Al Charry takes us through his 27 years in the Australian Army, from infantry soldier to recruit-training instructor to leading soldiers in combat. Team cohesion and mateship are instilled from day one, where the needs of the team are placed ahead of the individual. After all, the blunt purpose behind the military’s physical and psychological training is to fight in a war zone, so camaraderie is crucial.

Al discusses moral courage and its importance in an institution like the military, a hyper-masculine and hierarchical environment. Like any organisation, harassment and other discretions need to be called out early; and best handled in a delicate, non-confrontational manner. At the end of the day, it’s about treating individuals with the respect they deserve.

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SAC Consulting –  sacconsulting.com.au 

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Skye Charry walks us through some of the revelations she documents from her book, Whispers From the Bush. Skye conducted an extensive study in rural Australia, which highlighted concerning statistics – very high incidences of sexual harassment in the workplace. Skye and Al Charry explore the cultural issues underlying the attitudes which ultimately lead to humiliation, intimidation and aggravation in the workplace.

Although collectively we have a lot of work to do to transform that culture, the heartening conclusion is that it is not an insurmountable challenge. There are very real and practical steps organisations can make to support wellbeing and safety. It stems from recognising the fact that as individuals we strive to do the right thing, and so if people are cognisant of the damage and discomfort that words and actions can do to others, they’ll more likely to embrace change.

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SAC Consulting –  sacconsulting.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Skye Charry is an associate professor in the field of sexual discrimination and gender equity. As part of her PhD, Skye travelled extensively across the country listening to a range of people in rural communities. She documented their stories in her book, Whispers From the Bush – The Workplace Sexual Harassment of Australian Rural Women.

In this episode, Skye and Al Charry discuss the findings from her book and how it’s been influential in helping organisations in the bush to support their own people. It’s important, they say, to recognise how certain negative and discriminative behaviour is normalised in rural communities, and yet doesn’t reflect the equity that we as Australians value.

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SAC Consulting –  sacconsulting.com.au 

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What is it about Australian rural culture that makes it so unique? For answers, Skye Charry and her husband Al Charry explore their own lives, having both grown up in the central western region of NSW. Their careers manifested in different directions: Al served as an Army officer in the Australian Defence Force, while Skye traversed the world of law and academia. Between them, they’ve consulted to industries including agriculture, meat, forestry, seafood, military, academia, retail and the legal profession.

They discuss gendered stereotypes which still persist in many respects today. In this first episode of Spirit of the Bush, Skye and Al introduce the key themes of discrimination and harassment that continues to pervade much aspects of rural culture, and what can be achieved to change those attitudes

Skye shares some insights from her book, Whispers From the Bush – The Workplace Sexual Harassment of Australian Rural Women, and how that has shaped the work both Al and Skye are doing today at SAC Consulting.

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SAC Consulting –  sacconsulting.com.au 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.