Women's liberation was the undertone at an awards breakfast for women in WA resources this morning with Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi using the event to make public her feelings toward the media and the challenges women face in leadership.
Women's liberation was the undertone at an awards breakfast for women in WA resources this morning with Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi using the event to make public her feelings toward the media and the challenges women face in leadership.
The inaugural event, coinciding with International Women's Day, honoured several women who have contributed to the success of the state's booming resource sector with Ms Scaffidi making the key address.
She largely focussed on her frustrations with what she believes is her misrepresentation in WA's tabloid newspapers.
The Perth Lord Mayor spoke of her belief that women are often their own worst enemies with their tendency to criticise each other and of what she called an ever-present double standard that doesn't allow for women to be 'powerful, sexy and intelligent" at the same time.
"Women must navigate a double bind; if they assert themselves forcefully, people perceive them as not being feminine enough, triggering a backlash," Ms Scaffidi said.
"Men are strong versus women are pushy; basically they are saying to us you can't be sexy and professional and smart".
But Ms Scaffidi said there are broader challenges for women in business.
"There is simply a trade-off in qualities associated with top leadership. A woman can be perceived as competent or as likeable, but seemingly not as both," the Perth Lord Mayor said.
The Perth Lord Mayor used her address in part to retort to the recent media coverage of her business trip expenses, saying she would need "at least another hour" to address all of the outcomes of those trips, justifying their necessity.
Ms Scaffidi said she feels many Western Australian's only want a female Lord Mayor for ribbon cutting and parades and if that is the case, the role may not be for her.
She said while she enjoys that element of her role as Mayor, her real passion lies in representing WA as one of the world's premier resource industries.
Ms Scaffidi closed by drawing on the words of American playwrite Clare Boothe Luce, saying "because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, 'she doesn't have what it takes.' They will say, 'women don't have what it takes."
While Ms Scaffidi focussed primarily on the frustrations she feels with the treatment of women in leadership roles, the award presenter, Chamber of Minerals and Energy's president Kim Horne, spoke of the broader business sense of the awards.
Mr Horne brought the discussion back to basics, saying the awards are simply about acknowledging that the WA resource industry needs the best minds and 50 per cent of those minds happen to be female.
Woodside was awarded the Company Innovation Initiative Award for the company's 'flexible work and support initiative'.
Also honoured was manager of mining for management consulting firm Momentum Partners Sabina Shugg, named women in resources Champion.
Rio Tinto's Kellie Parker won the Outstanding Woman award, attributing a large part of her success as the company's Cape Lambert and Tom Price Rail operations manager to the support of both her husband and her manager.
Chamber of Minerals and Energy's Reg Howard-Smith announced a surprise additional award for women is resources life time achievement.
The award went to Erica Smyth, acknowledging her 30 year career and contributions to WA's resource industry.
