Marine Rescue NSW will host a women's empowerment workshop in Batemans Bay on August 18 and 19.
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Marine Rescue NSW Southern Zone extends Port Kembla to Eden and it's hoped this year's conference will be better attended by women from the inlands.
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Shoalhaven deputy unit commander Lynne Hocking said the idea was born out of a feeling of "disenfranchisement" by women in the organisation.
"Because it's predominantly filled with men they were wondering if this was an organisation that they felt valued in," Ms Hocking said.
"We want to educate women on how to feel empowered working in a predominantly all male environment."
Doing this is particularly important for volunteer organisations, which Ms Hocking says operate differently to that of paid employment.
"It's quite intensive training in Marine Rescue," she said.
"It's at a national level so if you get a rating of 'crew' or 'radio room' or 'watch officer' and a male has the same rating, sometimes they don't acknowledge you as equal. As a 'watch officer' that's the most senior you can be and you may have men under you that are 'radio operators' who try and usurp."
Ms Hocking said the aim was to help women develop the tools to be strong enough to say 'that's not on'.
For the first time this year, the conference will hear from a male speaker, who is now a Marine Rescue volunteer.
"Mark Davidson was the sniper when he was in the police force at the Lindt Cafe siege," Ms Hocking said.
"He talks about unfairness within the organisation and how he's dealt with it, and what PTSD does."
The second speaker will be inspirational speaker Dr Maureen Cleary OAM.
Dr Cleary is a high-achieving role model to all women. She specialises is the governance of Church, community and non-profit organisations.
"She's really onto governance and knowing how to use governance and policies within an organisation to protect you," Ms Hocking said.
Elena Fletcher-Carter is a registered mental health nurse who believes and advocates for equality, diversity and inclusion in every aspect of our life.
In 2019 Ms Fletcher-Carter was awarded Mentor of the Year at the trust where she worked in the UK.
"She's going to educate us on what pronouns are, how they're used an why, and understanding the LGBTQIA+ community," Ms Hocking said.
"Generally speaking the men are great around that but I want us as women to be able to diffuse any conversations where anyone through ignorance says they don't understand."
The final speaker will be local Marine Rescue Sussex Inlet volunteer Dalia Napier.
Ms Napier will share her story of childhood abuse and how she worked her way through it.
"When a person discloses abuse it can be hard to know how to respond and what to do," Ms Hocking said.
"Dalia is an inspirational woman who is getting on with her life."
A diversity and culture sub-committee to feed information up to Marine Rescue's head office was created after the inaugural conference in 2022.
"Being the first year, last year was more about getting together socially and connecting emotionally," Ms Hocking said.
However, this year Ms Hocking hopes for two or three specific outcomes from the conference.
"We already know one, and that's to stop men from addressing women as 'guys'," she said.
"We're trying to get the words 'team' and 'everyone' into the vocabulary."
The conference caters for women across the board, however the first seats will be made available to Marine Rescue volunteers.
"We also welcome other people to register online," Ms Hocking said.
Sally Foy
Regional reporter based in the Southern Highlands. I am also a mother and advocate for children with a disability and epilepsy.
Regional reporter based in the Southern Highlands. I am also a mother and advocate for children with a disability and epilepsy.
