Walk a mile in their shoes 2014

After a successful launch of the 2013 Harcourts Victoria Walk a mile in their shoes, we are putting on our heels again on the 9^th of May raise awareness of the issue of violence against women.

Why Violence

This is an issue that is hard, violent and dark with jagged edges. Yet today on the news we constantly hear of violence in our streets, in homes, in nightclubs. Parents having to turn off life support machines, young men dying from a single punch, women murdered by partners or someone they don’t know. This is an issue that impacts our families, friends and communities we work in.

I have seen first-hand the impact on violence on partners, families, children and friends. They never get over it, the sadness and emptiness is profound and heart breaking.

Many of you reading this may not be aware of the increased incidence of violence towards women. (Following was gained from the White Ribbon website)

·         At least one woman is killed in Australia every week by a current or former partner

·         One in three Australian women over the age of 15 reports having experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives.

·         In 2013 the cost of violence towards women and children had reached US$14.7 billion

·         Domestic and family violence is also the major cause of homelessness for women and their children.

The above data shows that the impact of violence against women is widespread and long-standing, it generates profound personal, social and economic costs for individuals, communities and the nation.

Given the above data as well it is likely that we will know someone who has been impacted by violence they just may not have told you.

How can you help?

Join us in the walk; join us to raise money for awareness programs for White Ribbon. Research tells us that prevention of violence starts with education and changing attitudes and behaviours at schools between the ages of 8 – 18 years. Our goal this year is to raise $50K

Join us in the walk and in one voice let’s make a stand that violence of any kind is simply not OK.

Let’s unite men and women in high heels and give voice to those caught in the violence cycle who don’t have one and courage to those who need it to seek help.

Let’s unite on the 9^th of May and in a gentle way shake the world and raise awareness.

Let’s unite because the victims could easily be our mothers, sisters, daughters, girlfriends or ourselves.

To register or donate is really easy, simply follow the link to the White Ribbon site. http://www.whiteribbon.org.au/events/harcourts-victoria-walk-in-their-shoes-2014

I look forward to walking with you

 

 

International Woman’s Day 2014 – Inspiring change

March 8 sees us celebrate International Women’s Day. It is the one day in the calendar year we have set aside since 1911 to celebrate the social, political and economic achievements of women around the world and also focus on areas where inequality remains.  It is a shame that 103 years on the issue of equality is still on the table.

 

 The theme for 2014, quite appropriately, is inspiring change.

However, the change that is required is different dependant on your perspective, where you live and the industry you work in.

From my perspective, as a migrant to this country, Australia is a country where wonderful things do happen. It has provided me with ample opportunities in both life and business. These opportunities have enabled me to give back to my first home Fiji and to give my kids chances that I never had.

Australia is a melting pot that allows migrants to hold onto and celebrate their heritage. We are mostly a tolerant society with generous hearts.

So what does IWD really mean to someone like me? I was born into a culture that the western world would label as being oppressive towards women. I have “fought” the equal rights battle since I was a child, so my perspective of what we have in Australia is perhaps sightly tainted.

Yes, we have an issue with equal representation and pay. However I also believe that we are in a good space to leverage to where we should be. I firmly believe that my children- in particular my son- will have a very different mindset towards women in the work place. That’s because he has seen his mum break the traditional moulds. In comparison, many adult males in the workplace today often group their female counterparts with their wives or mothers who have chosen to stay at home. This in itself is a career; in fact stay at home mums work approximately a 94 hour week and would be paid $113,000 if this were a salaried role.

I work in an industry that is fairly well represented by women and since 2010 we have had a steady increase of women who work in real estate in Victoria. The number of female agents is close to 6696 making up 58% of the work force, according to the Minister of Consumer and Women’s affairs.

However there is still a significant issue with equal representation at executive, leadership or management level. I am one of only three CEO’s in my industry and this statistic speaks volumes.

I can tell you a plethora of stories about the challenges I have experienced ‘managing blokes’ and I know in return they have found me challenging as well.

