Female entrepreneurs are on the rise in Australia. Interestingly 20 per cent of start ups that are founded by females are founded by female migrants, with Germany being one of the top ten countries in which female entrepreneurs come from. GABWA – the German Australian Business Women Association – offers a platform for German speaking businesswomen, those who aspire to be one and businesswomen working in management positions in Australian based companies. Claudia Loeber-Raab, Editor in Chief of the online publication Deutsche in Melbourne, attended a recent meeting of GABWA in Melbourne and listened to issues these women are facing.
By Claudia Loeber-Raab
Businesswomen are on the rise
Pardon? German Australian Business Women Association? Does something like that exist? There is only one answer to this slightly bizarre question: Oh, yes! It does exist!
According to statistics from 2016 there are around 2.17 million businesses in Australia. One third is managed or own by a woman. The tendency that women will found or take over businesses is growing steadily.
Interestingly, around 20 per cent of businesses that are founded by females are founded by female migrants. Germany belongs to the top ten countries, where these female entrepreneur migrants come from.
Katrin Reichert, an energetic power woman with a career in the German Army as well as in the corporate world of her country of choice, Australia, and a MBA under her belt, founded the German Australian Business Women Association in 2015.
The goal of the not-for-profit organisation is to serve as a platform for German speaking women in Australian businesses so that they can exchange their experience. GABWA aims to help its members to extend their professional network and to support each other which is not only important for women in general but in particular for migrant women.
German Australian Business Women Association with over 500 members
Many of the by now over 500 members can be found in New South Wales. The Queensland chapter has just been established in the presence of Dr. Anna Prinz, ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Australia, a couple of weeks ago during the German Week in Brisbane.
In Victoria too German speaking business women, those who aspire to be business women and women working in diverse Australian based enterprises meet. One of their recent meetings took place in Melbourne’s Hophaus. Victorian coordinator of GABWA Ingrid Nienaber-Dicksen and Cora Zillich, had organised the event.
What are topics that women – in particular migrant women – working in the Australian world of business are interested in? Where do they see the need for support and exchange of ideas? These were some of the questions, GABWA wanted to find answers to. The goal is to put a program together for 2018 for more regular events helpful for German speaking women who aim to develop and further their career so they can draw upon a powerful network.
Speaking of networks: One thing that newcomers to Australia usually realise very quickly – in particular when looking for a job – is that networks are crucial in Australia. Cora Zillich, Communications and PR Consultant with a focus on sports, has been living in Australia for nine years. The former rowing Olympian shared her observation that many of these networks are often formed in schools.
The Australian term “Boys’ Club” – a term that is often used to refer to a tightly knitted organisation, society or work culture that often hinders women to be part of it – came up in this context and resonated strongly with all of the women attending the GABWA meeting.
Many of them talked about double hurdles they needed and still need to overcome as a female migrant with no professional network and confronted with “Boys’ club” behaviour from time to time.
A common problem is also that often degrees – even from renowned German Universities – are not recognised in Australia. Some women (and men) can look back on years of work experience in respected international companies in senior roles plus an exceptional degree. However, although they might have been living and working in Australia for a while, some are still unable to climb back to the step in their career ladder that they had reached when they left Germany.
Career change due to complicated process of recognition of degrees
The problem is a well known in circles of German speaking migrants regardless of gender. The issue is often the recognition or rather non-recognition of education and degrees obtained outside of Australia. Due to a different education system, recognition of professions are often complicated, impossible or only possible with additional studies that are often time and money consuming. For many they seem a waste since they often don’t differ from studies that were already undertaken outside Australia.
Jutta Portelli for example, who also joined the GABWA meeting, trained as a nurse in Germany. Despite further specific professional qualification, she was denied working as a nurse after her migration to Australia 20 years ago.
Instead of going through a highly complicated process of recognition of prior learning, she decided to start new in the travel industry. After various roles in this industry where she amongst other roles had been working as a Business Development Manager for many years, Jutta decided to start her own travel business. Jutta attended the GABWA event to extend her network and to seize the chance to get together with like minded German speaking women.
Lack of network is a major issue
An interest she shared with Marina Condic. After her long and successful career in international freight forwarding, German-born Marina recently thought it was time for a career change. Over the years she had become interested in real estate and consequently opted for a new career here. Personally much happier with her job choice, the down side is that she needs to build a new professional network from scratch. Hence her attendance of the GABWA meeting.
Heidi Wernke is well familiar with Marina’s situation. Born and raised in Germany she came to Australia to work in the corporate world. However, when she realised her true passion lies somewhere else, she courageously left her successful career behind to go back to uni and study photography. She now works as a photographer in Melbourne with her own studio.
Meeting other German speaking women with whom they connected straight away due to the same cultural background, provide Heidi and Marina with the opportunity to make new contacts. However, there was more: the women also exchanged strategies for extending their network and discussed how crucial the role of Social Media is when advancing in their careers or building their businesses.
The need for career advice and planning
Jana Com, Operations Manager and Business Analyst, for example, provided helpful advice regarding job interviews based on her experience of selecting candidates for jobs during her own career.
Jana too, was able to relate to issues that the lack of networks in Australia causes. She remembered well working in Melbourne’s Lufthansa Call Center shortly after her arrival in Australia though she had a degree in Commerce and International Business Management. By the way, amongst her colleagues in the Call Centre were highly qualified lawyers, doctors, teachers – all united by the lack of work experience in Australia.
One of the reasons Jana was still able to build her career in Australia – in addition to her professional qualifications – she contributes to the fact that her former boss encouraged and gave her the opportunity to educate her in areas she needed to advance in her career.
Persistence and endurance is a must when looking for jobs and networks
Many of the women at the GABWA meeting agreed that obtaining support and advice is essential for career development and hence that GABWA’s goals are useful.
Laura Soros, now Head of Languages of a renowned Melbourne private school, pointed out how important it is, to be persistent when looking for a job and building a professional network. Before scoring her first permanent position, Laura who studied to become a teacher in Germany, had to work as a so called substitute teacher for more than a year. Almost every day she taught at a different school driving incredible distances.
Ingrid Nienaber-Dicksen, working in Corporate Communications, announced that the next GABWA meeting will be early next year.
The article was first published in German on Deutsche in Melbourne
Claudia Löber-Raab is a Melbourne based German journalist and the founder and Editor in Chief of the Online News and Lifestyle Portal Deutsche in Melbourne – the best contact point to connect with the German speaking community in Melbourne and Australia.
She is also an expert in communication and marketing with focus on Social Media and creating Social Media campaigns for businesses driving customer engaging and sales. Contact her if you want valuable content that catches and captivates readers’ attention via email claudia.raab@deutscheinmelbourne.net oder Twitter @Dia_LoeberRaab .