"There are so many capable First Nations women. A barrier we have is that organisations – be they corporate, government or philanthropic – are defining us by our gender and culture. Those organisations need to be clear that First Nations women can have opinions and experience on a broad range of public policy."
Fiona Jose is the Chief Executive Officer of the Cape York Partnership (CYP). Fiona has held multiple management positions in her journey to executive leadership. These have included roles and responsibilities both internal and external to CYP. Notably, prior to her current role, Fiona has the CEO of the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership.
In our conversation we spoke about Fiona's unique journey into executive leadership, and the barriers he faced by virtue of her gender and ethnicity as an Indigenous woman. She speaks to the broader issue of gender equality in leadership positions, and exactly how Indigenous women strengthen the collective knowledge and skillsets of organisations once they finally gain access to those roles.
We also spoke about the importance of female Indigenous role models, the vision of CYP, CYP's emphasis on youth and the values of leadership education and co-design.
Finally, Fiona shares her perspective on how particular socioeconomic factors in Cape York are either improving or still posing a challenge.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.