International Women’s Day with Dr Gayle Christie
To celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) this year, St John WA is championing women in green, and who better than our very own Medical Director Dr Gayle Christie?
On Thursday night, Dr Christie was invited to speak at VESPIIA’s inaugural WA First Responders – IWD event, bringing together professionals from the WA first response community for an insightful panel session and networking opportunity.
Dr Christie, along with Superintendent Sharon Bird from the WA Police engaged in a deep dive into this year’s theme “Count Her In: Invest in Women, Accelerate Progress.”
Sharing from her own journey, Dr Christie stressed the importance of inclusivity and the need for leadership that helps everyone thrive, no matter their gender.
“As leaders, we should be cheering on everyone to succeed – regardless of gender. One of my big focuses is tackling bias head-on,” Dr Christie said.
She highlighted the importance of opening up the conversation beyond IWD, and the impact we can have by talking about accelerating progress and acknowledging our bias daily – together.
“My career began in psychology, and there’s one thing that I really try to drill into myself and the team and that’s leading with compassion,” Dr Christie said.
“We can have all the knowledge to do better and to help the community, but if we’re not starting by looking at and understanding ourselves, our behaviours and triggers, then we can’t even see our own bias.
“Acknowledging how and why we act the way we do is the first step to leading with compassion and being better leaders for those around us.”
Dr Christie has more than 16 years of experience under her belt, with dual accreditation in emergency and pre-hospital medicine.
When asked what her advice was to women in the industry, she stressed not looking at gender disparity as a weakness, but as a strength and encouraged the room to ask themselves ‘what can I bring to the table?’ and not to stop until you get there.
Dr Gayle Christie’s dedication to excellence in healthcare and St John WA’s first response team continues to inspire and pave the way for a brighter, more inclusive future.
