Tales of inspiration, of hope for the future and empowering female participation in the game were the main themes of the Queensland Rugby League’s Women’s Leadership Forum held today.
Rugby league volunteers and staff from across the state were entertained and informed by successful representatives from the corporate world and players from the Queensland Women’s State of Origin team.
Steph Hancock, Tallisha Harden and Meg Ward spoke about their representative playing pathways, while members of the Toowoomba Valleys club shared some of their trials and challenges as a regional club.
Forum maintains female momentum
Member for Redlands Kim Hughes opened the day with an interesting speech about her background in architecture – a male-dominated industry – and her move into politics, and shared some of her learnings in her career journey.
QRL Chief Operating Officer Rohan Sawyer outlined the QRL’s Women’s Elite Pathway and Participation Strategy; while the shifts in workplace culture were also discussed, with Andrea McDonald from U&U Recruiting, Suzannah D’Juliet of Hastings Deering and Michelle Elvy from BHP speaking about what their companies were doing to encourage meaningful female participation.
The day wrapped up with a light-hearted panel featuring a handful of QRL Head Office staff who shared stories about themselves and some of their most difficult moments in the job and also their proudest.
The 2019 Ausco Modular QRL Conference continues on the Sunshine Coast until Sunday.
