Fifteen years ago Sonia Casanova, an experienced marketer, had recently moved to Griffith with her new husband. Flexible working arrangements were almost non-existent at the time, so Ms Casanova found herself juggling a commute to Sydney every second week for work.
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"I was travelling one week to Sydney and the next working remotely in Griffith," Ms Casanova said.
"But after a while I felt like I was missing out on life here in Griffith and I wanted to be here."
Planning for a family, Ms Casanova needed flexibility in her work life so she decided to take the plunge and open up her own marketing consultancy business. Then she met graphic designer Leah Walsh.
The name, The Articulate Pear came from the combining of both women's skills sets to form the business that now specialises in marketing, graphic design and web design.
"It's a play on words, meaning the pair of us," Ms Casanova explained.
Nine years after the birth of The Articulate Pear the business has grown to a staff of seven designers and marketers, all of them women and many of them mothers.
With staffing being a common challenge for small regional businesses, catering to the needs of working women is one of the key aspects The Articulate Pear has been able to offer staff.
"Women are still primarily the carers for their children and as an employer of women who are mostly parents, we want to offer flexibility because we want our staff to have that work-life family balance," Ms Casanova said.
"I'd encourage all employers whether they're employing fathers or mothers to allow flexibility in the workplace so that the care responsibility can be shared amongst both parents."
The 'second shift' that women experience of clocking off at their paid job only to race off to begin the hours of household responsibilities, is another aspect that Ms Casanova believes tends to hold women back in business.
"There is not a lot of time that is allowed for networking for women, so we're not doing the networking events or lunches or coffee meetings," Ms Casanova explained.
"So that's why organisations like Griffith Women in Business is really important because they encourage and give women a reason to actually get together and network."
Griffith Women in Business is an organisation connecting and supporting the careers of Griffith women, of which Ms Casanova and Ms Walsh are both members.
"It's not just for business owners, it's for any woman who's working in Griffith and men who want to support women are also very welcome to join," Ms Casanova said.
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Kat is a former English teacher to international students and has taught all over the world. She is beginning a new career as a journalist with the Area News. Got something you want to chat about? She's all ears.
Kat is a former English teacher to international students and has taught all over the world. She is beginning a new career as a journalist with the Area News. Got something you want to chat about? She's all ears.
