Sheryl Sandberg is beautiful, brilliant, a billionaire and chief operating officer of Facebook. Last year, her book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, was a bestseller for months and she is popular for her speeches to women’s groups. She’s also happily married with two small children. So she believes a woman can
Chairman of Transfield Services Diane Smith-Gander still remembers being called into the office of her new Westpac boss John Morschel to talk about pay. Smith-Gander had resigned herself to the fact that Morschel was on a cost cutting mission and her long promised pay rise would have to wait. Instead, Morschel wanted to know why
I heard a joke the other day, it goes something like this, “How many women does it take to change a light bulb in an Australian boardroom? Nobody knows because they’re usually not at the table.” It’s a facetious start to what is a serious topic and while there has been some incremental growth in
Uncertain economic times could impact on Australian companies’ inclination to promote more senior women, warns Diane Smith-Gander, the new president of Chief Executive Women. “We seem to have one shock after another coming through the system,” she said in an interview with The Australian. “First it was the iron ore price and now it is the
Australian captains of industry have delivered an inspired commentary on the importance and need to bridge the gender gap in management ranks, the social and commercial benefits of having more women in management and their support of internal measurable targets. At least, that is the rhetoric. Reading their responses about the need for more women
The World Assembly for Women, convened by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan in the latter half of this year, provides lessons for Australia on the barriers for women in the workplace and how to overcome them. As the nominated participant from Australia’s Male Champions of Change (MCC), I witnessed a groundswell of international commitment
Gender diversity in leadership circles may not be hitting roadblocks because of men, a women’s networking group says, but because women lack confidence. Former banking executive Donny Walford, says women often lack the ability to self-promote. “Men position themselves extremely well, they tap each other on the shoulder, they position themselves and women don’t do
