Helping future female business leaders to thrive and learn was a topic of a networking function held by the Wondering Women group at the Wondering Women group at the St George Motorboat Club on May 13.
Work-life balance and flexible workplaces were also on the agenda for discussion.
The gathering saw 121 women and men from all sectors of the supply chain including shipping lines, stevedores, customs brokers, freight forwarders, transport operators, importers and software providers.
The 2022 FTA Women In Logistics Sundowner Networking Function was a collaboration between Freight and Trade Alliance (FTA), Wondering Women and Next Leap Training Solutions.
In the keynote address, Sam Askin, chief executive of Stop Connections spoke on the imortance of a flexible workplace.
"Organisations benefit from a better work life balance by bringing the human element into the work environment, creating greater work outcomes and job satisfaction," he said.
The important role companies play in providing opportunities for future female leaders to thrive and learn was also discussed.
This is paramount in increasing female representation in senior management roles - "raising the ceiling and lifting the floor".
The last couple of years have been extremely challenging for all sectors of the supply chain.
This has made it difficult sometimes to meet clients' expectations and has created a challenging work environmentl. Added to this was the personal pressures of isolation, home schooling and working from home, creating a stressful juggling act, particularly women.
All profits raised from the event went to Waves of Wellness Foundation to support mental health programs and Bayside Women's Shelter. Just under $10,000 was raised at the event.
FTA Directors, Caroline and Paul Zalai decided to match this amount, raising $20,000 in total.
With the funds, Waves of Wellness will be able to undertake two, eight-mental health programs for 12 people.
Bayside Women's Shelter will use the funds to provide a counselor for 10 weeks for all those that are at the shelter.