Celebrating gender diversity

As a woman in a male-dominated industry, RACQ Group Executive Banking Michelle Winzer has experienced gender bias throughout her 30-year career.

Ms Winzer said she faced numerous instances of prejudice while working in the financial services industry.

“When you are the only person of a particular gender in the room it can feel very isolating and you can feel very alone,” Ms Winzer said.

“I didn’t have a strong voice and I didn’t feel supported to have a strong voice.

“It’s only in the last 15 years that I’ve started to understand that… my perspective is really valuable and there was a lot that I could add to the discussion.”

Ms Winzer said women taking on leadership positions had changed workplace cultures.

“Going from being the only woman in the room to starting to get a really good balance and diversity,” she said.

“There’s much better business outcomes because there’s different perspectives in the discussion.”

As chair of RACQ’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Ms Winzer is committed to supporting gender equality.

“We took far too long in Australia, across all industries to understand the benefit of having gender-diverse teams and to support women in their careers,” she said.\

“I’m proud to be the chair of RACQ’s Diversity and Inclusion group. For me it’s about helping people to achieve their potential and making people feel comfortable being themselves in the workplace.”