industry & reform
Making more young women more visible in these positions will be key to attracting and retaining the future workforce , she says .
“ A lot of women in the sector are not clinical , but I think that there ’ s that perception that they are – that it ’ s nurses and carers .
“ I think about just my organisation : my HR staff are women , my marketing team are women , and my senior manager in aged care is a woman .
“ So I think we ’ ve got to showcase those people .”
The pipeline for women executives to fill corporate board seats in aged care is challenging , Nicky says , but with enough perseverance will vastly improve over time .
“ I had a CEO ring me up and say to me , ‘ Nicky , what you ’ re asking me to do is ask my board if they ’ ll put a young person on the board . Are you crazy ?’
“ But , interestingly enough , four years after that conversation he rang me and he said that he wanted to be part of this .
“ So , I think you always face resistance in the workplace , but you ’ ve just got to keep going , you have to be persistent and resilient .”
BETH DAVIDSON-PARK , GENERAL MANAGER , ALWYNDOR AGED CARE Beth Davidson-Park ’ s journey to the upper management of an aged care provider started , somewhat unusually , at a library .
After completing her undergraduate degree at Adelaide University , the South Australian native went to Melbourne and did a diploma in information management at RMIT , which then led her to working in libraries .
To this day she loves libraries , she says , because “ you know , libraries , information , community-hub – some of the best places in the world are libraries ”.
And since then , her working life has been all about continuing to serve the community .
From managing libraries to local government and then community services and managing large infrastructure projects , she has had a hand in the broad spectrum of community services and now , in aged care , as the general manager of Alwyndor Aged Care .
As someone coming into the care sector from outside , Beth uses her experience to achieve the ultimate outcome : doing what is best for the resident .
“ For me , it ’ s about freedom of choice and lifestyles ,” she tells Aged Care Insite .
“ I ’ m not a clinician . I know what I don ’ t know , and I ’ m fully value and strongly support the clinical elements of what we do , but I strive not to lose sight of the lifestyle or human factor in that .
“ And my concerns and my passion are that one of the measures of our success and indeed our funding rests on the outcomes we achieve for individuals and communities .”
She says that while clinical and financial outcomes are extremely important , a good aged care home cannot be measured on those outcomes alone .
“ Someone can receive the best clinical care , but are they also achieving what they want to achieve in their lives ? Are they as content as they could possibly be with whatever physical or psychological or psychological , cognitive restrictions or issues they might have ?
“ For me , that ’ s where I come from – ensuring that on whatever canvas I ’ m working people have the best life that they can .”
Beth , who serves and has served on a number of boards during her career , says
“ Understand
where you want to go , and just go for it .
Beth Davidson-Park
that rising to management in any industry is never easy , especially as men still dominate the boardroom .
“ I have no hesitation in holding my own around any table . I think the representation of women has certainly increased , but as you look across boards you see that the representation of men still dominates over women ,” she says .
“ I ’ ve certainly come up against , on different occasions in my career , very clear dominance of male views or very assertive views . But I guess I always operate from that skills , experience and values base . Work respectfully , but also demand respect .”
To any women looking to move into management in aged care , Beth says that having clear goals is important , as well as confidence in one ’ s own skills .
“ I would describe myself as feminist in many ways with feminist views , but that ’ s by acknowledging myself as competent , confident , able to do the job , holding my own view .
“ So , I think it is having that level of confidence in what you do , and being frank and fearless in the way you approach it .” ■
16 agedcareinsite . com . au