
Dr Sam Collins of Aspire
A trip to Aspire’s Connected Leadership event to find out what women think of the G20’s plan
When the G20 announced their recent intention to get 100 million more women into work by 2025, the news was accompanied by a picture of US President Barack Obama, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sealing the agreement. The image of men in suits shaking hands on a plan is a telling illustration of the fact that women are indeed “the world’s most under-utilised resource”, most notably in the types of positions that get you an invite to a politico-economic summit. With an ageing population, a hangover from the financial crash and a perpetual need for growth, our leaders are turning towards the 43 per cent of female G20 citizens who are currently not in paid work in the hope of boosting our economies. Oh, and increasing equality, that too.
With female voices so undeniably underrepresented in the talks in Brisbane, I couldn’t help but wonder what members of the “resource” themselves have to say about the aspirations set out for them for the coming decade. To find out, I headed to the Aspire Connected Leadership event; a two-day training and networking session which is itself a summit of sorts. 300 senior level women convened there, brought together by Dr Sam Collins. A coach and female leadership expert who identifies herself as a “social entrepreneur”, Sam has made it her mission to empower women in the workforce to incite change.
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