Learn, grow, connect, inspire
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 127 No 5, 19 July 2024, page 5.
Learn, grow, connect, inspire - this was the theme of the most recent QTU Women’s conference held in the June holidays. Four words with a lot of meaning and a lot to deliver.
As a Union and a profession in which close to 80 per cent of teachers and school leaders identify as women, providing women with safe spaces to feel empowered, to learn, to grow and to inspire each other is a necessity.
It’s easy to look at the current complement of Senior Officers, Executive members and QTU officers and wonder whether this is truly necessary – surely affirmative action in our Union is working?
I firmly believe that, while we continue to celebrate “firsts” for women in our Union, affirmative action has its place. I believe that affirmative action extends beyond celebrating firsts. In reality, until it becomes common place for our leaders, Executive, and delegates to be proportionally representative of women, men and other diverse groups, the need for affirmative action continues.
After all, we are only now witnessing some of the consequences of the affirmative action rule that I remember being put in place when I was on Council almost 30 years ago.
It’s one of those things that helps us when looking at Union structures, the timing of meetings, the openness of QTU forums to parents of young children, and the provision of childcare to support attendance at these forums.
When women come together, we not only look at “women’s issues” but at the broader issues that support the involvement of other discreet groups.
When women members come together, we discuss how misogyny, both within our structures and the broader community, impacts upon the voice and role of women in the Union, and in their workplaces too. And we discuss how we unpick this ingrained prejudice against women.
To be clear, I don’t believe that our structures were designed to prevent women from engaging in the Union. However, in accordance with the four “Ps” of leadership effectiveness designed by Harvard professors, we do need to consider what our rules and our structures project about the Union, who is privileged by our processes, how people perceive the Union and the people who are in it.
This is the reason that we are constantly reconsidering how we work with members. For example, activists will have received a quick survey from the QTU in recent weeks in relation to the Valuing Our Profession campaign. We recognise that members of Council, Executive and area councils are quite often privileged with information that other members may not have similar access to. This survey will allow us to understand what members know, how they found out about the campaign, and what tactics have been employed as part of the campaign. This review informs how we improve our campaigning and our communication. It is also designed to be short to ensure that the time it takes to complete the survey is not a disincentive to members identifying they are time poor.
Likewise, the Women’s Conference provides an opportunity for women to raise issues, learn new skills and network with each other in an environment designed to lift women up and empower them.
Learning the art of powerful questions, understanding the importance of messaging, and recognising the creativity in the room means that women walk away feeling seen, having their voices heard and feeling part of a Union that celebrates women. The conference also celebrates the achievement of women in our Union, of which there have been many, and hopefully inspires our members to achieve more.
Kate Ruttiman
General Secretary