By Sarah Schwager
TOP businesswomen from around Greater Dandenong gathered at Sandown Racecourse on Friday for a breakfast showcasing local women in business.
The first speaker at the breakfast, held by council-funded business networking organisation South East Networks, was Master Grocers Australia (MGA) CEO Jennifer Flanagan.
Ms Flanagan joined MGA in 1998 when it was on its way to becoming defunct.
Six months into the job she was made executive officer, but she said it took another five years to get the ‘C’ on the title.
Ms Flanagan said she made up for her lack of education – she left school at 16 – with very high standards. She encouraged other businesspeople to be confident in themselves and in their business.
“No-one knows your business like you do,” she said. But Ms Flanagan said the business world’s glass ceiling still very much existed.
“The women in this room will work twice as hard as the men to get half the acknowledgment,” she said.
Dandenong women’s outreach service Wellsprings for Women CEO Ann Halpin provided some insight on the service, which she set up 11 years ago.
Ms Halpin previously worked as a school principal and pastoral worker and decided to form the service to help women dealing with a range of issues from family breakdowns and mental health issues to women seeking asylum.
Wellsprings now helps more than 250 women across Greater Dandenong.
Ms Halpin said she had been delighted and surprised by the confidence of the women coming out of the service.
The other main speaker – much to the delight of those attending – was Dandenong Rangers co-captain and 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medalist Emily McInerny.
Ms McInerny has played in the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) since 1994 and has been named the WNBL Defensive Player of the Year seven times. At 15, Ms McInerny was invited to Canberra to study at the Australian Institute of Sport.
The 27-year-old said it had been a tough journey and she had made a lot of sacrifices to get where she was.
“The sacrifices continue to this day. Last year I missed my brother’s wedding because I was in China,” she said.
Ms McInerny also works in sales at a steel company and said there were few women who earned enough money to live off in basketball.