But the good story is this: there are companies like the one I currently work for that have supported me along my journey to success. The great news is that there are number of companies who will do the same for all working women.

The CEO of Facebook talks about the concept of women leaning in. I agree we do need to lean in, ask for what we want and put our hands up for roles. However this isn’t going to work if men don’t lean in as well. There has to be a meeting halfway.

And the starting point is not the work place. It is at home. How many women work and still carry a significant load in managing the household? The equality partnership starts in the home first and then flows into the workplace.

The other side of the coin however is the level of violence towards women in our society is at epidemic levels and here some stats that you may not be aware of: (obtained from White Ribbon)

•                    1 woman is killed every week as a result of intimate partner violence

•                    Domestic and family violence is the key cause of homelessness for women and their    children

•                    14.7Billion is the estimated cost of this violence to the Australian economy

•                    Intimate partner violence is the leading contributor to death, disability and ill health in Australian women aged 15-44

•                    1 in 3 Australian women over the age of 15 report physical or sexual violence at some time in their lives

These numbers are alarming as it means that potentially someone you know has been impacted by violence, you just may not be aware of it.

So every day Australian business women are dealing with multiple issues such as

·         having fair access to boards

·         leadership positions
·         equal pay
·         quota’s and targets
·         living with the guilt of going to work
·         managing work and household responsibilities
·         violence in the home or sexual harassment in the workplace

Despite the above however the reality is we lead very fortunate lives in Australia compared to women in less developed countries who live lives of utter desperation.

They deal daily with issues of starvation, crippling illness and far too often facing life or death choices. Many live in war torn and drought stricken areas.

They face challenges such as

•                    being stoned to death because you were raped

•                    having a price on your head because you’re 16 and you want to go to school
•                    being burnt to death because your parents didn’t provide enough dowry
•                    living with the fear of being sold into slavery or the sex trade

While we talk about the corporate glass ceiling, in other worlds the glass ceilings extend from extreme poverty to the extremes of war, from contaminated water to aids, from no health care to no education. This may not be our world but there’s no escaping that it’s the world we live in, we can make it our problem and we can be part of the solution.

The theme for 2014 is inspiring change.  So how can you be an agent of change, what can you do as an individual of either gender?

The answers do start with us

1.       be ambitious and aim for leadership roles

2.       get better at asking for what you want at home and at work
3.       create partnerships with your significant others
4.       guilt management is as important as time management
5.       be confident to talk about your success – own it
6.       make sure you throw the ladder down to women behind you
7.       mentor or coach other women
8.       chose to work for companies that believe in gender balance and act on it
9.       pick a cause that is specific to women and become passionate about it
10.   champion change around the world and believe that you can change the world

To create or inspire change of any type means we need to take control. To have that work life balance means you need to have your work in balance first, so take control and make it so. Accept that just as we work in a new normal in the work place the same applies to our homes as well.

I also believe we need to let go of the gender titles. I sit on planes and if the pilot or co-pilot is a female we tend to be surprised.  In every culture around the world men are seen as the natural choice in leadership roles and to this day this assumption exists. Letting go of gender titles will go a long way to changing this.

Men and women don’t need to be the same in the work place, we are different and that’s a good thing for business. We bring different opinions   to the table, and by combining strengths and working together in gender balanced work places companies have proven to be successful.

As a woman in business who speaks out about these issues I run the risk of being labelled as “pushing the female thing”.

At first I was cautious and slightly apprehensive about making this my “niche”. I know I don’t always line up in my thinking with many other women who also push this important issue, however since my Telstra win I have consciously made this something I voice.

I am happy to cause disruption in how we perceive women in the workplace, fitting into the status quo is not an option. Finding a solution is.

Having a vision is critical. What do we want the future workplace to look like. And working towards changes would pervade every party of our consciousness and society.

I want to leave the workplace a better environment for my children and to do that it means that men and women need to work together and it is not just the responsibility of the woman to do this but both men and women need to work on this together.

