As a woman in leadership across the fields of education and non-profit for more than 30 years, Bron Williams has taught a multi-grade classroom, led a school, run a Salvation Army church and welfare centre, and worked with asylum seekers. It was working with asylum seekers and alongside Pacific Islanders that alerted Bron to her own latent bias of racism and she understood her white privilege for the first time.
In her personal life, Bron has shattered family and cultural expectations around what a woman should do, challenged societal norms about what ageing looks like, and reformed and reshaped her career not once but twice. She knows it takes courage to let go of long-held beliefs that hold us back, to lead from behind when leadership is not recognised, and to have the courageous conversations that facilitate growth and change. Bron is a trained educator, holds an honours degree in theology, and is currently undertaking PhD research exploring the intersection of bias and shame.
Bron is a gifted storyteller with the ability to take complex ideas and present them to her audiences as readily understandable concepts. She has worked with corporates such as Unilever, non-profits like The Salvation Army, peak sporting bodies (Tennis Australia), member organisations such as Women in Gaming and Hospitality, government departments (local, state and federal) as well as small business and a range of individual clients. Bron has written for publications such as HRM and The Graduate Union and published two books. In the media, has appeared on Ticker TV and Triple M radio, with a regular spot on a local Melbourne radio station.
Bron’s goal in all she does is to plug women back into their power.
Talking Points
Superheroes in Disguise
As women honour their needs, understand what drives them and live out of their values they discover that they are a superhero in disguise. Not some magical superwoman who can multi-task or who has achieved the mythical work/life balance. But a true champion - first for herself and then for those in her circle of care and influence.
Superheroes in Disguise
What's Your Water?
An old Chinese proverb says, 'A fish is the last one to know what water is.' Just as a fish does not notice the water it lives in, people don't recognise the biases that impact their relationships and influence their decision-making. Recognising our 'water' by uncovering bias allows previously unknown data to emerge to become the basis for growth and change.
What's Your Water?
Death by a Thousand Cuts
Living in a passive-aggressive environment, abuse is muted and unseen but its effects are traumatic and long-lasting. There are no shouts or violence - merely death by a thousand little cuts. Recognising and recovering from covert abuse is a lengthy process. The past shapes you but does not define you.
Death by a Thousand Cuts
Video
Bron Williams | Saxton Speakers
The Equilibrium Solution | Bron Williams | Saxton Speakers
Make equilibrium rather than equity the goal.We had the pleasure of Bron presenting at "SheLeadsTech Melbourne" personal development session on "Unconscious Bias - What's your Water?' She shared the 'why and how' Bias in a parallel wor ... keep reading ISACA
As an industry association, we understand that diverse workplaces can deliver real benefits to our members. We have a number of programs in place already to encourage diversity in the workplace, and so to build on this we arranged to have Bron present to our members on ‘Making bias conscious in the workplace.’ Through sharing her own experiences and stories, Bron’s presentation was both authentic and relatable to the audience. The concept of being aware of your biases and making them conscious, not asking people to eliminate them, was well received by our members and the feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive. Bron also provided a business bias checklist and her top 4 actions to implement in your business - ensuring those listening could put actions in place straight away to start to drive change.
When I first spoke to Bron, I expected an individual who would say more and listen less. I guess I had my own bias. The more I interacted with her, I realized it was quite the opposite. She is a specialist and an industry speaker but always willing to check her own privileges before any conversation. We first made sure we pronounced our names correctly! A very important mark of respect for both of us. She gave a presentation to my organization and there was nothing but praises and amazement. She left the group wanting for more with her talk on “What’s your water”. An absolute pleasure to have her share her wisdom with us on unconscious bias, a topic more important than ever.
We all live with bias in every single aspect of our life even when we don't recognise it. Bron is absolutely phenomenal at helping you to understand where your cultural and corporate biases are that are holding you back from achieving that next level of success, employee engagement and so much more. Whether it's paying her to speak at your events, one on one programs, consulting programs or her courses, Bron is an absolute must and a go to person for any business truly looking to achieve that next level of success. I highly recommend her services.
