Deputy Commissioner of Police Linda Williams has seen plenty of change in her 43 years of policing – not least of all the uniforms.

“When I first started, the uniform that women were wearing was starkly different to the unisex uniform we have today,” Ms Williams says.

“Women were wearing a dress and carrying a handbag, and they carried their gun in a handbag. From an equity and a safety perspective, things have certainly come a long way.

“The proportion of women in policing has certainly changed, there weren’t as many when I joined, and the rate of women in SAPOL has grown exponentially.”

In 2015, Ms Williams was appointed the Deputy Commissioner of Police and became the highest-ranking female police officer in South Australian history.

She says that in 2005, there were only six senior female officers, but today there are 43, which came with more women rising through the ranks.

The increase in women police officers followed the removal of systemic barriers that meant women either didn’t want to join the force or didn’t want to stay.

“The dedicated changes that have deliberately been put in place to remove a lot of barriers, were in some respects too slow,” she says.

“It took women to be in the room to have their voice heard, and I think that makes a big change.

“Attitudes created some of the barriers as to what people thought women could or should do in policing.”

In 1966, the ‘marriage bar’, which prevented married women from working in the Australian public sector, was lifted. According to Ms Williams, once policies like that were questioned and subsequently lifted, it opened doors for greater participation by women in fields like policing.

“There is a community perception that policing is still only men and that it’s about physicality, how strong you are,” she says.

“The reality is policing is about good training and good communication. In a lot of situations, the way you’ll achieve more is to be able to communicate effectively and de-escalate situations.

“You’ll see that the police officers who are most effective are excellent at talking, excellent at understanding a situation, and very intuitive and have a natural sense of curiosity.”

The Deputy Commissioner is part of a line up distinguished speakers from South Australia and beyond speaking at The Power of Her, a one-day women in leadership symposium hosted by the SA Government.

Ms Williams says she is excited to share her insights and be part of the ‘inspirational’ event, hearing from other high-achieving women from many different fields and walks of live.

“The Power of Her is giving people an opportunity to see how other people have navigated their career pathway, and the lessons learnt,” she says.

“I think when women see other women, and the things that they’ve done in other areas of society, seeing is believing. It empowers people to think ‘well I can do that, because someone is telling me how they did that, so it’s possible’.”

The Power of Her is part of the government’s efforts to capitalise on the momentous occasion of South Australia hosting five games during FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023.

The event’s aim is to leave a legacy which advances gender equality, helps prevent violence against women and grows participation in the world game.

Other speakers include FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura, Olympian Lauren Jackson, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Adelaide Dr Jessica Gallagher.

The event is at Adelaide Oval on Tuesday 8 August. Tickets are on sale until 31 July. To learn more and buy a ticket, visit The Power of Her.