glengarry Private Hospital works well because we are collaborative and prioritise well,” Ms Gardiner said.
“We understand the needs of women in the workforce and their struggles balancing family and a career.
“We all have a good sense of humour and laugh together daily.”
Ms Gardiner said gender and cultural diversity were important in the workplace, including in the health industry.
“Everyone has unique talents and attributes,” she said.
“For example, men are just as valuable for patient care in nursing and midwifery.”
Ramsay Health Care State Human Resources Manager, Julianne Allan, said gender equity had been achieved at senior management levels across all five Ramsay hospitals in WA.
“More than half of our senior managers are women and there are just as many female CEOs as male CEOs,” Ms Allan said.
“We believe it is important to have strong female representation across all levels of an organization.”
Ramsay Health Care has pledged its support for a national campaign to increase the proportion of executive women across ASX200 companies.
Industry super fund HESTA’s 40:40 Vision seeks to achieve gender balance across senior leadership of all ASX200 companies by 2030. The gender balance goal is 40% women, 40% men and 20% any gender.
Ramsay Health Care’s Group Chief People Officer, Colleen Harris, said the company was a significant employer of women.
“In Australia, 59% of our facility CEOs are women and 60% of our regional executives are female,” she said.
“Providing a flexible, family-friendly environment for all employees is a vital way to achieve these targets and helps improve the wellbeing of our people.”
Research from Workplace Gender Equality Agency and the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre shows an increase in the share of female ‘top-tier’ managers by 10 percentage points or more led to a 6.6% increase in the market value of ASX-listed companies.
CAPS: Glengarry Private Hospital executive team Director of Finance and Support Services Bernadette Carreira, Chief Executive Officer Leonie Gardiner and Director of Clinical Services Karen Cunliffe.