The Gender Diversity Journey - Glass Ceiling to Glass Cliff?

mums@work are big advocates of gender diversity and having women in senior roles in the workplace as we have seen the value to women and families, but most of all businesses. Our biggest value-add to employers is helping them to 'know' what to do to encourage women and those with families in the workplace, and how to do it. We can build the strategies you need to retain your valuable employees through the many life changes, women in particular, experience.

HCMAG reported recently that although women make up 52% of the population of Australia, 46% of the workforce, and in recent years, 56% of university graduates, women hold only 2% of CEO and 10.7% of senior management positions in ASX200 companies. Perhaps more disturbingly, according to research by Mercer, despite growing interest in workforce diversity among organisations in Australia and New Zealand, only 1 in 4 (26%) have a clearly defined strategy to attract and retain women long enough to reach senior leadership positions.

Qantas CEO, Alan Joyce commented in a recent article by HR Daily that HR alone can't be responsible for increasing gender diversity in organisations, but it should drive the first phase of the journey.

Launching MCC in Sydney yesterday, convenor and Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick said that one reason many initiatives to progress gender equality have not delivered is that "they focus solely on engaging and changing women - from the way women network to the way women lead. Too many organisations look to women alone to change the organisational practices that maintain the status quo."

"Without the avid support of men - who currently dominate the leadership group in most large businesses and control most of the financial and other resources - substantial progress is unlikely. Creating change therefore requires men to take the message of gender equality to other men. It requires men to get on board, to take action and to encourage their peers to do likewise."

Megan Dalla-Camina, Director of Strategy for IBM Australia and New Zealand says Australia has lagged behind the rest of the world for too long in most aspects of gender equity, whether that be paid parental leave, numbers of female employees/managers/executives, and women on boards. While there are some marginal improvements, much more needs to be done.

"For Australia, this is an economic imperative, especially in light of the ageing workforce and skills shortages," she said.

Of course, not every woman desires a job at the top or has the skills to pull it off, so it's about identifying the right people for senior leadership roles and ensuring they get to where they are needed in an organisation.

Both articles go on to outline steps in detail of what organisations can do to begin the journey to gender diversity. The HCMAG article in particular elaborates on what women in leadership, or those who pertain to leadership roles in the future, need to be doing to be successful in their chosen career path.


Read more on HCMAG's article...
Read more on HR Daily's article...