If there ever was a time to get passionate and inspire change in your home, in your workplace, in your community, with your peers, to do something that matters now I believe is that time. It starts with you and if each one of us starts a small ripple it will eventually build into a tsunami of change. And 100 years from now my hope is that International Women’s day is celebrated for reasons different to today.

And remember if you see yourself as an equal in the workplace than that is how it will manifest itself.

Corporate Sari revealed

This week I asked a question on my social media outlets - what does the term Corporate Sari mean to you. The answers were interesting and it seemed that we all thought within the "box" as such and made the assumption that Corporate Sari was about Asian or Indian women in particular in business.

Lets think outside the box a little. However lets understand what the Sari is or what it represents.



The traditional Indian sari, is a six meter long length of exotic fine silk fabric, hand-dyed into a rainbow of rich deep colours. It is steeped in tradition and culture.

Women wrap the Sari around their bodies, showing just enough skin to make us look sultry, alluring and sexy.

However….. the irony is, this same tradition and culture can also be an ugly burden – a burden that weighs you down.

The beautiful image created externally can often mask the ugly inequality contained inside.

I have found that In Australia we have another Sari – I call it The Corporate Sari

Look only at the outside and you’ll see the lure of reward, of position and of possibilities.

On the inside however, lurks the limiting expectations of society and the heavy hand of discrimination. And perhaps most importantly of all the weight of our own guilt and self imposed limitations.

Too often we impose a limit on what we can be and what we can achieve. We impose self-fulfilling limits, we create glass ceilings that limit our vision and our reach – and all the time we should be shooting for the stars.

The concept of Corporate Sari came about post my Vic Telstra Win. I had the opportunity to meet and network with incredible women who run successful businesses. They all have so much to offer and we all had similar experiences and stories.

Corporate Sari is a play on my Indian heritage and my Australian life.

Corporate Sari is about networking but networking with a twist.:-)

Corporate Sari is about women leaning in (Sheryl Sandberg)

Corporate Sari networking with women - women from various industries have the ability to get together over dinner and share stories and perhaps help coach or mentor someone.

Corporate Sari networking with men - I believe for changes to occur in the workplace men and women need to start networking together. So once a month we will have breakfast and the women attending will invite a "bloke" to attend with them.

Corporate Sari youth - women in business today are paving the way for our daughters and sons and it is important we network with them and pass on the experiences, coach and mentor

Corporate Sari will evolve and I look forward to evolving with it.

My message to every woman is wear your beautiful sari. Wrap yourself in its beauty, the richness, colour and its possibilities.

Your Corporate Sari allows you to be different, vunerable, smart, driven, successful and enables you to aim to have it all.

Our face book page is called Corporate Sari, I look forward to connecting with you and please share this with your friends.

Abbot claims we are at war with people smugglers

Late last week, Mr Abbot, on the Ch 10 Wake Up Program, compared stopping the asylum seeker boats to war. He also claimed that releasing information to us; the Australian public would help the people smugglers and put asylum seekers lives at risk. That he would only be satisfying our idle curiosity on the issue.

I have never heard such bullshit rhetoric in all my life from an Australian Prime Minister. Firstly Mr Abbot I don’t just have idle curiosity on this issue, rather a deep concern for the asylum seekers who are desperate people risking their lives and the lives of their loved ones to come to a country that they hope will provide them with the freedom they want.

Secondly we are not at war! We are not at war with another country or with people smugglers and making such a reference takes away from our soldiers, who are placed into actual war zones by our leaders. Places where bombs go off indiscriminately Mr Abbot, where real live bullets are shot at you and every single day you run the risk of being killed.

And here is the irony; it is from these very war zones that many of the asylum seekers come from. The war in Afghanistan was declared post the 9/11 attacks; a war we got involved in and lost 40 Australian lives in. The invasion of Iraq in which we participated in saw 4.7M Iraqi’s displaced.

