Women stand tall in Geelong manufacturing

OLD-SCHOOL sexism in the workplace is on the way out in manufacturing but women still need to be supported in standing up to disrespectful behaviour and to not feeling isolated.

These were among the messages at a Women in Manufacturing Network panel discussion in Geelong.

Four Viva Energy employees addressed issues including work-life balance and motherhood, career development and aspiration, leadership and mentoring and gender-related issues.

The challenge of women demanding respect in the workplace was a major theme.

Viva’s integrity manager Annie Martyn, process engineer Jessica Tay, field operator Lauren Klahsen and commercial manager Vanessa Kearney also spoke of the daily challenges of working in a dynamic environment at Viva Energy.

Ms Klahsen, a 13-year employee at Viva who works as a field operator in distillation, said there had been a change in behaviour towards women with “oldschool” disrespect, often perpetuated by older men, lessening over time.

When she started there had been nude pictures of women posted on a wall and a male colleague had a shot at her appearance.

“I have definitely seen a lot of change. The nudie pictures on the lunchroom wall are long gone,” she said.

When Ms Klahsen started in a male-dominated role, she felt proud to be there but “also wanted to be invisible”.

“It’s about finding the balance of asserting yourself as a women … and fitting in,” she said.

Ms Martyn said the attitudes of transient staff who came into the workplace during major turnovers were far worse than her regular male colleagues, with Viva’s culture “way ahead” of others.

“I was called a bitch seven times … but none of those were from regular staff,” she said.

Experience, courage and having the support of peers helped in calling out disrespectful behaviour.

Ms Martyn also spoke of the difficulty of maintaining a healthy work-life balance, made more complicated by the pressure of motherhood, in a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week working environment.

“We chose that and we will make that work,” , she said.