March 8 marks International Women’s Day, a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women, who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.
The world has made unprecedented advances, but no country has achieved gender equality.
The IWD 2020 campaign theme is drawn from a notion of ‘Collective Individualism’:
We are all parts of a whole. Our individual actions, conversations, behaviours and mindsets can have an impact on our larger society. Collectively, we can make change happen. Collectively, we can each help to create a gender equal world. We can all choose to be #EachforEqual.
With a majority of our staff being female, Telethon Speech & Hearing is proud to help bring light on this important occasion and draw attention to a number of International Women’s Day MISSIONS including celebrating women’s achievements, and working to forge more positive action towards #EachforEqual and #EachforEquity.
This week Telethon Speech & Hearing will highlight a number of incredible women in our organisation who bring compassion, wisdom and strength to their roles and make our centre such a delightful place for our families and children.
Today’s highlighted staff member is our courageous Deputy Principal, Karole Marshall:
- About my role at TSH
Karole: I started in 1989, left in 1994 then returned in 1998 and have been working here till this day so I believe that’s a total of 27 years. I have been lucky enough to work across all programs – Chatterbox, Outpost and Talkabout.I’m currently the Deputy Principal for the Talkabout Program. As the Deputy I am responsible for 28 staff members and 230 students. The Talkabout Program encompasses 2 and 3-year-old playgroups, Kindy, Pre-primary and language support groups from Years 1-4.
- The most common question I get asked is…
K: Can you help/support me with…
- Something I’m working on right now…
K: We are always looking for new programs that are evidence-based that will make our Talkabout program even better. Currently, I’m looking at how I can train my team in Word Aware which is a program that highlights vocabulary building. Vocabulary is essential to have in all components of the day and reinforces what we do.
- An aspect of my role I find most invigorating is…
K: At the pre-enrolment interview, I get to meet families that are desperate to find some program that can help their child. I love seeing these children enter our program with very little language and understanding and then see these same children at the end of the year and the progress they have made.
- My favourite sound is…
K: Favourite sound is ‘laughter’. If a child is laughing and having fun, they can learn!
- What person/organisation do you find inspiring, and think is doing their part for gender equality?
K: Michelle Obama, she encapsulates what a woman is and what a woman can do without trying to do it like a man. She is strong, articulate and fearless!
Continue to visit our website from March 8-13 for more amazing stories and insights from women at Telethon Speech & Hearing. Visit the International Women’s Day website for more information about how you can help forge a gender equal world. #IWD2020 #EachforEqual #EachforEquity
