ECU VC Professor Clare Pollock and Pearl Proud.
Edith Cowan University (ECU) marked International Women's Day with a special event centred on justice, celebrating leadership, inclusion and the next generation of women in the workforce, featuring respected business leader and ECU alum Pearl Proud as guest speaker.
The event, held in the heart of Perth, was chaired by ECU Vice-Chancellor Clare Pollock and included a conversation with Pearl reflecting on leadership and legacy. The morning concluded with a vote of thanks from the President of the ECU Women in Business and Leadership Association (WIBLA), Christelle Robbetze, recognising Pearl’s insights and the importance of supporting and empowering women across the University community.
Pearl encouraged young women to think of leadership as evolving through distinct stages and to set legacy expectations early on.
Speaking about the trajectory of a professional career, Pearl encouraged young women to think of leadership as evolving through distinct phases and to set legacy goals early on.
"I think about careers as having three phases and dealing with the challenges we face going along these three phases. In the first phase, we need to back ourselves. We need to skill up. We need to have self-belief, and we need to have work ethic to do the task. You hunker down and you do the thing," she said.
Pearl said as women progress through their careers, their influence, and responsibility, grows.
"When you get to mid-phase of your career, you are more empowered to talk to the structures that are in place, to challenge the powers-that-be to actively change things at a systematic level."
She also urged early-career professionals to think long-term about the impact they want to have.
"When you are in the early career stage, think about what is going to be the legacy you want to leave behind, because you want to start building legacy really early, and continue to question yourself on the reasons behind decisions. Understand the 'why'."
ECU VC Professor Clare Pollock and Pearl Proud.
A lasting legacy
Pearl reminded the audience that no woman reaches leadership alone, and that their achievements are the result of collective effort and generations of advocacy.
"Any woman who ends up in senior leadership, she didn't get there on her own," she said.
"It's been a collective investment made by a whole community… She has merit, she has the smarts, but there's a collective investment that's been made, and we want the collective dividends."
She noted that women leaders also carry a responsibility to those who came before them and to those who will follow.
"We walk a path that's been lit for us by ancestors. We walk a path that's been lit for us by women who've been and gone. We are lighting a path for the women, and all the young girls who has been growing and dreaming," she said.
Challenging leaders to hold themselves to the highest standard, Pearl urged attendees to reflect on how they use their influence and whether their actions would make the generations of women who came before them proud.
WIBLA President Christelle Robbetze presented a vote of thanks.
