There is much being done to help women return to the workforce.
Last month the Albanese Government announced that $15.84 million would be invested to boost women’s workforce participation and their representation in leadership positions. The ‘Supported Returner Program’ and the ‘Project Return’ program are examples of resources to help ‘return to work’, and of course, there is the Fair Work Act 2009 which provides flexible entitlements to encourage work and family balance and non-discrimination.
We are making progress. However, this read is not about gender parity. It is about the expectations and pressures that many women feel to return to work soon after having a family. In many cases there is a ‘need’ and in some cases a ‘want’. Then there are also those who choose to take on the primary carer role in isolation at certain points of their journey rather than respond to emails at 2am whilst feeding and rocking the bassinet with one foot.
“There is often an unspoken expectation that as an individual you should want to go straight back to work after you have children,” says Libby Walsh, Australian and NZ Managing Director of Roxy-Pacific. “When you don’t, you almost feel you have to explain your decision to stay home.”
Ms. Walsh is a proud mother of 3 daughters and partner to husband Joseph. For 7 years Libby was ‘home’ with her children who were born in close succession, before joining Roxy-Pacific in 2015. She joined the group as a Development Manager working on Sydney and Melbourne development projects across a range of sectors including residential, commercial & hotels. In 2019 she took on the role of Director – Australia NZ, around the time when COVID hit.
Roxy-Pacific Holdings is a renowned, property and hospitality group with more than 50 years of experience and expertise and operations across the Asia-Pacific region and has been in Australia since 2014.
Commencing her career as a Consulting Engineer for Wood & Grieve Engineers (now Stantec), Libby holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Western Australia (UWA) as well as a Graduate Certificate in Applied Finance and Investment (Major in Property Investment) from FINSIA. The Australian Institute of Company Directors ‘Company Directors Course (GAICD)’ is also under her belt as well as a Green Star Accreditation from the Green Building Council of Australia.
Having a long term passion for dance and music, she also served as Treasurer on the Board of the Ausdance National Council, a Not-For-Profit Arts organisation supporting the professional dance sector.
“Dancing is not a talent of mine unfortunately but it has been for my girls and I’ve always loved watching them dance. I love all the arts, the theatre and ballet and make sure we go to at least 6 or 7 shows a year.”
Despite all the above, Libby remains extremely modest about her achievements and the juggling act in between, and instead talks of the practical ways she navigated her journey; taking one step at a time, at the right time and giving things what they needed, when they needed it.
“Based on my personality, I knew I wasn't going to do part time work or part time mothering well. So, I just took the view of my mother, who has always been a career focused woman, that you focus on what you need to at the time and can always get back into building your career later on. I had seen my Mum build a completely new career later in her life, so I wasn’t concerned about “missing out” in the short term. She got a PhD at 60 and became an Associate Professor. She totally changed direction from her earlier career days and has had great successes in different areas before and after children.
You must make choices and there's always going to be a trade-off but I really felt like I gave my girls as much of myself as I could in their formative years. It’s not for everyone but it was the right decision for us as a family.”
The early days
Libby grew up in Cottesloe, WA, where she experienced an idyllic beachfront upbringing.
“I had a very relaxed childhood living by the beach. When we were little we’d get pulled out of school early on a Friday and head down the coast for the weekend. At the direction of my Dad, we always stopped for Friday night lap swimming followed by hot chips! It was pure freedom with either beach or bush walks and riding our bikes everywhere.”
This was the foundation of Libby’s early years until she started her engineering degree at UWA. Being a woman of many interests, and one who always loved working, Libby’s first job was with Wood & Grieve Engineers in Perth and later Melbourne as a Mechanical Engineer. However, after realising her ‘joy’ was in working with people and projects rather than in the detail of the design, she later moved to Incoll Management in Sydney working for Greg Incoll.
“Greg gave me a great opportunity as a Project Manager and I got to work on so many fantastic projects such as the Carlton United Brewery site, which is now the Central Park development.”
