Sophie Conlon
When Lynette Martin began her career she did not have any influential women to look up to, now she is leading South Australia’s second-largest city.
When Ms Martin left school she began work as a personal assistant for Softwood Holdings chief executive officer Don Downs, who she said inspired her to give back to the community.
“Softwoods was the largest forestation company in Australia at that time and so I was put into an important position in a big organisation at quite an early age really,“ she said.
“My boss, the late Don Downs, he was always involved in not only the business but the community as well and so I got a taste of the broader community at that time.“
She said Mr Downs was a “real mentor“ during her early career.
“I was young, but I noticed at that time he did have a respect for females, which that’s a long time ago, and maybe that might not have been the normal back then,“ she said.
“Predominantly, it would have been a male environment in the forestry industry, but I always felt they respected me and the position I held.“
Ms Martin soon began volunteering in the community and held leadership roles in groups like the Red Cross, what is now known as Novita and the Mount Gambier Rotaract Club.
When she turned 28, Ms Martin aged out of the Rotaract Club, but as a woman she was unable to join the then male-only Rotary Club.
“Of course, Rotary has moved with the times now and allows female membership,“ she said.
While she was taking on these roles in the community, Ms Martin said she did not really have any female role models to look up to.
“Back then you didn’t see any females in those roles,“ she said.
She said there were people like Ita Buttrose who she had admired, but it did not go further than that.
Ms Martin’s community work continued as she started a family, lectured at TAFE, started a family business and then became the Mount Gambier Chamber of Commerce president; a role she held for 11 years.
In 2018 she left this role and was elected as mayor for the City of Mount Gambier.
“I never ever started out thinking I wanted to be mayor, that was never my objective in life,“ she said.
“In fact, over some years people had suggested that I do stand for mayor and I just dismissed that thought, but then suddenly in 2018 I thought, ’why not?’.
“I felt I had more to give to the community.“
Ms Martin said she was “lucky enough to have been treated as an equal“ through her journey, but said she had faced some discrimination when she was elected because she was a woman.
“When I began my first term as mayor in 2018, being only the second female mayor in the City of Mount Gambier, I did face negativity from some people,“ she said.
“However, I have always believed that this is when you need to be strong and remain focused on the end goal and understand your purpose.“
She said facing gender imbalances in her life had made her “stand up and be stronger“.
“You cannot control other people’s actions or words, but you can control how you react to them and this is important,“ she said.
“Of course taking on board constructive criticism is important and useful, but I do not buy into negativity.
“I choose to continue to focus on my work and purpose within my role as mayor and would encourage others to do the same.“
Despite being the council’s second female mayor, Ms Martin said she did not see herself as a trailblazer.
“Lenore Bishop was the first female mayor in 1964 to 1967, so she was a trailblazer in local government,“ she said.
“I think I’m one of many and not a trailblazer, I think because it’s becoming more the norm to have women in leadership roles.“
She said it was important to have women in leadership roles because they could bring different views to the table.
“Men and women definitely think differently on many levels and a woman can bring a point of difference, because we do think differently, there is no doubt about it,“ she said.
“I don’t know If I can define it, but I know sometimes a male might say something but I would come at it from a different direction.“
Through her career, Ms Martin said she was fortunate to be in roles which had allowed her a good work-life balance, but thought it would be difficult to be a mayor if she had a young family.
“I think it’s a role best suited to not having a young family because if you want to give it the very best chance of success you do have to be very committed to the role,“ she said.
“Particularly a city the size of Mount Gambier, it is a demanding role.“
She said she had to make sacrifices to perform mayoral duties sometimes, but she was more than happy to do that.
“I stood for the position and I always believed that I owe it to the people to represent them to the best of my ability,“ she said.
Ms Martin urged young women to follow their dreams.
“I would like to think that the young females in Mount Gambier do look and see a female holding this position and understand that it is achievable,“ she said
She said it was important to stay focused and put in work towards your goals.
