Why do we need to talk about female representation on boards and governing bodies?

Because when we don’t follow the data, one might be forgiven for imagining that real progress is still occurring.

The IWD 2020 Rotary Breakfast at The Palladium was themed ‘A seat at the table’, and our MC Dr Gael Jennings highlighted current eye opening gender workforce statistics to open.

• Did you know that 34% of Australian boards and governing bodies still have no female directors?

• In comparison, only 0.9% are missing male representation. (Workplace Gender Equality Agency, 2020).

• And then if we look to politics, the Morrison Government male to female ratio is a rather large 5:1.

• It’s therefore, no surprise that these concerning statistics filter down into the workplace with women currently:

• Representing only 17% of our Chief Executive Officers

• Comprising 31.5% of our key management positions

• Receiving 14% less in salary than our male counterparts. (Workplace Gender Equality Agency, 2020)

Thanks to our panel –

• Chair: Dr Gael Jennings, TV and Radio Broadcaster

• Panelist: Sally Capp, Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne

• Panelist: David Leser, Journalist and Writer

• Panelist: Debbie Platz, Assistant Commissioner with the Australian Federal Police

• Panelist: Terry Moran AC, Chancellor of Federation University

• Panelist: Melinda Cilento, CEO of Committee for Economic Development of Australia

Key highlights and a summary of the event are listed below.

How do we ensure women are fairly represented in positions of power?

Dr Gael Jennings set the scene for the morning by highlighting that “we (women) live in interesting times. We don’t have a seat at the table yet and we’re still not heard.” She provided data (above) interwoven with commentary and insights including the fact that research tells us that we are seeing a swing to more conservative attitudes from Generation X and Millennial men which will be interesting at best and challenging at the least for generations of women to come.

Sally Capp challenged us to test our boundaries, acknowledge and be prepared for failure, but still give it a go none the less. She reminded us to reflect not just on women from history who succeeded, but also those who ran for positions of power throughout history and didn’t win. There is much wisdom to be learnt from these women who put themselves out there.

In a similar theme, Melinda Cilento inspired us to “find your voice. We all need to be more courageous in this regard. If you see someone who has found their voice, reach out and ask them how.” She also gave us food for thought by posing the question, “Wouldn’t it be great if women could lead the way they need to, in order to do the job?”

This is something I personally really encourage and resonate with. We need to have the courage and space to lead like leading women, not necessarily to lead as a man would. After all, if we always do what we’ve always done, we’ll always get what we’ve always got.

Debbie Platz brought our awareness to our “leadership shadow”, the way we lead and role model both intentionally and unintentionally. What we walk past, we also accept. This concept is applicable in all aspects of life and incredibly important to be aware of when we consider that there are increasing attitudinal barriers with violence against women increased, and in an era of new conservatism, where we’re seeing an attitudinal backlash against women by younger men.

Her discussion inspired my guests to reflect that it is also important to stop and acknowledge progress so far and feel confident that if we keep leaning in, we will continue to make great change. After all, we “stand on the shoulders of those before us”. Debbie reminded us of police uniforms in the 1970s (pictured right), and how in just our lifetime they have stopped the mandatory handbags, white gloves and high heels that made police chases so challenging.

David Leser noted that those in positions of privilege often don’t understand what they have and encouraged both men and women to learn to listen more because everyone will benefit from more equity.

Terry Moran AC reminded organisations to continue to focus on recruitment processes ensuring true meritocratic testing and implementing strategies to avoid recruiting PLUs (people like us), which stifles diversity in the workplace.

The benefits of quotas

Lastly, it was refreshing to hear multiple speakers reflect on the benefit of quotas with a penalty or consequence for organisations who fail to meet them. Targets are one thing but when there is no consequence for not meeting them they take far too long (if ever) to achieve.. Follow the data. To quote Sally Capp “meritocracy and quotas are not mutually exclusive”.

A big thank you to my guests who attended and contributed to the sentiment and comments in this article: Nicola Adam, Lauren Nowak, Liza Newnham, Caroline Stainkampf, Michelle Barry, Catherine Thompson, Michele Stokes and Susan Sly.