Noble cause nominated for award
“Just walk in like you own it” is the best piece of advice Leonie Noble’s mother ever gave her.
It’s been effective too, when faced with boardrooms full of men, who in one instance, felt she had no right to be there.
Championing for greater gender diversity in influential positions in the seafood industry has been Mrs Noble’s driving force for the past quarter of a century.
Last week she was named a finalist for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation’s 2015 Rural Women’s Award.
She is one of four WA women to be shortlisted for the prestigious award.
The Rural Women’s Award recognises the vital contribution women make to Western Australia as advocates for rural industries and communities.
Agriculture Minister Ken Baston will announce the winner at the awards ceremony on March 19.
The winner will receive a $10,000 bursary to help fund their project.
Vice-president of the National Rural Women’s Coalition, board member of the Abrolhos Islands Management Advisory Committee and the Rock Lobster Industry Advisory Committee, and chairwoman of the Rural Remote and Regional Women’s Network of WA are just a few of the positions that appear on Mrs Noble’s curriculum vitae.
She also co-founded the Friends of the Abrolhos in the 90s, which, at its height, had 150 members, and established effective consultation with the Fisheries Minister on matters affecting fishers at the Abrolhos Islands.
Several years ago she was named in Emerald Grain’s top 100 influential women in Australian agriculture.
She was the only woman in the seafood industry to be included on the list.
“Having a voice is a powerful thing,” Mrs Noble said.
“I’m not the kind of woman to sit at home and knit.”
Mrs Noble’s project, 100 Women in Seafood, will showcase the impact and influence of seafood women, and create visible ambassadors for future female leaders.
“I’m looking at some of the decisions in the seafood industry at the moment and it’s concerning,” she said.
“Greater gender diversity in executive positions would make a huge difference to the industry, especially when taking into consideration the social impact of decisions.”
Mrs Noble said the Federal and State Government’s attempt at “cutting off” commercial access in a number of Australian fisheries would force Australians to eat seafood sourced from overseas.
“Look at what has just happened with the importation of berries and people contracting Hepatitis A. It is a major concern,” she said.
She said she often heard of women being trained to be ‘boardroom-ready’ and that it bemused her.
“These women are boardroomready, it is the boardrooms that aren’t women-ready,” she said.
“We need to get more vocal for things to change.”
