Star boss on breaking down barriers, male bias and once being dubbed a ‘token woman’
TOKEN? NOT IN 2021
As the Gold Coast Women of the Year awards launch, Star Gold Coast boss Jess Mellor opens up in a revealing interview on pushing through barriers at other firms in her early years: “A male colleague (once) said ‘I agree to Jess getting that – as the token woman’.”
THE setting is a boardroom years ago and Jess Mellor – still on her way up the corporate ladder – is “excited” by an opportunity coming her way. Sharing the room with her are eight other male directors, senior company advisors and top executives plus two women in senior roles.
The reason for the gathering can’t be disclosed or it will potentially identify people. It was not Star where she is now the Gold Coast’s chief operating officer with 2000 staff. But she recalls: “I was young and (the opportunity) was a big deal.” And then it happened, something, she’ll never forget.
“A male colleague said in a room full of peers ‘I agree to Jess getting that – as the token woman in this position’,” she recounts to the Bulletin.
For the high-achieving 36-year-old, now one of the city’s most respected corporate figures, it is a mere blip on a career path that has seen her turn around a loss-making Canberra casino as CEO where other more experienced executives had failed. She now runs one of the Gold Coast’s most popular attractions: Star’s Broadbeach Island entertainment precinct. In a revealing interview she opens up on male chauvinism, concern about “influencer culture”, fears about COVID-19 impacts on her team and calling out “unacceptable” gender bias “which can be confronting and career-limiting”.
PORTIA LARGE: Have you experienced resistance from men when climbing the corporate ladder? Without naming names - could you share any particularly challenging moments?
JESS MELLOR: There have been many but I don’t hold onto them. The most memorable time I went ‘What?’ was when a male colleague said in a room full of peers in a previous role: “I agree to Jess getting that, as the token woman in this position.” And I have never encountered something like that before. So that was confronting, it’s memorable, but not emotional for me. Everything is partly ability, partly hard work and partly luck. I try to focus on these things - not worry too much about uncontrollable, external influences.
PL: Were there other women in the room? Or was it all men?
JM: Predominantly male, but there were other women in the room who were stunned. Afterward, we were like how bizarre. Did that really happen? That was crazy.
PL: Did it make you feel like he was questioning if you were capable/worthy?
JM: Well yeah, I think it was. When you ask me the question like that, yes effectively that statement conveys: ‘She could be a potato in a sack and it would be as effective as having a person in it - because she’s ticking a gender box and that’s all we need’.”
PL: Does it fire you up?
JM: It does but also I was like, eye roll and move on. Because you have to have a certain level of self-confidence to do this kind of thing right. So I just go okay, well you know, I’ll show you - but not in an aggressive way, in a way that’s like, NEXT.
PL: What is the most significant barrier to female leadership? What has been the most significant in your career?
Do the most challenging thing you could possibly do and cry in the car on the way home, hug your dog and then get up and do it again Star GC’s Jess Mellor
For me, you walk a fine line between accepting the unacceptable - or what I think is unacceptable in terms of bias and calling that out, which can be confronting, and career-limiting sometimes. You’re always walking that line of how far you can push and when do you accept it - and how do you deal with that acceptance within yourself.
PL: Advice for those who would like to follow in your footsteps?
JM: Building resilience is incredibly important. Whatever that looks like.
PL: How do you do it?
JM: Do something hard, that’s scary. Do the most challenging thing you could possibly do and cry in the car on the way home, hug your dog, then get up again the next day and do it again. It’ll be easier. In a year you’ll look back and realise you’ve built the resilience to handle that situation and much more. Be as brilliant at what you do as you can be - then tell everyone about it. Talk about your work, career, and your achievements as if you were talking about your best friend’s work, career, and achievements. If that feels intensely uncomfortable, ask yourself why it’s uncomfortable. The answer to that will be the most important career development reflection; because you’ve got to get comfortable with ‘I am good at this thing and not ashamed - I am capable’.
PL: What goes through your mind when you think of women who joined the workforce before you?
JM: I am so grateful to women who have come before us and paved the way. They had to work very hard to assimilate into male-dominated workplaces and at times that meant they had to sacrifice some of what it means to be a woman. Those valuable attributes that women contribute create true diversity of thought, opinion, and better problem-solving outcomes. They had to give up some of that inherent femininity to just have a seat at the table - I am grateful for that sacrifice. Now we as a cohort of female leaders can be feminine, we can be women and create true diversity. It’s amazing.
