3 minute read
Open Minded, Inclusive and Italian at Heart
OPEN-MINDED, INCLUSIVE, AND ITALIAN AT HEART: Dr. TERESA DE FAZIO
joins the Segmento family
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by Jenna Lo Bianco
Her name is synonymous with cultural inclusion, equality and diversity. Many will know her work spanning decades in academia and education, as well as languages advocacy and multiculturalism in Victoria and beyond. We are delighted to welcome Dr. Teresa De Fazio to the Segmento family. She’s eager to share her passion and enthusiasm for her Italian cultural heritage, as well as rich knowledge and deep understanding of Australia’s multicultural landscape. I chatted with Dr. De Fazio, keen to learn more about some of her more formative experiences.
Overcoming challenges is something we face in our day-to-day lives, including across professional journeys. What do we stand to learn from these difficult periods?
«The Renaissance followed the dark period of the plague. It started with a movement to rediscover meaning, recreate and move to a higher level of understanding humanity. Quite a timely reminder given the pandemic we are currently tackling across the globe. I guess, on a personal level, we all have our “Renaissance” moments too. Times when we rise from our dark periods with a focus more on recreating than the challenge itself. I am happy to share an event with you that, looking back, was such a personal moment. My very young daughter was ill and running a fever. I received “the call” at work in the mid afternoon to advise taking her to the doctor. On informing my supervisor at a large organisation, the response was, “You will never get ahead in your career, you are Italian and an Italian woman. Your family values are too strong. It isn’t your fault that you will always prioritise your family.” With that, my supervisor mapped out an obstacle course that required ninja-like dexterity to overcome.»
What was your response to this
challenge? «That one event set off a chain reaction of events, and in the end I felt it best to leave the organisation. I was not going to be apologetic about my rich cultural heritage, my choice to be a mother, my gender nor any other aspect of my identity. But I was hurt, bewildered and very wary. I took up a different employment path. The one that I had chosen was blocked. So began my period of remodelling, redesigning and rejuvenation. I can see it now, not then.
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Then, it was a dark period. The only thing that drove me was my own conviction to never be that kind of supervisor, to do all I could to be a change maker for equality, so no one else would ever hear such pazzie (follies)!»
Have you always had this sensitivity to and awareness of social injustices? Or did they develop across your professional journey?
«Without really consciously realising it, I did and have always challenged injustices – from my beginnings as an English teacher to migrants and refugees, an Italian teacher dealing with school bullies, the topic of my PhD, and then as a Commissioner of the Victorian Multicultural Commission. My work has always been to create and recreate practices, systems and ways of thinking that challenge systemic blocks to inclusion.
How have you been able to integrate this philosophy into your
work? «It is exciting to work with organisations and teams to understand how to work respectfully and develop strategic equity practices, and I have developed a model of intercultural leadership and cultural inclusion work. Drawing on my background as a teacher to facilitate training and as a researcher to work strategically, as well as leadership experience has meant I have been able to drive some impactful initiatives alongside some incredible people.»
Well, congratulations! You have certainly used your life experiences, both positive and challenging, as fuel for good in the work you continue to do in the community.
«Choosing to challenge oneself, and the world around you so that everyone can take up their place, is critical. I guess I had this value passed on to me by my hard working migrant Italian parents. Interestingly, I am now set for my next renaissance. Stay tuned – more to come!»
