Jenni shares how she has navigated her career as a woman in a male-dominated industry and how she is working to support other women to do the same. She also shares her thoughts on why gender balance in leadership positions is so important and how we can achieve it.

In our conversation, we talk about the importance of having grit and determination to break through and call out inequity. Indeed, Jenni’s career is a great example of what can be achieved when you set your mind to it and don’t take no for an answer.

If you're a woman considering a career in a male-dominated industry, or if you're already working in one, this episode is for you.

WHAT YOU’LL DISCOVER IN THIS EPISODE:

• Leadership influences in Jenni’s life (04:18)
• Establishing a career in a male-dominated profession  (06:32)
• Why building a network is important(15:49)
• The challenge of being a mother in the Navy (17:01)
• Taking up leadership roles within an organisation as a woman (20:53)
• Jenni’s biggest lesson from the Navy (24:21)
• What is gender mainstreaming? (39:23)
• Jenni’s book, “Against the Wind” (45:17)
• Rapid fire questions with Jenni (51:50)

Quotes

“Gender equality is not a matter of political correctness, it's actually an operational imperative.” -Jenni Wittwer

“At the end of the day, in our work environments, in our communities, in our home, it's humans working together to achieve some kind of outcome.” -Martin Brooker

“Equality is not about treating people the same. It's about ensuring that everybody has equal access to opportunities, resources, power and control, regardless of the gender, and regardless of their diversity.” -Jenni Wittwer



.RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Against The Wind: How Women Can Be Their Authentic Selves In Male-Dominated Professions by Jennifer Wittwer 
  
  

WHERE TO FIND JENNI WITTWER

• Connect with Jenni on LinkedIn.
• Visit Jenni’s website here. 
• Women Veteran’s Australia 

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ABOUT JENNI WITTWER

Over 37 years of service in the Australian Defense Force and Royal Australian Navy make Jenni Wittwer a veteran. Although Jenni's career began in marine logistics, she eventually changed course to become a respected strategic human resource professional.

ADF and the larger defense and national security sector were led in implementing the United Nations (UN) Women Peace and Security agenda, spearheading the establishment of the Navy's Strategic Women's Advisor, and undertaking extensive cultural and workplace transformation. Jenni became the first gender advisor for the Australian Defence Force during an operational deployment to Afghanistan in 2013. Jenni's last ADF position saw her serving as a policy expert on peacekeeping and sexual exploitation and abuse at UN Women in New York.

Since ceasing to work full-time, Jen has written a course on sexual violence in conflict and gender equality in peacekeeping for the Peace Operations Training Institute (POTI) in the United States and contracted with UN Women Ukraine to establish a training framework on gender and WPS. For the period of 2019 to 2022, Jennifer is under contract with UN Women Jordan to develop the sector of security's capacity for gender mainstreaming.

Jenni has written extensively on gender equality, women's participation in the security sector, and women's roles in peace and security efforts. She is an international consultant, author, and speaker on gender and Women, Peace and Security. In 2020, she will release her first book, Against the Wind: How Women Can Be Their Authentic Selves in Male-Dominated Professions.

Jenni is a lifelong learner who is enrolled in the University of Canberra's Master of International Development program. Jenni was chosen to serve as an ambassador for the Australian Women in Business Awards and a non-executive director on the board of the International Women's Development Agency. She also serves as Chair of Women Veterans Australia, a member of the advisory board for Women in International Security Australia, and a certified coach.