On International Women’s Day, some of the state’s most influential female housing leaders came together to discuss collective leadership, hosted by the Australian Housing Institute.
Rebecca Pinkstone, CEO of Homes NSW – the largest landlord in the southern hemisphere – set the tone early. She reminded the sector that “housing is a feminist issue and it’s really important for us to think of that when we’re here on International Women’s Day.”
She highlighted the gendered reality of housing need: “You can’t separate out housing and homelessness from the fact that the majority of the people we’re seeing are women. They’re escaping family and domestic violence, or they’re impacted by housing insecurity because they haven’t had equal pay throughout their lives. And, they’ve had caring responsibilities.”
Jennifer Westacott, the Chancelor of Western Sydney University and an RBA board member, reflected on how growing up in public housing shaped her leadership.
“It was my mother’s fear of our tenancy manager that will haunt me all my life. It gave me moral clarity. It drove my commitment to the work we did collectively to make people’s lives better.”
Values, she said, must sit at the heart of leadership: “For collective dynamics to work, values driven leadership really matters. And this is not just a set of words on a wall. It’s a deep, ethical commitment to a set of behaviours that guide what you do and how you do it.
“You can see values playing out in the policies and actions of institutions. When I see certain actions, good and bad, I often ask, what were the values that underpinned that decision making process?”
The panel also addressed the pressing challenge of how to effectively support customers experiencing extreme marginalisation, acute loneliness and mental health concerns.
Tenant networks and community building – core strengths of the community housing sector – were highlighted as part of the solution.
Saint George Community Housing (SGCH) Group CEO Debi Marriott-Lavery emphasised the importance of creating the right environment for every individual: “It’s so important to place a person in the right environment where they have that absolute sense of belonging. That’s the ideal.
“I think we’ve also got to get smarter around our data to get the right insights about our customers.”
Closing the event, The Honorary Rose Jackson, Minister for Housing and Homelessness, reinforced the power of partnerships in continuing to solve the housing crisis.
“We have $130 million of new money to grow more crisis accommodation. There’s no sense the job is done, but there is new money and new energy coming into housing, and it’s being led by the women in this room. So yes, the fight continues, but I’m so pleased to be on that journey with you.”