Women from the Navy, Army and Air Force across the Gold Coast gathered this past week at a special Women in Defence - 'I Can You Can' luncheon to celebrate International Women's Day.
Celebrated annually on the 8th of March, International Women's Day represented an opportunity for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to host female focussed events to raise awareness of gender diversity in the ADF.
This was to highlight women's achievements and demonstrate Defence's support for women, both within the workforce and around Australia.
Flight Lieutenant Carlye Mills, Senior Military Recruiting Officer for Gold Coast, alongside her team, invited women from the Gold Coast and surrounds to attend the event, to hear from current serving women and learn how they too could pursue an inspirational and rewarding career within the ADF.
Flight Lieutenant Mills said she was excited to mentor the next generation and showcase the equal opportunity careers within reach for women in the Navy, Army and Air Force.
"For women in the ADF, our career options are as broad as our skills and capabilities. We are highly skilled technical professionals who work on or take control of sophisticated equipment and lead talented teams," Flight Lieutenant Mills said.
"This event was designed to show these young women that their possibilities in the ADF are endless."
The 2020 International Women's Day theme, Generation Equality, is a call to action to join forces and create equal opportunities to lead, learn, and live free from discrimination.
Gold Coast local, Jessica Trembath said meeting with the serving women has encouraged her towards a career in the ADF.
"An ADF career and lifestyle appeals to me because of the opportunity to step outside of my comfort zone," Jessica said.
"I'm looking forward to being a part of something larger than I am."
The 2016 Defence White Paper highlights the need to increase the participation of women in the Defence workforce, increasing diversity in voice, opinion and experience.
Director of Military Recruitment, Captain Jan Noonan (Navy), said Defence is committed to improving opportunities for women and creating a fairer and more inclusive work environment.
"Significant progress has been made to improve employment pathways to increase the representation of women in ADF. Defence has implemented gender diversity targets and embedded specialist female recruitment teams across Australia to raise the profile of the ADF as an 'employer of choice' for Australian women," Captain Noonan said.
"Options for greater flexibility have been implemented to ensure women's advancement is supported and not impacted adversely by taking career breaks or through seeking location stability.
"The ADF is most effective when the best Australian talent, male or female, is serving and contributing to our operations."
