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As we celebrate the role of women on International Women’s Day, I wanted to reflect on the amazing women I have had the chance to work alongside or observe in their roles in Probation. I want to pick out just a few themes which have really resonated with me, these include, commitment, dedication, kindness, being great friends and inspiring inclusion – the key theme of this year’s International Women’s Day.
At the heart of everything we do in Probation, sits public safety and I am very proud as Chief Executive to lead an organisation with women working at every level who are committed to supporting safer communities. I want to pay tribute to the commitment and dedication of our women working as Probation Officers, Probation Service Officers, Community Service Supervisors and our senior managers. We also have our corporate staff who are supporting our operational work in a wide range of environments and ensuring that we are best equipped to deal with the challenges we face.
Inspiring inclusion within Probation is also about ensuring that the women we work with are supported to rehabilitate and reintegrate within local communities. Within our caseload 11% of those we supervise are women and we provide a gender specific approach to working with women who have offended in order to tackle the causes of offending. Seventy per cent of those who have signed up to our victim information scheme are women and our victims liaison officers and staff work closely with women who are victims and survivors to ensure their voice is heard within the criminal justice system.
As a criminal justice organisation one of our key priorities is working in partnership to tackle domestic abuse which impacts the lives of so many women and girls across Northern Ireland. Thank you to all those women within our partner organisations, in the community and voluntary sectors who are working to make NI a better place for all.
Within Probation, I work with many amazing women and men, and I am really proud of the progress that we have collectively made towards building a culture that recognises the value and contribution of everyone in our organisation. We have a variety of staff teams, led by committed managers and it is here that I often see the support that is taking place for everyone across the organisation. I am also encouraged by the practical conversations on a range of areas and on changes we need to make as an organisation to continue to develop our organisational culture and to support inclusion of women in particular. They also send a powerful message of friendship and support between us, as well as celebrating difference amongst us. Knowing that your colleagues are there to support you in times of challenge or difficulty, is essential for a healthy workplace culture. For me, this is a good example of inspiring inclusion – taking practical steps to support women to achieve their full potential by overcoming obstacles or barriers to a fulfilling career. We still have much work to do on ensuring that inclusion is fully part of our DNA but as Chief Executive together with the senior leadership team, we are committed to leading on this important issue which should take place every day of the year.
Amanda Stewart, Chief Executive, Probation Board for Northern Ireland