Thirdly I am not sure how transparency on the number of boats actually arriving would in any way shape or form help the people smugglers.

There was a time when we knew the number boats that were entering our borders, we knew how many lives were lost, we knew the truth behind “children overboard”. Now we have no transparency, just what Mr Abbot and his team decide will satisfy the so called idle curiosity of their constituents.

When are we going to have leadership in this country that tackles this issue, works to find solutions and stop using scaremongering tactics?

Let’s have a look at some facts: (source Amnesty International, Australian Govt)

·         As per the 1958 migration act it is actually not illegal to seek asylum in Australia even if you arriving by boat.  

·         There are 1.1 refugees in Australia for every 1000 people. So guess what they are not taking over the country and our jobs or homes

·         In 2013 15800 asylum seekers arrived in Australia by boat. Every government in power never really makes public annual figures on the actual number of people who arrive and the public assume it must be in the hundreds of thousands.

·         Centre link benefits for a refugee single mother and an Australian single mother is $611. 90. Centre link benefits for an asylum seeker is $0.00

·         The number of refugees who arrive by boat who are terrorists is 0.

·         In 2013 90% of asylum seekers who arrived by boat were deemed to be genuine and those that arrived by air, who are released into the community with no detention, were almost twice as likely to be rejected as refugees.

·         Asylum seekers who arrive by boat make up less then 2% of Australia’s annual immigration

·         At any given time in Australia we have close to 60,000 who have arrived here legally and have overstayed their visas deliberately. Asylum seekers may destroy their passports however will work with our authorities as they wish to legalise their status.

There are so many misconceptions around this issue and perhaps we idle Australians need to take some time to hear stories from people who have risked their lives, given up everything and made the hardest decision ever, to leave their country of birth, spend years making their way to a country that will hopefully give them the freedom every human on this planet is entitled to. For those of you who are interested follow this link to hear some stories.

http://www.rethinkrefugees.com.au/real-stories/najeebas-story/

The issue of asylum seekers who arrive by boat became an election issue last year and by all accounts from the rhetoric we heard I would not blame you for believing that thousands of illegal boat people are swamping our shores and taking our jobs.

Last time I went for a walk on a beach in Australia I certainly wasn’t run over by asylum seekers desperate to get to centrelink and recruitment agencies.

Indonesia is used as a launching point and the local Government has made it very clear that sending boats back to them is not acceptable.

Since 2001 almost 1400 asylum seekers have drowned (that we know about) and if we start sending these leaky boats back more will die. Mr Abbot these deaths do not sit well on my conscience, even though I am not directly responsible for sending them back, they are dying on your watch and we voted you in.

I don’t want to read stories such as the 20 meter fishing boat that sank in June 2012. According to reports they made 16 calls for help over two days, they begged to be rescued but no one went because the boat was deemed to be in Indonesian waters and we handed the responsibility back to them. 102 on that boat died. And over the years asylum seekers continue to drown because neither the Indonesians nor the Australians will take responsibility on who will conduct the rescue operations.

My concern is that if the current government is not open and transparent on this issue how many more people will drown that we will never know about.

I certainly do not claim to have the solution however sending boats back isn’t working; putting people into detention centres for significant period of time isn’t working. Surely we can process people quicker and rather than detention centers that are expensive to maintain and have a number of social and health issues we can look at community integration programs that have been proved to work better?

We have the right to protect our borders but do we protect it at the cost of innocent lives. Remember 90% of asylum seekers were granted visas to stay here in 2013.

The issue of asylum seekers, regardless of how they arrive into this country, will never go away. I want our government to have a humanitarian view of this matter, stop using it as political leverage or scaremongering Australian public, work with public and private sector to develop solutions.

Maybe I am far too much of an optimist however I cannot believe that a country such as ours that has the wealth, the talent, knowledge and leverage cannot find solutions that may not solve the issue completely but will go a long way towards it.

