Australia Urges Water Investments

Success in the Outback

Times have certainly changed. According to Adrina Lever, the Managing Director of Expansion International Advisory Inc., women are a powerful force to contend with:

"The impact that women in business are having worldwide cannot be underestimated. Women in business today are emerging as significant contributors to the economies of almost every country - developed and developing. Women-controlled businesses, the role of women in small and medium enterprises and the impact of this on economies and societies is now being recognized."

According to Unifem, an international organization devoted to tracking and promoting gender equality:

Globally:
· Women make up more than half of the workforce
· 30 per cent of all households in the world are headed by women
· Women are responsible for the major share decision-making on household expenditures

In Australia:
· Women are starting new businesses at double the rate of men
· Women comprise one-third of all self-employed persons
· Women own more than 40 per cent of all small businesses
· Women’s businesses have a higher survival rate than men's businesses
· Since 1986-96 women-owned businesses have been growing at 1 1/2 times the rate for businesses owned by men
· Estimates suggest that women-owned or operated small businesses provide as much as 20 per cent of net job creation.

In Australia, women are in every sector of business - from home-based to large scale. Women are designing fashion, selling parts for racing cars, publishing magazines, writing books. Women are CEO’s and managing directors. They are innovative and creative, and they have mobilized their resources in many groups - the Australian Council of Business Women, the Australian Women’s Network, and the Women in Business Mentor Program - a government agency that supports women-owned businesses by providing them with the appropriate mentors.

Amanda Hicks of the Sydney business Autobake Pty Ltd, a company that designs and manufactures industrial cooking equipment, views mentoring as an important part of being successful in business.

“I’m passionate about the mentoring part of the program. I grew up knowing successful businesswomen and I want other women to see that too, so they will always believe they can succeed just as I did,” Ms Hicks said.

Rural Business

Women are succeeding in every corner of Australia. In particular, many women in rural areas are running their own businesses. From bed and breakfasts, to farming, to crafts, to health services, education and manufacturing - women are everywhere.

The Rural Industries and Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) completed a recent survey (2003-2004) of rural businesses and found that rural businesses run by women have a significant impact on local economies. In Australia, rural businesses are responsible for generating $1.2 billion of profit per year. The survey found that rural areas where many women run their own businesses have a stronger economy that is able to deal effectively with negative situations such as natural disasters and economic depressions. Five key points were discovered as contributors to women being successful in business:

· The capacity to manage growth
· Effective and unqualified family support
· Access to women’s business networks
· Neutralizing discrimination
· Control of property

Researchers found that women were willing to put in long hours, had extensive experience combined with familial support, they possessed clear and attainable goals for themselves and viewed running a business as a way to economic autonomy.

Spinning Plates

It’s a challenge to run one’s own business in addition to managing a family. No one knows this better than Lynn Mason, who is a farmer, mother, former mayor, President of Tasmania’s local government association (and national vice president) and city councilor.

Lynn and her husband manage a 3000-hectare sheep, cattle and grain farm in Tasmania. They also run an aquaculture business that grows, farms and markets abalone. And if that wasn’t enough, in 1998 they started Furneaux Contracting, a business that Lynn describes as Agriculture contracting.

“We do spraying of crops, planting of crops, ploughing, drilling soil, pasture renovation. Basically it’s using our machinery and labor to enable other farmers who lack the size or expertise to put in the necessary machinery, or they just don’t want to have that kind of capital investment tied up.”

Lynn is able to manage her dizzying array of jobs and responsibilities because she knows how to prioritize and “ thoroughly immerse myself quickly in whatever it is I’m doing.” She and her husband have 7 full time staff and one part time personal assistant to keep all her appointments, schedules, talks and conferences in order.

Winning many awards and achievements is the icing on the cake for Lynn, “One of the best things about it is, you get to reflect on what you’ve achieved and it gives you a lot of confidence.”

This is part one in a two part series of Women in Business in Australia. Part two will look at success stories in small and big business and outline future goals and strategies and resources for the Australian Business Woman.

© Copyright 2005. Galt Western Personnel Ltd. Unless otherwise specified, you may reprint this article, quote from it, use it in research or projects, duplicate it or distribute it. Credit of authorship and source MUST be given to galtglobalreview.com. Ownership of Copyright remains with Galt Western Personnel Ltd.

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