"The conflict in Northern Ireland affected every aspect of my life," Rebecca says. "I wasn't able to go out and do all the normal things that kids do. Going to school was dangerous; there were constant concerns about bombings and gunfire. Conflict was habituated and the norm."
After completing a Master of Arts in Scotland, she spent two years volunteering with a number of not-for-profit organisations in South Africa at the end of the apartheid. "That's where I learnt how people at the extremities of society manage to cope, and I've been working in the international development space ever since," said Rebecca, whose subsequent PhD on peace-building in her homeland blossomed into an international career.
Contracts with the Australian Departments of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Defence Force have taken Rebecca all over the world - including the hotspots of Sri Lanka, Aceh, Myanmar, Fiji, Solomon Islands and Bougainville - to help communities transition to peace. Along the way, she's learnt a great deal about effective leadership and gender inequality, which she's now sharing with a new generation of leaders from developing countries.
"The people we are working with are going to face challenges that we can't even imagine," Rebecca says. "They need a clear understanding of how to be a good leader and team builder, and how to create collaboration and consensus. They need to be solution-focused problem-solvers who recognise that we all make mistakes but that it's better working together than in opposition. Conflict resolution is at the core of effective leadership."
During sessions with participants drawn from agricultural institutes, universities and government departments from across the Indo-Pacific, Rebecca focuses on gender equity and social inclusion in the workplace, and the pathways and policies needed to enable it.
"Many of our participants are courageous women at the forefront of disrupting gender norms in their communities," Rebecca says. "Some live in societies in which they are not permitted to contribute to discussions until they reach a certain age, where societal norms of what women can and can't do are still very rigid."
"Creating an enabling environment for them is very dependent on men becoming aware of their unconscious bias and how the workplace and its structures have continued to privilege them over women. In our mixed groups, men are often horrified to learn how gender power is exercised."
However, the teaching has just as many applications in present-day Australia.
"I love the phrase 'Don't stay where you are tolerated; go where you are celebrated' and that place can be hard to find, even in Australia in 2019," Rebecca says. "You only have to think about the treatment meted out to Julia Gillard while she was Prime Minister and our own gender pay gap to see that the situation in Australia is equally dire. We have a far way to go when it comes to thinking about what's appropriate behaviour towards women."
"While things like parental leave, access to childcare, the expense of childcare and all sorts of provisions around caring for the elderly pertain equally to men, the main burden for managing them continues to fall to women. If you can create an environment that understands the particular challenges that women face, then you can introduce policies and see women progress up the professional ladder quickly."
During a career that has seen her work as an Oxfam education development specialist, run her own peace-building consultancy and mentor young women working in the development space, Rebecca has also learnt an enormous amount about herself.
"I have spent my whole life working out of my comfort zone," she says. "I have developed a really clear sense of what's important to me and who I am, recognising my vulnerabilities and strengths, and I use them to my advantage. Like many women, I've had to overcome imposter syndrome - those questions about whether I am good enough to do this and should I be here."
"But I am constantly inspired by the incredible women I work with, and my Irish background reminds me that change is always possible.Once we realise there is more to a person than their colour or culture or gender or religious persuasion we can see that we are all complex beings with skills to share as we seek to create cohesive societies."
Rebecca Spence is a Training Leader with International Development at UNE and is currently delivering a leadership enrichment program to John Allwright Fellows - agricultural leaders drawn from countries including Nepal, Vietnam, Mongolia, Myanmar, Timor Leste, the Philippines and Indonesia.
