How Quest Apartment Hotels empowers women every day
Quest promotes gender equality and breaks biases at every level through implementing commonsense policies
This International Women’s Day, Quest Apartment Hotels is continuing to celebrate the amazing calibre of successful women who own, work and partner with Quest businesses.
Quest’s dedication to fostering diversity, inclusivity, and empowerment in all arenas is exemplified through its long-term partnerships with female athletes and inclusive companies.
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For the next 2 years, Quest is partnering with Olympic swimmer Cate Campbell who is vying to be the first swimmer in Australian history to compete in 5 Olympic games. Quest has also recently announced a major sponsorship (front of jersey) of the NRLW Sharks team.
On Wednesday, Quest held its annual International Women’s Day event at Oakwood Premier Melbourne and explored the theme of Count Her In. Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress.
Guest speaker at this year’s annual IWD event in Melbourne was Peggy O’Neal AO, the first woman in AFL history to serve as a club president on the day she was inducted as an AFL Life Member.
Quest also welcomed Lydia Williams, a two-time Olympian and Matildas legend and Goalkeeper for Melbourne Victory whose advocacy laid the foundations for a historic equal pay deal in 2019, and Donna De Zwart, the Managing Director for Fitted for Work.
Donna’s organisation is committed to providing a safe space for all women, gender diverse, and non-binary job seekers.
Penelope Cottrill, who has been instrumental in publicising the gender pay gap in Australia through the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, WGEA, also attended.
GM Brand and ESG at The Ascott Limited, Australia, Anthea Dimitrakopoulos, announced Ascott will submit data on WGEA’s site from April 2024.
“Looking ahead, our goal is to create a world where events like International Women’s Day may no longer be needed,” said Anthea.
“That’s the future we’re working towards. By shining a light on the growth and development of women as business leaders both on the field and off, every day, we are championing our own Quest values in terms of teamwork, resilience, and determination.
“We’re also immensely proud of our partnership with Housing all Australians (HAA). Quest are currently working with HAA, as well as with Uniting WA and our own partners — Dulux, Programmed and Interface, to redevelop a former women’s refuge so that it can house older women who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
“This ‘invisible’ cohort of homeless women remains a shared focus for our organisations.”
Anthea also praised the successful female leaders and business owners in properties across Australia.
“Quest supports the communities that support our franchisee businesses, and our goal is to provide even more opportunities for women to succeed in every arena,” said Anthea.
“We continue to promote gender equality and break biases at every level through implementing commonsense policies on paid parental leave, including superannuation, IVF and menstrual leave at our corporate office, practical workplace training, and partnerships with inspirational female leaders.”
In 2023 Ascott Australia reached 55 percent female representation at the management level.
Ascott also took out the top prize at the Recalibrate Gender Equity Awards 2023 after launching a ground-breaking parental leave policy offering 24 weeks and paid superannuation. Paid Menopausal and Menstrual Leave policies were also put in place to acknowledge women experience symptoms that men do not experience, and that these symptoms can be impactful and debilitating towards career growth.
To further foster gender-balanced leadership, Ascott Australia initiated training and mentorship programs to develop and grow the leadership skills of women within the organisation. By connecting aspiring female leaders with experienced mentors, Ascott Australia actively cultivates future women leaders from within the organisation.
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