I don’t want the Prime Minister of this country making statements such as was made last week. Instead I want to hear empathy, sadness, anger, determination that this is an issue we can resolve and sending boats back is not the solution.

I know a number of you may not agree with my view point and I accept that. I am a migrant to this country; I came here by choice and actually married to ensure that I maintained my residency status.

However I was born in Fiji, a country that has had political unrest and what if after the first coup  there was persecution that my family and I needed to escape from. What if I too ended up on a leaky boat and begged for the Australian navy to rescue me and my children and no one came. None of you connected to me today, reading this very blog would have known me, I would have simply been a statistic, drowned at sea while trying to enter Australia illegally.

From a pure humanitarian view point, we need to find a way through this issue. We will never stop the boats; that is the sad reality. However we can stop people drowning. Given that 90% of asylum seekers processed in 2013 were granted visas tells me that majority of the people on these boats are genuine.

I believe we can become more focused on solutions  than what we currently are and personally I don’t want to be seen as an intolerant and selfish nation.

We all know that wonderful song by the seekers - We are Australian-  there is a wonderful chorus in this song

There are no words of comfort that can hope to ease the pain
Of losing homes and loved ones the memories will remain
Within the silent tears youll find the strength to carry on
Youre not alone, we are with you. We are Australian!
We are one but we are many and from all the land on earths we come, we share a dream to sing with one voice, I am, you are, we are Australian
 

Sense & Sexuality - boardroom to bedroom

I was at dinner the other night with someone who I had only just met; sharing a goat curry with vegetables when I got  asked a question that at first irked me, then however intrigued me and in my usual diplomatic style I managed to hide what I felt that to get to the bottom of what he meant.

The question was “do you use your sexuality and sensuality in the workplace to get what you want”?

Interesting question isn’t it? Firstly I wonder how many male leaders get asked that same question. I would take a bet and say perhaps zero. Here was a man who by all accounts is smart, articulate, works well with women yet he felt the need to ask such a question.

My initial response was to lash out with the usual rhetoric about why do men feel the need to sexualise women however I held back on this and remained charming and calm as I wanted to get to the bottom of why he would ask such a question.

He is in a senior management role and someone who works closely with women and has as I understand female bosses.

His answer ,on why he thought I would, was based on the following; I work in a male dominated industry, I am strong, smart, quick witted and these would be qualities a number of men would find attractive and that apparently I come across as very sexual.

Clearly I nearly choked on my goat at the last comment. Interestingly he had never seen me in a work environment and yes perhaps over dinner, with a male, a woman can come across as sensual and sexual.

My rather calm response was that no, I do not use my sexuality or sensuality in the work place to get what I want. It doesn’t work that way in leadership. No matter how good you look if people don’t buy into your message or the journey you want to take the business on then they will not follow you or go on the journey with you.

Rather perhaps what I have learnt and am learning is that to lead a business you have to do so with heart and passion. That you need to bring yourself to the business; people need to connect with who you are and you are able to show vulnerability.

You must truly believe that you can make a difference to the businesses, the people and the industry; I explained to him that I know people connect with my energy, my passion, I can communicate at various levels, that I paint a picture and take people on a journey.

I can get people to commit to projects like Random Acts of McGrath, Free Hugs and Walk a Mile as these are acts that come from the heart.

That my work in Fiji over the last 13 years proves that I truly believe I can make a difference at many levels and my passion and commitment to causes.

Ultimately however I love what I do and I love the industry I work in and the people I work with.

I am reading a fabulous book called The Radical Leap Re-energised by Steve Farber and in it he writes that extreme leadership is what is required right now and he challenges leaders to live up to the following ideal:

Do what you love in the service of people who love what you do

He also writes that there are four words that describe extreme leadership.

These are love, energy, audacity and proof.

I believe I can make a difference, the work I do in Fiji is driven by this, the coaching I do with agents is driven by this, the work I do with other women in and outside of real estate is driven by this belief.

