Vicki

Hi. I am Vicki Buchanan and I am part of 2020women, a not-for -profit organization focused on listening to and collecting stories from Australian women about their lives, experiences, expectations and dreams for the future. We hope that by gathering and sharing this information and wisdom, we will all learn and grow from each other's experiences and support each other in being confident and clear about our collective and individual future. In addition, I am part of Leapfrog Leadership Pty Ltd which is a consulting and people support company.

I am originally from Tasmania and now live on the Central Coast, NSW. I am a member of the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol and a Whale Migration and Lighthouse Guide.

My wishes for women in the year 2020

In 2009, we still have many aspects of society which allows behaviour towards women to be disrespectful and inappropriate. There is a lack of respect for women and their right to be treated as equals. Both men and women are able to display behaviour which undermines and belittles the role of women. In many ways this behaviour is at the heart of issues around equality and fairness and everyone must work more cohesively to address this.

My advice to women in 2020 is to reflect on the women who have gone before; your problems and trials have all been met before by other women. We have survived and send you our love and experience through these writings.  Grow trust and openness with each other and don’t let negative or divisive forces win the day. Stay open to new ideas and embrace different responses, the answers may be in our cultural variety and the deeper knowledge brought forward from different living experiences. Remember the power and synergy in cohesive and united responses and thinking, that is our greatest strength and has always been at the heart of female survival.

The important people in my life

Both my parents have died but they played a big part in my life. My father was variously a horse trainer, upholsterer, bookmaker and shop keeper and my mum always actively engaged in each of these pursuits. We had a pretty frugal time until building our own shop which improved our lifestyle dramatically.

My mum was very keen for me to make the most of life's opportunities and gave me every chance to excel, with piano, ballet and public speaking lessons, hundreds of books, lots of interstate travel and constant encouragement.

My dad was definitely a horse whisperer, which has given me a great understanding and love of animals, as well as being a risk taker, something I also seem to have inherited! He would listen to my worries and fears and give loving, down to earth and practical advice. He was also an old fashioned Labor man, something he learned from his father who was the Secretary of the Engine drivers and Boilermakers Union. This influenced my foray into politics where I stood for both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The lesson I took from my parents is that we all should have faith in the intentions of our parents for our upbringing.  They are generally hoping for the best possible outcome for our life, and give us both passions and ways of thinking which help make us what we are.

Also, you miss your parents enormously when they are gone

Another important person was Sue Hamilton.  Sue recruited me into the APS and coped with my rough edges and complete lack of APS work experience to nurture and support me into a number of roles. She had had a number of significant roles herself and her experience and standing were widely recognized.

I was filled with uncertainty about my capability and very much in awe of her but she just treated me as an intellectual equal and we became friends as well as work colleagues, always the sign of an outstanding woman. She taught me that trusting your instincts allows you to be brave enough to share your assessment with others and stand firm under questioning. She also showed me how important a good mentor is for any woman moving through a career.

Find and work with a mentor to support and encourage you. She will be truly a jewel beyond price.

Make sure you are worthy such support. Give back the loyalty and commitment you are given.

Sandy Halliday was another important person in my life.  She was my CEO with Comcare and its first CEO. She was a really unusual CEO, especially for the APS, as she was willing to challenge the expected norms and operational styles and to really focus on delivery and change management, and of course, she was a woman! 

She won my loyalty as a leader because she was fearless, resilient, rewarded and encouraged her staff and achieved real outcomes. And she had a great sense of humour!

Sandy taught me that managing any change requires a plan, exuberant confidence, an enormous capacity to problem solve, excellent communication skills and the capacity to wing it when all else fails.

More about my life

I am the second child of two children. I was born In Launceston Tasmania, and had enormous support during my school years from my mother who basically believed that education and learning would allow women to achieve whatever they wanted. As a result I was encouraged to go to University (at 17) the first of my extended family to do so. I came from a working class neighbourhood where I guess I was regarded as pretty much of a ‘swot' and really didn't make many friends as a young person. I was very focused on following my dreams and they were idealistic and service focused.

I initially graduated as a Teacher Librarian, on the (mis)understanding that I could read a lot of books while teaching children! My family ran the local milk bar but we went to the ‘Mainland' every May and toured extensively. This was very unusual for my part of town but gave me a great love of travel and visiting new places which I have still. I have been able to travel to many countries and meet many people and these experiences have given me a sense of peace and harmony and connection to the planet which has been both reassuring and a source of personal delight.

I am married to a supportive and loyal partner who encourages me and respects my choices in a very stimulating relationship. I have 3 sons in this blended family (my husband and I have both been married before) and have been astonished by the on-going love, interest and engagement that children can extract from us mothers. The emotional connections we make with young children are powerful and last all our lives. Their adult lives are a source of interest and occasionally astonishment.

I have worked for a number of Commonwealth Government agencies around Australia and have sat on several Boards, including Optia which targets providing housing for intellectually disabled people and UWSConnect, a university service delivery business.