International Women's Day: An interview with Jenny Petering, Patent Attorney at FB Rice, Melbourne, Australia
1. What are your top tips for other women to succeed?
Know your stuff and keep learning so you have genuine confidence in your own voice.
2. What wisdom would you have told your younger self, if you had the chance?
Don’t take things too personally. The way others act or think usually has very little to do with you – it’s really all about them.
So instead of doubting yourself or worrying about how you come across, focus on the cause or job at hand where you can have an impact and change outcomes.
3. How can an organisation encourage gender equality, inclusion and diversity?
Gender equality isn’t always about achieving a 50:50 balance at the leadership level, but often about how we develop and support all women in their working lives to reach their full potential and to enjoy their work.
As an organisation, we need to support and develop women for their particular circumstances - it’s not a one size fits all but relies on the company’s culture as well as the support mechanisms, i.e. flexibility, women in leadership roles etc.