How Indigenous women can take a greater leadership role

It’s impossible to write about being Indigenous, being a woman and the challenges of leadership without reflecting on my own feelings and experiences, the things that guide and inspire me, and the tough aspects of playing all these roles at the same time.

To my mind, you cannot speak about the need for leadership within our communities without being prepared to take on responsibility yourself. It’s not enough to point the finger at those who have let us down and to expect others to come forward and fix our problems.

Nor can anyone afford to call themselves a leader unless they truly have the interests of our community at heart. Too many people like to think they are leaders and too many are identified by the media as leaders who are not really leaders at all.

The reality of being a leader is not necessarily about earning big money or being recognised on the street. And this is particularly true of our women leaders, many of whom work tirelessly, thanklessly, behind the scenes to make their communities healthy.

Women leaders face great sacrifices, especially in terms of the time they would prefer to spend with family, let alone having time to themselves for rest and recreation. For single mothers, like me, there is a heavy toll and were it not for family support mechanisms, these extra responsibilities would be impossible to fulfil.

So what are the challenges of leadership for Indigenous women?

Number one, it’s about putting yourself "out there" in the first place. People in our communities are very suspicious of those who stand out from the crowd or big-note themselves. There is a real danger that you can been seen as a tall poppy, and there is much jealousy and envy in our community.

It’s important to strike a balance, and there's a fine line between achieving that balance and putting people offside.

The essential rule to follow as a leader is never forget where you’ve come from or who put you there. Stay in touch with your local mob, especially the aunties and uncles. I have aunties back home who pray for me all the time in the work that I do and they tell me this whenever they see me. It is an enormous comfort to me.

The greatest challenge out there in the wider community, I believe, is that non-Indigenous people judge you by different standards. You get by if you present well and are articulate, and if you are consistent with your messages. A good education goes a long way - I have been blessed by one and am very proud to have it.

All leaders are actors in the different roles they play and in the wider community you are expected to be able to modify your behaviour and language in different situations without losing sight of who you are.

The ability to communicate with people from all walks of life is important. My son often says I am a chameleon, changing my communication styles depending on whom I’m talking to. It’s true in many ways but not a bad thing - I enjoy the challenge of good communication and using it to bring out the best in people.

My family keeps me grounded so that none of this goes to my head or changes me at the core. Without family and the support I receive from women generally, plus the people I work with, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, it would be a lot harder to do what I do. I draw on them for comfort, support and nourishment all the time. You simply cannot do this stuff on your own or without accepting help from others.

The other thing I would say about leadership is that people can pick phonies (especially my mob). If you are not fair dinkum, if you put on airs and graces and are not being yourself, you’re finished.

Be natural and with a bit of spit and polish from your minders, if you are lucky enough to have them, it will happen for you.

Respect other people as much as you respect yourself. Be confident in who you are and what you can produce. As a leader, you should never say things that you don’t mean or that you wouldn’t want others to overhear. If you don't know the answer to a question, be honest about it because people respect and respond to that honesty. My message comes from my gut reaction sometimes and I find this to be the most powerful instinct of all.

Take an interest in everybody, no matter how significant or insignificant they are, or think they are. We are all part of this evolving human race.

The responsibilities of leadership for women in our communities are all-encompassing, incorporating everything from dealing with domestic violence to sending the children to school. Just identifying the extent of these responsibilities is exhausting.

They are different for each community and situation, as we are not homogenous. Leadership means that you need to respect differences of views and start from where people are at - not where you want them to be. The trick is to listen, listen, listen, then act. Manage your often-competing responsibilities by using your networks. Never promise to do something that you cannot do. Never let people down – if you can’t help them, let them know and they will respect you for it. Be personable but truthful – leadership that is not reliable will inevitably come back to bite you.

It is an inspiration that, increasingly, Aboriginal women have our own models of leadership demonstrated at present through women such as Evelyn Scott, Lowitija O'Donoghue, Doris Pilkington and May O'Brien: senior Indigenous women who show true strength. I look up to them and many others, and learn from them according to our Indigenous way of learning and acquiring knowledge.

Often I will seek their counsel and advice on issues. The strength and dignity of having gone through a lifetime of trauma and survived to lead is something that we should all aspire to as Indigenous women.

Finally, I must come to the core challenges faced by Indigenous women leaders: racism and sexism. And, again, I can only really comment on these challenges by reflecting on how they have affected me.

First of all, I identify as a human being. Then Aboriginal, then woman, mother, sister, aunt, and then to my professional roles at Reconciliation Australia and the University of Queensland.

Indigenous women experience simultaneous oppressions including sexism and racism, and sometimes it’s hard to pinpoint which oppression is being experienced at a particular time. If you are dark-skinned and look Aboriginal, most often it's racism.

When I look in the mirror each morning, I see a black face. As I look a bit longer, I see the face of a woman.

My first identity is that of my race. So with all the trials and tribulations of being a female Aboriginal leader, that is what I feel I face up to first. Accordingly, my deepest connection and priority is to Indigenous people.

Sexism was more of an issue for me when I was much younger, and I know this is still the case for young Indigenous women I work alongside. Sexism gets easier as you get older and grow in "senior woman" status. Perhaps the men become more respectful, a little more frightened of you.

But it was always racism that I felt as a much greater liability for me in achieving what I wanted to achieve. What I would say is that women who experience sexism or racism must confront these forms of discrimination head-on and never tolerate or accept them.

In addressing all the difficult sides of leadership – and they are very real – I should also reflect on the wonderful aspects of being identified as someone who cares for their community. Which is why it is so important for women to make themselves known in different capacities within their own communities. If your community doesn't know who you are, leadership is much harder, much less legitimate.

I had the great advantage of coming from a well-known and respected family which was always part of the community. Once your community sees you doing things for it, people feel and show pride and support which is the greatest of gifts and reinforcements. It far outweighs the difficulties of leadership.

And when you are noticed for the good job you are doing in the community, there’s a chain reaction where you are identified to take on bigger and broader responsibilities. This is why there is such a hunger for emerging young Indigenous leaders at the national level and why it's vital for older leaders to mentor, communicate and allow younger people to take the lead also.

It's a very Aboriginal thing to do, to give younger people greater responsibilities within the community as they become able to take those responsibilities on. It is a culturally appropriate transfer of roles that involves respect in both directions – from the younger to the older and the older to the younger.

Every day I speak to my Mother who passed on eight years ago. Every day I ask her to guide me in my journeys. When I have to speak at a big event, when I am restless and nervous, I meditate for a few moments and I feel her tap on my shoulder to tell me she is there with me.

She then calls in the ancestors and I am surrounded by them. They tell me to "go for it". Which is what I have done - and tell my young sisters to do also.