If you ever want a good lesson on communicating and advocating for gender equality, get trapped in an airport for 24 hours with Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.
That happened to UN Women director Julie McKay during her first year in the job. Young, feeling extremely ‘green’ and on her first major international trip to represent the organisation in New York, McKay came across a group of Australian women stuck during a snow storm while on their way to the same conference, including Broderick.
“We were stuck in a hotel airport for more than 24 hours, so we got to know each other!”
And it became a pivotal moment — and the start of a long lasting friendship — in McKay’s career with UN Women, where she advocates on behalf of disadvantaged women all over the world, often while sharing the stage with Broderick. “I feel like my whole experience with UN Women and the eight years I’ve done would have been incredibly different had I not been in that airport, at that time,” she says
McKay spoke to me me just a few weeks before International Women’s Day, one of the busiest periods for the organisation given it runs more than 150 events across the country and is affiliated with another 100 or so. McKay alone will speak at up to 25 events in the week of IWD, advocating for the government and community to recommit to the Beijing Declaration and Platfrom for Action, first established 20 years ago. “It’s still the most exhaustive list of things that are needed in order for gender equality to be achieved. We need male champions, we need adequate funding of domestic violences services, we need pay equity. We know these things are true, we just have to do them.”
Still in her early thirties, McKay started with UN Women as a 23-year-old. She spent a year working in a bank as a graduate — although knew after just one week it wasn’t for her before moving from Brisbane to Canberra to start with a small not-for-profit, and later applying for the executive director role at UN Women.
But it was the interview, rather than the job, that McKay says really helped accelerate her leadership career. While being put through the daunting experience of having to interview in front of a board, McKay says the group of women she met during the process changed her perspective on just what people could contribute.
“They were fiercely passionate about getting gender on the Australian and global landscape and the way they spoke about it and their excitement on what could be done really inspired me,” she says.
“They gave me an incredible opportunity as a 23 year old. I really didn’t have a whole lot of skills for that particular position, but I had so much support. That transformed the way I thought about leadership. I became passionate about giving to women, especially to young women, and giving to those who need opportunities.”
Later, she learned more about the kind of leader she wanted to be when she tragically and suddenly lost her older brother Scott in an accident. Her only sibling, the two had been extremely close growing up in Brisbane. He was an idol, a best friend, and somebody who continually challenged her to do bigger and better things.
“I think over the years I’ve become more like him, particularly how he managed his businesses,” she says. “He put people first. He took risks, calculated risks. He was always brutally honest, and that’s my approach to government with advocacy work, to say ‘this is what’s needed, this is where the gaps are, how do we bridge the gaps’. It think it’s made me more effective and braver in my job.”
McKay threw herself into her work following Scott’s death, and is thankful for having an excellent team and board which supported her through the most difficult period of her life. She speaks fondly of her brother’s brilliant mind and fierce ambition, something she credits back to her parents who instilled in both their children the need to find a career you love and work that enables you to contribute.
She also recalls how her brother helped her pack up her job, life and career in Brisbane before moving to Canberra to work with Homelessness Australia, her first full-time not-for-profit position (following a stint volunteering with the YMCA). McKay made the move while her parents were overseas, and before telling them she was giving up a stable career in banking.
“My parents came back and I told them I was working for a four person organisation out the back of a school. And they actually took it quite well!”
McKay later applied for the UN Women position after a board member who knew her personally suggested she’d be a good fit. She wasn’t daunted at the ‘executive director’ job title. Although eight years later, she says she may now hesitates at putting her name forward for such a position.
“When I was 23 I didn’t think about what I couldn’t do, I thought about what I could do,” she says. “Now at 31 I don’t know if I’d apply for the executive director of UN women. I think that’s a shame that (lack of confidence) can happen to people. You start to question yourself: what if they don’t think I’m qualified enough? What if I can’t do it? What if I stuff up?”
But knowing such a loss of confidence can happen to anyone, McKay makes a point of giving opportunities to her staff, and encouraging them to speak up about their ambitions.
McKay recalls “jumping around like crazy” at a rest stop on the road between Sydney and Canberra when she received the call to find out she’d gotten the job, and is proud to say she still has the same level of enthusiasm. “I’ve never woken up and thought ‘I couldn’t think of anything worse than going to work today’, I’ve always woken up and thought, ‘yep I want to do this’.”
The short facts on McKay’s leadership story
Born. Brisbane
Raised. Brisbane
High school ambition? I think I was so concerned with everybody likening me! I was the debating captain. I made cakes for people’s birthday, I spent a lot of energy worrying about what other people thought. I don’t think I had a huge amount of confidence. Because I was a debater, everyone said I should be lawyer, I studied business. Started in banking, got to week one and thoughts actually I don’t wan to be here
An average day in the life… I do half my week at UN women and half at Defence. At UN Women, I spend at least part of the day thinking about how we can better engage supporters. That might be finding ways to deepen existing partnerships and activities. I also spend part of the day thinking about the positioning of UN Women, ensuring government and community is aware of what we’re doing. The other big part of my role is governance, legal, financial and audit requirements, as well as the needs of my staff.
How do you manage your wellbeing? I love spending time with family and friends. My family is in Brisbane and so I make a point of every month at least going up there. I’ve also integrated a lot of my friends and family into UN Women! We’ve also started doing fun runs at UN Women, and I finally decided to join in. I started training, couldn’t run to the end of my driveway when I first started, but I did the City2Surf last year which was a massive achievement.
Advice to your 18-year-old self? Don’t worry whether people like you, or if you’re being nice to everyone. Trust you’re a good person.
Julie McKay’s story is the latest of our 100 Stories Project, in which we’re asking women about a turning point that’s shifted her leadership career. Telling 100 stories from January 1 2015, the project showcases the diverse range of leadership careers available, as well as some of the brilliant achievements and fascinating career paths of women. It also demonstrates how planned and unexpected forks in the road can take you places you never thought possible.
Got an idea? Get in contact. Check out more on our 100 Stories Project here.
Other women featured in this series include:
Angela Ferguson: The woman designing the future of work (Google included)
Jo-Ann Hicks: eBay’s leading woman on the risks that made her digital career
Annabelle Daniel: ‘I’m the unlikely combination of CEO and single parent
Sarah Liu: Multiple job titles and variety: Life as a ‘slashie’
Lindy Stephens: When the power shifts, women should make the most of it
Kate Morris: Why I gave up law to become an online entrepreneur
Jacque Comery: Leading a team of 12 on an Antarctic base