March
8th saw us celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) with the theme
#beboldforchange.
This
day has been celebrated since the early 1900s and is a day where we recognise
the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
Last
year’s theme- #pledgeforparity- had me recently questioning whether we saw
change throughout 2016 and if we genuinely did take steps to move closer to
parity.
- · National gender pay gap is 16.2 per cent, down from 19 per cent in 2016
- · The fulltime average weekly earnings difference is $260.10
- · The gender pay gap in ASX 200 organizations is 28.7 per cent
- · The gender pay gap in the sporting industry is 50 per cent
- · The average superannuation balance for women at retirement is 52.8 per cent less than men
- · The proportion of CEOs who are female is 15.4 per cent
- · Out of Melbourne’s 106 suburbs, a single woman can only afford to rent one bedroom flats in just over a quarter of the city.
Equality is a core human value which
women have been asking for in every country across the globe for centuries.
According to the World Economic Forum, we won’t reach global parity in social
or economic terms until 2186.
The 2017 IWD #beboldforchange is a
call out to women to step up and boldly ask for what they want. We have come a
long way but there is still much more to do.
The IWD 2017 theme this year strikes
a chord with me. I believe women are bold; we are bold enough to have children,
to leave them in care and go back to work, to go to war and to lead countries.
We are getting bolder in asking for what we want, in pursuing our dreams and
desires and many of us are bold enough to walk away from what doesn't make us
happy. We can be single and do it on our own.
My question is when are Australia’s
leaders going to be bold and drive significant and rapid change on the issues
of diversity, parity and equality?
The IWD call to action should include
a call out to our government and business leaders who have the power to
accelerate equality through bold policy making, diverse recruitment strategies,
and a moral compass set so high that we start to influence the issue globally.
The current economic gap has a
resounding impact, especially on my generation. Now more than ever we need
business leaders to model the behaviours and set the tone in their work
environments to elevate and positively impact this issue. We need to smash the
glass ceiling from the inside.
Targets and quotas to achieve gender
diversity have created much debate and this would be an example of a bold move.
However, there is a difference between targets and quotas. Targets are
measurable objectives set by an organisation at their own discretion. Quotas
are mandatory, set externally by anybody that has the authority to impose them.
I believe targets are a bold move, if we go down the path of quotas then we
will have failed as leaders.
On this International Women’s Day, let’s
pledge to be bold leaders, to take action and to do more than ever before.
·
Audit your organisation and if what you
see is more of you, whether it be in gender or colour, change it
·
Measure and be aware of the gaps in
your hiring, remuneration and promotion policy
·
Find mentors and sponsors for your
high potential women
·
Be conscious of unconscious bias, we
have all been guilty of this
·
Measure the results of actions taken
·
Importantly, make men part of this
journey
Be bold for change also requires us
to be bold for action. Without action, we won’t have ground breaking results,
we won’t achieve a gender inclusive world, we won’t have responsive and
responsible leaders and the gap won’t close until 2186.
My ask is not just for women to be
bold for change but for all leaders to be equally bold for change. What
conversations can you start with your people? Who can you influence outside of
your organisation to go on the same journey as you? What changes can you make
quickly that will connect and unite your entire workforce?
Every March 8 we raise awareness
about the same issues using different words. This year, let’s be bold enough to
deliberately measure the changes we make across our organisation. Not only is
this great for business, but remarkable for humanity and memorable for future
generations.
Remember equality is not a threat, it is a social, economic,
political opportunity.
