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Sally Hasler took a new job when she was 36 weeks pregnant, then immediately went on maternity leave. Far from being the career handbrake we’ve been led to expect from a move like that, she’s now CEO of Women’s Health Victoria.
And women’s health is in focus. Almost $800m was committed in the last budget to fill the gaps in women’s healthcare – and let’s be honest we all know there have been plenty of gaps!
Sally’s a first time CEO, on the Board of Lifeline Direct, and a St John Ambulance volunteer, all while raising three young kids, so she really gets what it’s like to navigate career and family, while also working to positively change things for all women.
She’s refreshingly honest about the challenges, but also incredibly optimistic about what’s possible when you get the right people around the table.
In this episode, we’re diving into everything from why Australia’s women’s health system still has massive gaps, to how Sally’s approaching leadership differently, to what it’s actually like trying to change the system whilst managing school drop-offs.
In this episode we discuss:
- Sally’s experience job hunting while she was pregnant
- Her IVF journey, and opportunities she turned down along the road
- The defining moment in her career working for a women’s NGO in Hong Kong
- Women’s Health Victoria’s work supporting gender equity in health systems, and their current focus on mental health, cancer and sexual and reproductive health
- Learnings Sally has had as a first time CEO, and some vulnerable confessions about it
- An exciting time of women’s health being in the spotlight, creating opportunities
- Medical misogyny and how it shows up in women’s healthcare experiences
- Her leadership style and her passion for the people component of her work
- Sally’s list of CEO-contacts and the support people have given her
- The responsibility big business has to support women’s workforce participation
- The challenge of caring for someone and being in paid work, and how Sally has structured her work to support her family
- How to manage boundaries and job design for part time work
- Sally’s advice to take more risks and worry less about what might happen
About Sally Hasler
Sally Hasler is the CEO of Women’s Health Victoria. She brings over 15 years’ leadership experience in gender equality and health organisations as an executive, non-executive director and volunteer. Most recently, Sally was a Director in the Office for Women in the Victorian Government.
She has also held leadership roles with the Commonwealth Government, The Fred Hollows Foundation, and The Women’s Foundation Hong Kong. Sally has implemented major government programs and strategies, facilitated multi-sector partnerships with diverse stakeholders, and led philanthropic and business development strategies.
Sally brings expertise in gender and health policy, strategy, inclusion and intersectionality, stakeholder partnerships and business development.
In her role as CEO, Sally is a member of the Victorian Government Women’s Health Advisory Council, the Victorian Cancer Advisory Committee and the Mental Health Ministerial Advisory Committee.
She has been an active volunteer with St John Ambulance since a young age and is currently a non-executive director of Lifeline Direct.