Sydney Water General Manager named public sector champion

One water sector heavyweight has been named in the Top 50 Public Sector Women in NSW for 2018, with this industry champion advocating women in STEM fields as integral to making water businesses stronger.

At a ceremony held at NSW Parliament House, Sydney Water General Manager Angela Tsoukatos was recognised for her work in the public sector, along with other outstanding female leaders.

Today women make up 62.5% of the NSW public sector workforce, yet they represent just 36.1% of leadership seniority and 41.2% of government board and committee appointments.

Tsoukatos said Sydney Water decided they did not want to contribute to these statistics negatively.

“Sydney Water has always been a terrific organisation with a strong purpose and a role in our community. Over time, we have realised that our customers and the community we serve, have to be at the heart of what we do,” she said.

“This requires us to be a different organisation – one that listens, collaborates and co-creates water solutions.”

Tsoukatos said garnering these positive qualities requires the inclusion of women.

“Women leaders and women with STEM roles are integral to this. I’d say, we have moved away from talking about diversity and inclusiveness to really getting on with it,” she said.

“Sydney Water has hard and fast targets and we are about to launch our Reconciliation Action Plan in the near future which heralds exciting times.”

Tsoukatos said it is an honour to have been named and to be able to offer other women an example.

“I did not expect it, but it truly is lovely recognition. It is also a privilege to be amongst so many other capable and talented public sector women,” she said.

“We have come such a long way as women, but we have much more to do to achieve 50/50 Women in Leadership roles. It’s great for other women to see women being acknowledged – as they say, if you can see it, you can be it.”