This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating more than 1,400 women who work at AnglicareSA – that’s 75% of our workforce.
This year, the theme is ‘Inspire Inclusion’, which AnglicareSA is passionate about. We are dedicated to supporting women of all backgrounds and are strong advocates for standing up to bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.
We are proud to have so many inspirational women within our organisation changing lives and making a positive difference in our community.
Meet two of them – Freya Newton from AnglicareSA, and Christie Marrot-Castellat from Believe Housing Australia (AnglicareSA’s housing arm).
Meet the EGM leading AnglicareSA’s IT team
She might be relatively new to the role of Executive General Manager, Technology and Transformation, but Freya has been part of the AnglicareSA team for nearly 30 years.
“I love working in IT at AnglicareSA because of the variety,” Freya said.
“I have enjoyed stepping into the executive role these past six months and getting greater visibility about what is going on across the organisation and how we can make better use of technology to support all our colleagues.”
In her role, Freya provides strategic leadership to improve business processes for our employees so they can better serve our customers.
Freya said just as technology had evolved throughout her 30 years in IT, so too had the female representation in the sector.
“I have experienced gender imbalances in my career as a woman in IT,” she said.
“I was one of very few women doing computer science in my university classes and have often been in a significant minority when attending professional conferences.
“However, I’m proud of AnglicareSA’s gender balance and the extent to which females are represented in our IT teams.”
Freya said International Women’s Day was a good opportunity for everyone to recognise the progress that had been made to accelerate women’s equality over the last century.
“I think it’s easy to take for granted or complain about where we’re at with gender equality,” she said.
“International Women’s Day is a chance to focus our attention on the issue, even if it is just for five minutes or a lunch, and acknowledge how far we’ve come but also how much more we have to achieve.”
The woman opening doors for others
It’s a job that couldn’t be more rewarding for Christie, who came to Believe Housing Australia 14 months ago in search of a job that makes a difference in people’s lives.
Much of Christie’s role as an intensive tenancy support officer involves working with community housing tenants who need support to sustain their tenancies because of the complex needs of the household.
“Complex needs are often trauma-related and may include domestic and family violence, mental health issues, substance abuse, and hoarding behaviours,” Christie said.
Christie organises a range of supports to help each person sustain their tenancy and remain housed.
“We teach people fundamental life skills, organise deep cleans, help them build capacity and find the right referral pathways for them.
“Everyone’s situation is different – I’m a big advocate for finding support services appropriate for each person.”
Christie said navigating the complex needs that some people are experiencing can be challenging, but the end result is worth it.
“Some people are reluctant to let me in or they do not see an issue with how they are living. It is rewarding to be able to see the improvements in living conditions and each tenant’s mental health from the start of our journey to the end.”
Christie said her role in working in partnership with tenants to overcome challenging circumstances is similar to the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day.
“International Women’s Day is an opportunity to bring awareness to the importance of gender rights and equality in all diversities and talk about it,” she said.
“We have come a long way but there’s more still left to do to forge a more inclusive world for women.
“We need to acknowledge the challenges experienced by all women and advocate for change.”