Finding your tribe to create safety

When Alanna Ball first started out in the health and safety profession, at times she felt out of her depth and needed a group to turn to during these times. “I wanted a ‘safe’ space to ask questions, learn more and grow as I took on new challenges in health and safety,” she said.

This inspired her to find her tribe and establish Women in Safety. “It started out of something so simple and I didn’t realise just how many others needed the support, the place to connect and a place to chat,” Ball said. Five years on, Women in Safety has been established across all states of Australia and in New Zealand.

Albeit she runs a tribe for women, Ball believes in overall diversity, not just gender.

“Diversity creates conversation, challenge and different views,” she said.

“Diversity in any business makes great sense because we all come with our own strengths and opportunities for growth. If we all were the same, that diversity of thought would be lost.

“We must be constantly adapting in the fast-paced world we live in and diversity allows that to happen.”

But when it does come to challenges associated with gender diversity, Ball believes it’s important to keep the conversation going to embed change and make it habit. And while there’s still room for improvement with policies such as maternity leave, parental leave, flexible work arrangements, job sharing, etc, she said the safety profession does recognise both male and female professionals equally, but it may be the organisations themselves that can create challenges.

Alanna Ball will be presenting ‘Finding my tribe’ at the upcoming NSCA Foundation National Safety Conference, which is part of SAFETYconnect being held in Brisbane from 29–30 August. To find out more, visit: www.safety-connect.com.au.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/djvstock