PL: What’s been your best decision?
JM: To go overseas when I was 19 because you grow at rapid speed. It’s a really important step in becoming resilient. The UK for two years. Tight budgeting, I was poor as sh--. I had two jobs, couldn’t afford to eat meat. Proper travel.
PL: Do you think we have here in Australia?
JM: I remember the day I decided to come home. I was walking down the street and there was exhaust in my face on my way to the tube station. I was on my way to work and I was like I’m done here.
PL: What’s the first place you’ll go when we’re able to travel again?
JM: Las Vegas. It’s like going to Mecca for someone like me. I’ll go to the airport and buy a ticket to anywhere.
PL: Most difficult moment of 2020 for you? The pandemic - COVID-19 restrictions, lockdowns, staff lay-offs? Shutting down a 24-hour venue? How did they shape you as a better leader?
JM: It was how shutting down the property affected my team. On the day we closed it all happened very quickly, and there was no JobKeeper, there was nothing at that time. It was March 23, 2020, and we closed at 4AM. It was just the worst. The team was so kind to each other and so beautiful in the way we all got stuck in and packed up this place that had never closed in 35 years. I literally had to walk around with one of my team and work out how to lock some of the doors because they’d never been locked - we had to add timber bars. People could have been so angry, sad, scared but everyone was kind, gracious, humble, beautiful. I was incredibly scared but intensely proud of how we managed the uncertainty. I was scared for my team - how long we’d be closed and financially what that meant for everyone. Glad we came out of it and are doing very well now.
PL: How would you describe operation since covid? it good
JM: Uncertainty is everywhere - and we do whatever it takes to press forward. Now more than ever, I am conscious to be clear on decisions right or wrong - because wherever we can create certainty there’s calm. Uncertainty creates a lot of problems. Even if we are too conservative, we are providing clarity. Remove uncertainty wherever we can.
PL: Do you care what people think?
JM: Don’t worry about what other people think. I know it’s easier said than done, for so many women, to switch off. I really worry about influencer culture. I think to stand for something - understand your values, align your life to them, and as long as you know what you stand for and live in line with those values – it doesn’t matter what anyone else says. At the end of the day, you reflect on your life and realise you made decisions or behaved in a way you were comfortable with that makes you feel good. Screw what everyone who is using Bondi Boost wants - they actually have no impact on you.
PL:Do you feel there’s pressure on younger girls who know no different?
JM: Disconnection and loneliness are also an epidemic - the apps are there to create a connection but they destroy it at the same time. It’s polarising. I feel out of touch when I talk about this because I’m a millennial but I say no to social media.
PL: What’s your screen time? Worklife balance?
JM: Too much. Terrible - I am just so lucky Luke, my partner, is so understanding. One of my personality profile traits is achiever or achievement. So I need to be achieving every day or I am unhappy. I get achievement from hard work. I’ll admit it’s a blind spot for me and I have to deal with it.
PL: Eventually?
JM: It’s one of those unhealthy habits I’d never encourage for others, so why do I overwork myself? It’s on my workingon list.
PL: Do you continue to work after work because you don’t want to drop the ball?
JM: I genuinely love it, I love being on top of everything and knowing everything is done before I can relax.
PL: Did you ever imagine that you would be a CEO by 30? How did it feel?
JM: No. The truth is it feels lonely. It’s important if you want to be a leader to understand you’re not adored. It’s lonely. You feel a sense of achievement, but it’s tough because you only have yourself to turn to when decisions are to be made. One of the reasons not many people become CEOs when they’re young is you don’t necessarily have the coping mechanisms to deal with those feelings of loneliness or stress. I always think it’s important to fully prepare for their dreams because if you get there and go this is not what I signed up for, no one told me it was going to feel like this then I don’t think we are sending the right messages about the good and tough parts of leadership.
PL: How do you deal with those feelings?
JM: I’ve been so lucky my whole career to have an incredible network and mentors and sponsors and people around me to reach out to and sometimes cry in the car on the way home. Sometimes it’s reaching out to people who have walked that path before you - that’s healthy and then sometimes it’s crying in the car. Both are totally acceptable.