So I think or hope I answered his question, no most women in leadership do not use their sexuality and sensuality in business to achieve what they want, however if their love, passion, energy and audacity for what they do is seen as such then perhaps we (women) have two choices.

We need to accept this and keep doing what we do because to change the behaviour would not be seen as extreme leadership.

Or we spend a lot of our time defining,reviewing and assessing our behaviour and language and run the risk of becoming poor leaders who people will not follow, or want to be lead by.

Many women in leadership roles who are strong, confident women often run the risk of being seen as pushy, bossy, ballsy, selfish, vain and god help us sexual.

Check out the latest Pantene ad re this very issue. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOjNcZvwjxI

However my question is that if women can bring extreme leadership to their businesses based on love, energy, audacity and proof it will be a wonderful mix of heart, passion, confidence and results.

What will we be labelled then I wonder?

Who are we to preach when our own backyard needs an upgrade!

Earlier last week the Abbott government appointed Natasha Stott Despoja as Australia’s  Ambassador for women and girls.

There is no doubt that Stott Despoja is the right person for the role, a strong female that many young girls can look up to.

I remember when she took on the role as leader of the Democrats, I thought that it was a shame a strong female leader will never get to be Prime Minister due to her choice of political party.

I often watch the Project and enjoy her banter with the other panellists and her point of view. I have also had the pleasure of meeting her several times over the last few years and she is someone who has a sense of self and a strong energy. What I admire is that her commitment to women’s issues is simply unfaltering.

I believe that the Liberal party have corrently chosen an admirable reprasentative for women's advocacy.  However I am still a little unclear exactly what the outcomes are supposed to be. 

Stott-Despoja hopes to focus on women in leadership. Additionally, empowering women through educational and economic independence is at the top of her list. Finally, the new ambassador hopes to focus on the treatment of females in the South Pacific and asylum seekers.

My question: If Australia is going to be the guiding light for other countries on the role of women in leadership, economy and education, then what example are we setting?

·         Top companies in Australia are still failing to promote women into board, key management and leadership positions; in fact it is still under 10% (according to the last census).

·         According to the same census Australia is lagging behind US, NZ, UK, Sth Africa and Canada, we have the lowest percentage of women in senior positions compared to these countries.

·         We are now in an environment where the option or threat of quotas is very real, something that many  women in leadership roles have mixed views on.

·         Top ASX companies are now required to report on their gender balance which has seen a slight shift increase of women being appointed as directors.

Source: Womens Agenda,Aug 2012
Apart from gender imbalance there is the ongoing issue of pay discrimination. In fact women have to work 64 more days a year to earn the same as men.

It is interesting that we have a government in power that only has one female in Cabinet. Clearly if there is a glass ceiling in this country, it starts at the top!

I don’t have to or want to keep repeating the same mantra which is that gender balanced companies are far more successful than those that are not.

Then of course we have the issue of asylum seekers.  We will stop the boats said Mr Abbott, well the truth is the boats will never stop and now we don’t have the transparency we once had on the number of boats  arriving and how many actually die on their journey to what they see as freedom. So instead of stopping the boats we now have stopped the news on any boats arriving.

Part of Stott Despoja role is how women asylum seekers are treated, my issue however is male, female or child, when a boat is spotted entering Australian waters they are all treated the same.

They are they put into refugee camps where it takes us far too long process them. Prolonged detention is not the solution to stopping the boats.

Almost 80% of refugees are women, they arrive here with children, often no husband and health problems, chronic disease, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress.

There have been reports in the past of how refugees have been treated so I wonder exactly how transparent Stott Despoja will be with us and what influence she will be able to have on changes that she and her team recommend.

The first trip as the Ambassador was to lead a delegation to Solomon, Nauru and Vanuatu.

I wonder when or if Fiji will be one of the places they visit, given the current sanctions and the cold relations between the two countries. I would be surprised if she does.

However despite all political relations if the key focus is on women, and girls and leadership, economic and educational opportunities then these issues are surely far more important.

