Licia Heath

I didn’t get elected, but I did win. Now I help others to win.

Profile

Licia Heath is the inaugural CEO of Women for Election and she’s dedicated to inspiring and equipping more women across the country to run for public office at the local, state and federal level.

In addition to training women to run for office, Licia is also focussed on engaging more women in Australia’s political process and educating them on the various roles they might like to take to help another woman get elected.

She sets the tone that gender-balanced governments improve quality of life not just for women and girls, but for all of society.

Licia ran in the high-profile Wentworth by-election in October 2018 and helped shape the political debate on a national platform.

She spent over 19 years in the finance and asset management sector and worked at Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse in London and Australia. She helped establish Ironbark Asset Management, an Australian-based asset management business.

Expertise

Talking Points

Women in Leadership

Australia was long renowned for its machismo, alpha-male style of leadership in both corporate and political arenas. Larrikins, ladies men and authoritative leadership styles led to unilateral decisions, frequently overlooking other diverse talent. Today, the AICD dedicates a governance chapter to the alpha-male style of leadership and how it has frequently destroyed organisational value. But has Australian politics caught up? Leadership styles have evolved as has Australia’s workforce, and this topic explores how the traditional notion of a King-Maker is dead, and how the Queen-Maker concept is on the rise with soft skills leading to real power.

Political Savviness

Show me the person who hates office politics and I’ll show you the person outsmarted and overlooked for the promotion. Being politically savvy means you closely observe, and have an understanding of, how your organisation works and where the real power resides. Professional diplomacy while effectively relating to people at all levels, are key traits exhibited by those with politically savvy, as is understanding the unwritten rules for success. A power map is a very different concept from an org chart and I can show you how to build one.

Politics 101: Understanding the Australian system

Licia was 40 years old when she realised the Senate was the same thing as the Upper House.

She is not embarrassed to admit this as she never remembers being taught it. Australian culture suggests that we shouldn’t discuss politics or religion at a dinner party or BBQ - and our political engagement and education has suffered as a consequence. But that is beginning to change with new civics education businesses flourishing and a greater number of ways to engage in Australia’s political process.

Licia will walk audiences through the main things you should know about Australia’s political process, including the history of our political parties and preference system and the evolution of the teal movement. Audiences will also learn great strategies for discussing politics at your neighbour's BBQ (let’s leave religion to another speaker!).

Overview of the 2025 Federal Election, including key trends and what it means for business/communities etc.

Whilst the 2022 Federal election saw a remarkable lift in women entering the Senate, the House of Representatives (aka the House of Power) remains stubbornly low, despite a wave of Independent MPs entering the Parliament.

Women in politics was a hot topic in the 2022 federal election, but was that a short term phenomenon? Is the current pipeline of capable women in politics able to grow the numbers of future female MPs, or is the country destined for a sharp decline in the 2025 federal election? And an even bigger topic for discussion... why should we care?