Get to know Alison Wilson – Chief Operating Officer

What’s been a defining moment for you as a woman in your career? 

As a chemical engineer, I worked in heavily male dominated environments right from the start of my career. While challenging, this experience shaped my understanding of why driving gender equity matters.  I’m not sure there was ever a defining moment, it was more a gradual realisation that the prevalent perspective in the room often wasn’t the same as my own – and a recognition that I could bring enormous value as a result of that.   

What’s the best example of gender equity leadership you’ve seen in action? 

I was fortunate to start my career at P&G, where there was a strong commitment to gender equity.  I listened as a senior male leader addressed our graduate cohort about gender targets for leadership levels, stating that: “…the people who’ll find this most uncomfortable are the mediocre men.” As a woman in the audience, this acknowledgment that only those unfairly benefiting from the system had anything to fear was incredibly powerful.  

What’s your own experience of the Three Barriers and what tips would you give women navigating their own barriers? 

In my leadership roles, I’ve observed many talented people, particularly women, positioned below the level of their capability due to high humility and prioritising team success over self-promotion.  I learned that seeing things differently wasn’t a weakness – it was my leadership strength.  My advice? Ask yourself: if you knew you were seeing something valuable that others can’t see, what would you have the courage to say? 

Do you face the double burden as a woman with a career and if so, how do you manage it? 

I’m lucky to have a wonderful husband who really is my partner in every sense.  We have learned to be honest about what we are carrying and to ask for help when we need it.  I think it helps that my tolerance for mess and chaos is higher than my husband’s too!  But joking aside, I’ve no doubt I wouldn’t have had such a fulfilling career without my husband’s consistent and practical support.  I’m proud our children are growing up with the expectation that their Dad is just as likely as their Mum to take them to a doctor’s appointment or bake a cake for school or manage the household chores – or be late home because a meeting overran.  

What have you read recently and any top takeaway that our audiences might benefit from? 

I am currently reading a memoir by the American poet Maggie Smith called ‘You could make this place beautiful’.  It is an astonishingly honest and real reflection on the experience of being a woman and mother in the modern world, I recommend!