I am proud to have recently been appointed to lead Pilbara Ports, a world-class organisation which plays a fundamental role in supporting the prosperity of the Pilbara region, the WA State, and our community.

At the heart of every high-performing organisation is a focus on people – on building a culture of engagement, openness, diversity, equity, inclusion, and trust.

I believe that those wanting to see action towards these goals, need to take action. Joining CEOs for Gender Equity is one action that I am taking to commit myself and our organisation to furthering our diversity and inclusion goals.

I am committed to leading a transformation of change at Pilbara Ports and have subsequently aligned our organisations goals with the State Governments ‘Stronger Together: WA’s Plan for Gender Equality’ through the delivery of a new Pilbara Ports Diversity and Inclusion Plan.

Whilst forty three percent of the workforce at Pilbara Ports are women, less than twenty percent of our leadership roles are filled by women. This isn’t good enough. An enduring and self-sustaining culture of diversity within our organisation needs women making decisions, enacting change, and supporting other women into senior roles.

To be launched during Inclusion Week (6-10 November), Pilbara Ports’ new Diversity and Inclusion Plan is focused on building frameworks and programs that support an inclusive workplace culture. We have committed to firm targets, including a commitment to increase the number of women in leadership roles at Pilbara Ports to 50 per cent by 31 December 2024.

We are also addressing gender barriers by supporting alternative pathways for marine roles like harbourmasters or marine pilots. Many maritime roles have traditionally required a Master Mariner Certificate, which is a difficult certificate to achieve for individuals who are unable to spend long periods at sea. Removal of this requirement, whilst maintaining the level of competency required, increases opportunities for women, who have been disadvantaged through structural barriers to their participation.

As CEOs, we are in a fortunate position to drive a cultural shift in the workplace and influence others to do the same. By rallying behind the CEOs for Gender Equity initiative, we send a powerful message that as leaders we are collectively committed to eradicating gender disparities.