Sydney, Australia: Leaders in business, finance, banking and sport have shared their biggest life and career lessons to inspire the country’s future female leaders.
In celebration of International Women’s Day 2024, which is highlighting economic disempowerment through the theme Invest in Women: Accelerate progress, Liberty IT Consulting Group invited leaders from various industries to offer messages of support, advice and inspiration to women in the hope of encouraging the younger generation to pursue their dreams.
The film series was developed by Liberty IT CEO John Dimitropoulos and CMO Alana Saphin after discovering the statistic that just 22 per cent of leadership positions in Australia are held by women. “These are very sobering statistics,” the mum of two (daughters) said. “It made me wonder ‘how are we still here after so much time?’.
The films feature inspiring women such as ASX Chief Operating Officer Diona Rae – KPMG partner Janine Woodside and the CIO of Beyond Bank Australia (and 2022 Entrepreneur of the year) Stevie Ann Dovico, who with unflinching honesty share the highs and lows of their professional journeys and the learnings from these experiences.
Industry veteran Rae opens up about making “a huge mistake at work”. “… it was purely because I couldn’t admit that I didn’t know something and I didn’t ask for help,” she reveals. “I thought I had to be better than I was to be seen as a true leader. After that, I started to be more open when I needed help and when I didn’t know something..”
Tristan Cutcliffe, business advisor and lawyer at CRco advised young women it was ok to change their mind, and to be confident in who they are. “When I was younger someone told me I smiled too much to be taken seriously in business,” she said. “Well that wasn’t true. I can smile as much or as little as I like. And I have been very successful.”
Saphin hoped sharing insights from those who had succeeded would put a spotlight on the positive shifts that were taking place in society with regards to closing the gender gap.
“We wanted to take a different approach, shift gears and offer a message of hope to our future generations. Show them that women (and men together) are making a difference,” she said, “and leading the charge to make a better future and that while change is not happening as quickly as we would like; together we are making a difference and so too can our younger generations.”
The films feature:
- Sofia (kid)
- Tristan Cutcliffe
- John Dimitropoulos
- Kristen King
- Amy Kean
- Diona Rae
- Bronwyn Yam
- Sophia Demetriades
- Janine Woodside
- Alice Bradbury
- Anne Garlick
- Stevie-Ann
- Marin
For interviews with any of the aforementioned talent, please contact Elle at: or Alana on Ph: 0406650142
About Liberty IT:
Liberty IT Consulting Group (Liberty IT) is Australia’s finest consulting firm with unique specialisation in business and technology transformations for the banking and financial services industry. It is a modern, professional and inclusive company that lives by its core principles of Quality, Experience and Ethics. Headquartered in Sydney, Liberty IT offers premium solutions to many of Australia’s financial services companies and banks. Liberty IT is different, by design. ENDS
