The sky's the limit
Inside NAB's flagship building in Melbourne's Docklands precinct, light floods in through a stunning, atrium roof - but that's where the glass ceiling begins and ends.
In fact, at NAB, women are actively encouraged and supported to climb the highest rungs of the corporate ladder. The bank's industry-leading initiatives, such as its Women@nab forums, and its emphasis on work-life balance, ensure that nothing stops them from reaching the top.
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Just ask Lisa Gray, Retail General Manager with Retail Financial Services. She partly attributes her rise up the ranks to NAB's recognition of the unique skills and perspectives that women bring to the job.
"Women tend to be genuine team players," she explains. "For instance, I like to create the kind of team environment where we can only achieve if we work together, and while I have strong self-belief, I can leave my ego at the door. I think that's what it takes to be a real leader, whether you're a man or a woman."
Colleen Harris, General Manager of People Programs, agrees. As head of the team responsible for fostering talent at NAB, she knows first-hand the opportunities that exist for natural born leaders.
"With more and more females progressing to senior roles within the bank there's no limit to what a woman can achieve at NAB," she says. "My advice would be to open your mind to all the possibilities."
Which is exactly what technology graduate, Bree O'Donohue, has done. Despite working in a male-dominated field, she is already making her mark and looking forward to a long and fulfilling career in IT.
"At NAB, being a woman has never put me at a disadvantage," she says. "In fact, I've developed a lot of close friendships with some of the guys, and I actually find, in some cases, that being a woman is a good thing because I stand out from the crowd!"
What NAB women have to say:
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Lisa Gray, Regional General Manager, Retail Financial Services
"Because there's such an enormous variety of roles available at NAB, it's important to stay clear in your own mind about the types of experiences and skills you'll need to achieve your goals. Learning how to navigate around the place, get things done and let people know you exist are challenges in any large organisation, but NAB has a number of support structures in places to ease the way.
Whether you're a woman or a man, you need to take control and be very clear about the career you want, the type of leader you want to be and the opportunities you would like to create. Consciously managing your 'brand' is important because at the end of the day, it's all you have. It needs to worthy and enduring."
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Skye Dixon, Industry Economics Team, Agribusiness:
"My time with NAB has been highly rewarding. The bank has taken an active interest in my career progression and I'm always being presented with new and exciting opportunities. In fact, the bank was so eager to further my career that it offered me the agribusiness economist role while I was on career break in South America!
In a male-dominated sector like agriculture, there is added pressure on a woman to prove herself, but NAB gives me all the support and encouragement I need to meet this challenge head-on."
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Bree O'Donohue, Graduate Business Analyst, NAB Technology:
"Being a graduate at NAB has been a lot of fun. I haven't experienced any of the typical barriers that women face in the workplace…
My advice to new graduates is to find mentors, both male and female, to get some different perspectives on life at the bank. Everyone will have a different opinion on corporate life, and by getting a cross-section of these people to sit down with you for a coffee once a month and have a chat about your career, you'll have a sound foundation of knowledge on which to base your decisions."
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Teri Tay, Graduate Business Analyst, NAB Technology:
"Never be intimated by a male-dominated workplace; in this era, what a man can do, a woman can do the same, if not better!
Some female graduates might think that IT is all about computers and back-room work, but that's not necessarily the case at NAB. In fact, women are encouraged to take on face-to-face roles because of their organisational and people skills. If you're a woman and are considering a role at NAB then give it a go!"
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