The Pacific certainly needs strong female leadership and it is great to see Australia place a focus on this.

My question remains, if we are to be seen as a leader to others then are we displaying behaviours that entitle us to teach and lead others?

If I was a woman in the South Pacific looking at countries that could provide me with hope and leadership by example would Australia be that country given their own culture?

You only have to look at our current team of ministers to question the committment of gender balances in our country. And yes I do see Julia Bishop as the token female.
 

 
Stott Despoja is a trail blazer, well known and respected. It will be very interesting to watch how she balances issues at home versus issues internationally. 

Mandela – Prisoner 46664, rebel, warrior, leader, unifier

On Thursday 5^th of December the world lost a leader who not only changed a country but influenced leaders and people across the world.

He had a unique life and one that had many challenges. However he seemed to overcome these with grace and dignity.

Mandela trained as a lawyer and became the leader of the African National Congress that was fighting against the Afrikaner regime.

In 1962 he was given life imprisonment for sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government and was imprisoned for 27 long years. He was held on Robben Island in harsh conditions, completely hidden from public view. However Mandela did have a constant view to his beloved country across the waters.

 

At the end of his trial, Mandela gave a now iconic 4 hour speech in which he said: "I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination," he said. "I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

Even in prison he fought for rights of prisoners, which led to them to improved access to newspapers, radio, quality food and the right to study.

He was released in 1990 and South Africa began to move away from racial segregation. FW de Clerk, the last white President, ordered his release, called him a "unifier" and said he had "a remarkable lack of bitterness".   

Both de Clerk and Mandela jointly won the Nobel Peace prize in 1993.

Four years after he was released he became the first black president of South Africa. There is a wonderful image that many may remember of Mandela holding de Clerk’s hand up with his arms around him. The image resounded unity not just in South Africa but around the world.

In 1995 he used the rugby World Cup to unite the nation. Walking onto the field, wearing Afrikaner Francois Pienaar’s number 6. The almost entirely white crowd chanted his name and this simple act made a statement and bought Afrikaner’s and South Africans into the new South Africa.

Mandela message was always one of forgiveness and reconciliation. He peacefully negotiated an end to segregation, he had every reason to be bitter however rose above it. In fact he became the nation’s conscience as South Africa went on a journey of healing from the scars of apartheid.

"As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison," Mandela said after he was freed in 1990 

As you read about the life of Mandela you realise that he played many complex roles in his life, he was a freedom fighter, an activist, a prisoner, a unifier and lastly an elder statesman.

He had a steely gaze and a big wide smile. He was tall and many said he had an aura around him of dignity rarely seen. Twenty seven long years did not break this man, instead it made him iconic.

When you measure world leaders against Mandela most fall short, for those of us who have watched this man we have truly been blessed to be around in his time.

At the age of 86 Mandela stepped away from public life – “don’t call me, I will call you,” he said.

It is hard for us living in Australia to imagine Apartheid and segregation, what it can do to a person and how it can change attitudes and make you bitter about the system. In fact many left South Africa and immigrated to Australia.

Mandela was clearly special. He was a gracious man and transformational leader. A man his country locked away for 27 long years and yet still returned forgiving and leading his beloved nation on a journey that healed and changed it forever.

He called for an end to the bloodshed and forged a democratic political path for South Africa. By enabling blacks to not just vote but also participate in government, he made South Africa a global player. He proudly coined it the “Rainbow nation” in his inaugural speech.

He said: “We enter into a covenant that we shall build a society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity - a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.”

He was a generous man, doing a lot of work on the issue of Aids/HIV, a disease he lost a son to.

“Death is something inevitable. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace,”

"I would like to be remembered not as anyone unique or special, but as part of a great team in this country that has struggled for many years, for decades and even centuries," he said. "The greatest glory of living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time you fall."

Rest in peace Nelson Mandela, you have taught us many lessons and as generations learn about you, you will continue to teach them.