The ongoing push for equality

Jess Mellor is the youngest chief operating officer appointed by The Star Entertainment Group, having risen from the Gold Coast site’s general manager to COO within months back in 2019. She opens up on the drive for gender equality by Star, tall poppy syndrome and why the Gold Coast Bulletin Women of the Year awards are an important project for Star Gold Coast.

Portia Large:

Why did Star Gold Coast decide to support the Gold Coast Bulletin Woman of the Year Awards again and come on board as a sponsor?

Jess Mellor: Diversity and inclusion are just such key pillars of The Star’s values, and particularly, our employee value proposition. And so it’s really important, I think, to demonstrate to our team that we’re taking part in a broader conversation about diversity and equality. I’ve been recently appointed as the Executive Sponsor of Balance, which is our gender diversity, employee network and I’m absolutely loving my work in that space. It also has been a real eye opener, as to how much further we still have to go and I’m really pleased that The Star, as such a big brand, can support and use its voice to help contribute to the conversation; and that I can personally be a part of that as well.

PL: When we spoke last year you shared your professional journey and the shocking moment you were once referred to by a male colleague – at a previous place of employment – as the ‘token

woman’ in a leadership role. How did you feel when this comment was made public in our story? I remember your Linkedin post at the time was getting a lot of traction. Were you overwhelmed by the outpouring of support?

JM: For me, personally, I probably suffer a little bit from something that is common amongst women – that it feels uncomfortable to talk about your experience and your success to some degree. It’s something that I’m working on getting used to. My advice to other women is always embrace it, be comfortable, marinate in it, enjoy it. And so I’ve got to take a bit of my own advice.

PL:

I believe sharing your story made a huge impact on our community. When you joined us at the 2021 Women of the Year Awards, were you surprised by some of the stories that were shared by finalists?

JM: I’m absolutely blown away, every year, by the incredible stories that are being played out all around us in this community. I’m so glad there’s a platform for those to be shared and for us to hear about these women who are feeling uncomfortable, essentially about promoting what they’re doing or what they’re achieving. I’m really grateful that the Gold Coast Bulletin has given that opportunity for them to have a voice.

PL:

Are women in particular subject to tall poppy and imposter syndrome in Australia? We changed the awards call to action from ‘nominate’ to ‘nominate or apply’ because there were so many people who didn’t feel comfortable nominating themselves.

JM: There’s two, two parts to it. I think impostor syndrome does play a part, particularly in women understanding what they have done is special or great. But there’s also an element of generally being a high achiever in any of the categories that the awards look at. And high achievers often don’t stop to acknowledge the progress. That’s such a valuable part of generating self worth and it’s important.

PL:

What are your targets for female employment at The Star? The Star Entertainment Group is a leading organization, closing the equality gap between men and women, working toward a workplace of diversity and inclusion.

JM: We’re probably closer to 50-50 across all levels of the business. Employing the first female GM of surveillance is a huge step, because those kinds of leadership roles, particularly in that area of the business, it’s nice to kind of see some diversity in that area. We have lots of up-and-coming female talent. We’ve got some incredible chefs, who are winning all sorts of national and international awards, and they will be the kind of female leaders of the future of our culinary world, which is amazing. I’m so proud we can develop that talent internally. And not being afraid to have targets and kind of work openly towards them.

PL:

Do you feel protective of other women coming up through the ranks?

Certainly, you cannot make it to any senior leadership role without resilience, whether you’re male or female

JM: Certainly, you cannot make it to any senior leadership role without resilience, whether you’re male or female. Whilst I am protective of our up-and-coming female leaders, I also don’t want to wrap them in cotton wool, because that’s not what the world is like, and they’re still going to have to fight because we’re not there yet. And they’re gonna have to be more competent and more polite and better at playing the game. I don’t want to take that away from them because it’s actually part of the journey.