It was from this role that Libby took an initial 12-month period of maternity leave for her first daughter which ended up lasting for 7 years until her 3rd daughter reached pre-school age.
“I love what I do now as every day is different. You're dealing with a lot of different people and amazing professionals and get to see tangible outcomes. It’s a dynamic industry and its broad which I think for me, is probably a theme in my life. There's always lots of things I'm interested in and lots of things I’m trying to do in parallel.
In terms of my leadership style, I’d like to think I’m a flexible thinker, broad minded and non-hierarchical. I am always keen to listen to people's perspectives to learn more. Everyone has something different to offer.”
The Foundry, West End Residences - Glebe, NSW
Current projects
A recent statement project launched by the Roxy-Pacific Holdings team, was the West End Residences in Glebe, Sydney. From project inception, through to design and completion, the company was in collaboration with their team of choice.
“It was a very enjoyable project, a fantastic team of people and everybody just worked extremely well together. I think in part, the success was in being able to hand select our own team from the beginning of the design, from the architects and agents through to the builder.”
The architectural design of the West End Residences was curated by Turner, built by Hutchinson Builders and was a finalist in the UDIA Awards 2020 for ‘Excellence in High-Density Development.’
Glebe’s inner western location is charismatic and unparalleled, facing Sydney’s city skyline and in an area that has undergone great transformation and gentrification over the years. Centred around charming streets that are punctuated with residential historical conversions on one side and industrial buildings to the other, the suburb has a distinctive eclectic ‘edge' that it has become very well-known for.
The project itself consisted of two separate buildings comprising of 231 apartments with generous landscaped courtyards and rooftop gardens; the classic exterior brickwork, arches and scale of the building taking cues from the surrounding streetscape in both size and materiality. The result? A structure that was contemporary yet one that would endure the test of time.
Roxy-Pacific are also working on a commercial office building development in Little Bourke Street, Melbourne and recently purchased an office building at 165 Walker St, North Sydney with impressive views across the harbour, only a few minutes from the new Metro station.
“North Sydney's got a great future and we're really excited about it. 165 Walker Street was the old Sony building so we’re currently stripping out all those floors and creating beautiful boutique suites for smaller tenants instead. There’s a strong focus on the breakout spaces, collaboration areas and quiet rooms whereas pre-covid you wouldn't have considered these things as such a priority for a smaller office fit-out.
Although the way we use the office has changed, I’m still a firm believer in the the importance of the office now and into the future. Regardless of whether people are in it three or five days a week, the office definitely has its place. I think it's important for business and culture to have that focal point.” states Libby.
The Roxy Foundation.
Just when you think no more could fit onto Libby Walsh’s plate, she is currently in the process of extending the great work of the Roxy Foundation in Singapore, to here in Australia. The Roxy Foundation is the charity arm of the business focused on the well-being of children and their families with the Singapore Head Office regularly donating and actively volunteering their time to some great causes.
“We've been a regular donor to Make a Wish in New Zealand because we've got assets in Auckland, so we would volunteer our building for a big event each year and donate to this worthy cause.
“Coming out of covid lockdowns and restrictions I've been trying to find the right organisation here in Sydney (where the team is based), where we can have a positive impact, not just by way of donations but also for the staff as a group to participate in active volunteering. This will be in place next year and will again focus on the wellbeing of children and their families.”
A balance all around from her work to home-life, there’s much to be admired about the success of Libby Walsh. When she’s not managing multi-million-dollar developments or looking for new acquisitions, she’s organizing a busy schedule of sports and music for three daughters, trying to fit her own exercise regime in and spending time with family. And although ‘unspoken’ it can often be an overwhelming existence and one of great patience to choose one or the other as she did.
“What I have learnt is to approach these decisions with clarity and be honest about what you can give something and when; there is no single formula as we are all different and have different circumstances and capabilities”.
“Success for me, in my work life, stems from the way you manage things and treat people and how you balance your working life as part of a bigger broader picture. I think when you approach things from a perspective of balance and timing and with patience it helps across all areas of your life.”
The Foundry, West End Residences - Glebe, NSW
