Clare Gardiner-Barnes

In her own words

My career started in transport when Adam Giles became the new Chief Minister in the Northern Territory and asked me to head up the Department. I was surprised as previously I had worked in social policy, including leading the Children and Families Department in the Territory.  I knew very little about transport and was unsure of the fit. But Adam said to me: ‘I don’t see you as a social policy person - I see you as a reformist.’ 

Taking on the role as Chief Executive for Transport was a magnificent opportunity because it was a highly functioning agency, with a lot of talented people extremely committed and passionate about their work. I had the opportunity to learn a completely new agenda in a very unique part of Australia, including taking on the economic portfolio. With transport I had a very different relationship with Treasury that I hadn’t ever experienced having only worked in social portfolios before. 

I was the only women at the table which was also different to my prior experience, and I hadn’t worked with a team of engineers before so I would meet with them and say: ‘tell me all about how it works, what you do, tell me about the processes you need to go through.’ 

I am a keen learner, so I just loved the opportunity to find out how this different world operated. As a Chief Executive I had the opportunity to work at a national level and build new networks. I was very vocal on behalf of the Northern Territory because I was very passionate about the needs of a remote region influencing the national reform agenda. 

This helped me to secure my next role as Deputy Secretary, Freight, Strategy and Planning with Transport for NSW because I had established productive relationships with very senior transport leaders in other jurisdictions and people had seen me in action. I faced career obstacles not so much because I was a woman but because my pathway was through a small jurisdiction which had not been expected to have significant policy clout.

People have no idea of the incredible breadth of experience you get working in the Northern Territory. You deal with projects end to end and across government, thinking about innovative solutions on your feet to deal with complex problems like extreme wet season weather conditions, setting up emergency shelters, and rescuing 400 people off a remote island before a cyclone using private planes.

I continue to be extraordinarily passionate about transport and have just completed the review for the Australian Government of the $120 billion Infrastructure Investment Program as one of three reviewers. 

Transport is there to solve the problems for helping people get to work, home, hospitals, and schools. When I look at an issue I am constantly thinking of the broader picture. I am looking at from the perspective of ‘what problem are we solving here.’ And that is what excites me. 

Smashing perceptions

My advice to women is to bravely break out of the perception that others may have put on you, based on your formal qualifications and diversify across different areas of work where you might in fact develop a new passion that you never knew was there before. Because that is what happened to me when I was encouraged to move into transport.

I have been boxed multiple times in my career by leaders in an organisation and I actively worked to move around to demonstrate and build capability across different portfolios and around different functions. I was prepared to take on challenges even though I may not have been perceived as an expert in that area. My view is if you can tick all the boxes for a job, you are actually ready for the next level to grow. Women should look for roles where they are meeting 60% to 70% of the required competencies listed in a job advertisement, because it’s all about seizing learning and leadership development opportunities.

Broadening the diversity lens

A lot of work is happening around women and leadership in transport, but where is the focus on diversity around Indigenous Australians, and people with a disability? In Australia because of the mega projects underway there is diversity in our workforces in terms of people working together from different cultural backgrounds. My question is - how are they celebrated? What are we doing in the workplace to make it easier for people with diverse backgrounds to share the difficult experiences they are encountering and not just embrace different cultures at a safety level but at an actual learning level.  How can we learn about a person’s culture and how could that contribute to us working in different and better ways? 

When I moved into transport one of our Deputy Secretaries responsible for customer services was at the decision table and every decision had to be seen through the lens of what would it mean to an end user. We need the same approach and look through the diversity lens when decisions are made around the leadership table. When this happens, real change will occur.

To attract women into transport we need to ensure they feel safe and empowered. It’s about helping women show who they are and what they believe in.