Women in Leadership 2019

As at June 2018, approximately 49% of all public sector executives were women despite women comprising 69% of the sector. Further to this, only 23.5% of Senior Management Council (Chief Executives of core SA Government agencies) are women. While often perceived as being only an issue for women; gender inequality in the workplace impacts everyone. Men also benefit from increased gender equality and more equal gender roles.

The Women in Leadership Summit invited men and women in the public sector to work together to achieve improved gender equality. The summit discussed what would be required to achieve 50% of the Senior Management Council being women and overall increases in gender equality across leadership roles. Delegates heard from our industry leaders and experts on the barriers to gender equality, and gained practical tips, tools, and advice on making the most of their opportunities to help make a change.

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26Mar 2026

On the Couch with Kim Little

Chief Executive, Office for Early Childhood Development

Free for all State Government, Corporate and Personal Members of IPAA SA
$30 for non-members

09Jun 2026

Government Innovation Showcase South Australia 2026

Accelerating Digital Advancement and AI Impact Across South Australia

extended learning to put you on your career pathway

Risk Management for Leaders

Management is doing things right; Leadership is doing the right things – More Peter Drucker wisdom. This session dives into leadership responsibilities in the risk landscape and how effective...

1 full day
Executive, Manager/Next-Exec

In partnership with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment and the South Australian Leadership Academy the Institute of Public Administration Australia South Australia (IPAA SA) was proud to bring you the Ethical Leadership Forum, a free event for all state government members.

During this event we heard from Premier Steven Marshall MP, Commissioner Erma Ranieri, Dr Attracta Lagan, Principal, Managing Values, Darren Menachemson, Global Partner and Global Chief Digital Officer, Think Place, and more about the importance of ethical decision-making.

Public sector employees at every level are faced with challenging ethical and integrity-related decisions. These decisions can test us on how best to respond to a range of issues that at times have competing stakeholder needs.

As employees progress their careers through the public sector, the decisions they may face tend to increase in complexity, and time for capability enhancement and leadership development is typically harder to find.

In light of of this, IPAA SA brought together a panel of public and private sector leaders to help increase awareness of the importance of ethical decision-making in the public sector.

Topics included:

the nature of ethical decisions required in the public sector
the role of trust in institutions
the ways in which ethical leadership can be developed and honed
ethics of digital transformation.

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Dr Jane Lomax-Smith, sat down with us On the Couch last week to share her fascinating and diverse career history, as well as the work she is doing in her current role as Chair for the Museum Board. This was then followed by audience Q&A where Dr Lomax-Smith answered some thought provoking questions from delegates. On Behalf of IPAA SA and PwC we would like to thank Dr Jane Lomax-Smith for her insightful words as well as Nicola Craven, Director, PwC for engaging us in her role as interviewer.

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It was a privilege to hear from Mr John Schutz, Chief Executive, Department for Environment and Water as he highlighted some of the highs and lows of his leadership journey. Mr Schutz shared with us some insightful advice for new leaders, as well as answering some thought provoking questions from delegates during Q&A. We would also like to thank Mr Adrian Skull, Chief Executive Officer, City of Marion for engaging us in his role as interviewer.

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At the second installment of this highly succesfull event delgates had the opportunity to hear from Kristen Hansen, Director EnHansen Performance, to share her in depth insights into the neuroscience of leadership and performance. She explored the key brain-based, evidence rich strategies for improving leadership of self and others, highlighting a neuroscience backed approach to adapting to the challenges of leadership and management in the modern workplace.

In addition, Professor Deborah Blackman from the University of New South Wales shared her expertise in driving employee engagement and commitment.

Key Outcomes

The forum explored:

Brain-based, evidence rich strategies for improving leadership of self and others
A model for advanced coaching that can substantially lift performance
The reorientation needed to enable high performance across individual, group, organisation and system levels

Participants also heard from Commissioner for Public Sector Employment Erma Ranieri about how strong and robust performance conversations can transform teams.

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