Claim your seat on International Women’s Day

Today marks International Women’s Day. The theme for 2022 is Break the bias.

International Women’s Day promotes and celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

Chief Information Officer, Amanda Finnis, is proud to work at CVGT Australia in a senior role in technology – she hopes to inspire more young women to put their hand up for study and work in digital and IT.

“As one of a pretty small group of female CIOs, I often wonder why there aren’t more women in senior technology-related roles, and indeed why there aren’t more women in the technology space altogether,” she says.

“I fear that socialisation to stereotypes has a lot to blame for this situation. From an early age, I believe girls are often still conditioned to think that subjects like maths, science, engineering and technology are not for them.”

Amanda believes today is a reminder for every young girl and woman that they should do whatever it is they are passionate about – no matter what industry it is.

“Me ending up as a CIO came from my curiosity and interest in computers, and then programming. I simply did things that were interesting to me,” she says.

And some advice for young girls and women?

“Have confidence about your abilities. If you know you are good at something, claim your seat at the table.”

For the financial year of 2020-21, CVGT Australia had a total of 385 employees – of that, 289 were female.

Chief executive Jason Russell says CVGT Australia is an organisation where women can thrive.

“Proper recognition of the contributions of women to our organisation and the communities where we work is a reflection of our core values of inclusion and equality,” he says.

“We are a business where women are strongly represented, from the board – where our chair is a woman and a majority of directors are female – to our senior leadership team and across the entire CVGT workforce, of which three quarters are women.”

For more information or resources, head to www.internationalwomensday.com or https://www.wgea.gov.au/

International Women’s Day missions:

To forge inclusive work cultures where women’s careers thrive and their achievements are celebrated
To elevate women forging change via technology and sustainability in communities, workplaces and beyond
To elevate and advance gender parity in technology and celebrate the women forging innovation
To celebrate the work of women creatives and elevate visibility for commercial projects and commissions

To shine a spotlight on activity uplifting and inspiring women to pursue goals without bias or barrier
To assist women to be in a position of power to make informed decisions about their health
To celebrate women athletes and applaud when equality is achieved in pay, sponsorship and visibility