Krystal Hemsworth is leading the charge in the SES Sutton unit’s diversity approach. Photos: Supplied.
The Sutton unit of the State Emergency Services (SES) has seen an influx of members over the past four years as a result of focusing on the diversity of roles within the services and the importance of women.
The deputy for resilience and development of the Sutton unit, Krystal Hemsworth, is staggered by the membership growth from 24 to nearly 70 in this period.
The unit has gone from scraping together just enough people for a job to having to put members on rotation to fit them in, and it’s all been done without any active recruitment, says Krystal.
“We haven’t done any active recruiting, which is what blows my mind about the astronomical number of members we have,” she said.
”The key factor in the growth was focusing on diversity, showing that we aren’t the one-size-fits-all and there is such a variety of roles here.”
A key part of Krystal’s focus on diversity has been to grow and develop how the unit caters to its female members. Women account for 34.8 per cent of the SES volunteer workforce Australia-wide and 28 per cent of the leadership roles. With a goal of seeing those numbers increase, Krystal has introduced a women’s network to her unit to ensure everyone has a voice.
The Sutton SES unit celebrated 10 years in late 2024.
The women’s network that Krystal founded meets once every two months for a few hours in the evening and allows the women to talk about their experiences in the SES and Krystal to support their future growth.
“Getting your hands dirty and playing with chainsaws is predominantly a man’s world, but I think it’s really important to have women,” Krystal said.
“I feel like women bring ideas and contributions to the table that are from totally different perspectives and experiences.”
Despite its name, Krystal says the women’s network is not about excluding men; it’s about setting aside that space for women to be heard, and men can join in and are often invited along.
“We invited the boys along last week and we made our Anzac wreath. It’s not all business either, we talk a lot of rubbish too,” she laughs.
Krystal, who has been a member of the Sutton SES for seven years, also works a full-time job and volunteers for Wildcare. And despite being one very busy woman, her volunteer leadership role with the SES is a core part of who she is.
“It’s inherently within me. I enjoy being a changemaker and being able to help other people who need some direction or are a bit lost. And seeing the potential they have within them.”
The Sutton unit of the SES has seen a significant increase in member numbers.
With the women’s network a success, Krystal also leverages her leadership role to communicate that the typical image of an SES worker wading through floodwaters or working on roofs in storms isn’t an accurate representation of all roles within the service and not all roles are about physical abilities.
“We need administrative roles and incident management, which includes logistics, planning and communications,” she said.
”Then there are internal things like catering. We need to make sure our team members are well fed and have everything they need to do their roles.”
She feels one of the major barriers for people joining the SES in general is a lack of awareness about how much people can help even when they are not on the front lines.
She said this applied even if they only had a few hours a month to give, as every cog was crucial in keeping the wheels turning.
For more information on the SES, head to its website.
