Following on from the successful 2018 inaugural International Women's Day Breakfast, the Rotary Club of Brisbane held this year's International Women's Day Breakfast on the 6th of March at the United Service Club. This year we had a total of 67 attendees, up more than 50% on last year and the crowd filled the Glasgow room at the USC so maybe we will need to look for a larger venue next year.
The success of the event was anchored on two excellent and high-profile speakers, Vice-Chancellor and President of QUT Professor Margaret Sheil AO and Brisbane Deputy Mayor Councillor Adrian Schrinner.
Event Coordinator, Daniel Vankov (centre) pictured with our two keynote speakers, Professor Margaret Shiel AO and Councillor Adrian Schrinner.
Both keynote speakers addressed and advocated diversity in the workplace and the audience was treated to two of the many lenses with which one can examine the topic. Professor Sheil spoke from personal experience in her career, touching on the importance of good mentoring and recent experience and approaches at QUT, such as creating some "women-only" positions. Councillor Schrinner took a numbers approach, demonstrating that achieving workplace diversity is not only the right thing to strive for and good for society as a whole, but it also has an enormous potential economic payoff for the nation.
Proceeds from the breakfast will be directed to sending two young people to the 2019 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards camp in May.
The Rotary Club of Brisbane thanks our two keynote speakers, event sponsors Davidson Executive and Boards, event coordinator Past President Daniel Vankov who worked on this starting in August last year, and everyone who attended for making the event the success it was and bringing the Rotary Club of Brisbane's International Women's Day Breakfast one step closer to being an annual landmark on the Brisbane calendar.
