AGL Promotion
“Never, ever
think small,
always think big.”
Don’t Tell Me I Can’t
It’s not just young women establishing their careers who need help to meet their potential. Female
executives also require programs to unlock their capabilities, self-belief and leadership skills.P
haedra Deckart, General
Manager of Energy Supply
and Origination at AGL,
wasn’t surprised when
Jarvis, her seven-year-old
son, said that when he grew up he
wanted to be a daddy. “I have
fantastic support at home,” explains
Phaedra. Mother of two to Jarvis
and 11-year-old daughter Audrey,
Phaedra and husband Kym rejected
stereotypical parenting and career
roles. “As I stepped up into this
bigger role, Kym stepped into the
stay-at-home role,” explains Phaedra.
“It suits us, and I love the support.”
At work, Phaedra is also a
trailblazer. Headhunted by AGL
three years ago to run their gas
portfolio, Phaedra was the irst
woman to hold that position. “I’m
responsible for energy supply forwholesale markets,” says Phaedra.
“We also look after all structured
deals for gas, coal, electricity and
renewable energy.” Part of AGL’s
success in promoting women – 41
per cent in senior leadership roles –
comes from its commitment to
run their Illuminate development
programs, in partnership with
Inkling Women. Having taken part
herself, Phaedra describes it as “one
of the best things I’ve ever done in
my career”. A crucial element
of Illuminate involved Phaedra
shadowing AGL’s Chief Financial
Oficer, Brett Redman. “Brett gave
me so much guidance and exposure
to the executive team, and it’s made
me a much more conident leader.”
It’s this exposure that Phaedra
believes is essential for women to
take their careers to the executivelevel. “Women have a tendency to
play small, we think our hard work
is enough,” she says, adding women
often don’t know how to step up, or
have the networks. “The Illuminate
program helped me to identify my
strengths, and to calm my ‘lizard’
voice,” says Phaedra, describing the
inner critic that tells women they’re
not good enough. “Illuminate gave
me the conidence to acknowledge
that voice, and tell it to be quiet.”
Thanks to Illuminate, these days
Phaedra “plays a bigger game now”.
Still, she acknowledges there is a way
to go in breaking down barriers to
women in corporate life. “I have a
network of peers across the industry
dealing with unconscious bias; we
need to encourage more women into
these industries. AGL is doing great
things in this space.”WOMEN MEAN BUSINESS:
CLOSING THE GENDER
BIAS GAPWhile women make up 46 per cent
of the advertising industry, only 11
per cent of them are creative
directors.It could take another 216 years for
the gender pay gap to completely
close.
At AGL, 41 per cent of all
senior leadership positions
are filled by women.