For more women at the top

THE time for talking about diversity is over, says Nareen Young, and there is a stark need to get things done.

Leadership

THE time for talking about diversity is over, says Nareen Young, and there is a stark need to get things done, even if that means introducing targets within business and industry.

The former Diversity Council of Australia chief executive says society needs to move on from discussions about merit placements versus quotas, whether it be the number of women on boards, ethnic or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation, or people with a disability.

“The desired outcome is that we have more women in senior leadership positions, but the time for having that discussion about whether it’s a good thing or not is over,” Young says.

Young says since 2008 there has been a concerted effort to improve diversity, including reporting mechanisms promoted by the Australian Securities Exchange, the “if not, why not” challenges, and organisations creating diversity plans and targets.

But while many are working well, programs are moving forward at a glacial pace.

“The movement in the 25 or so years until 2008 was pretty pathetic, and that is because it was characterised by conflict,” she says. “We’ve gone beyond that discussion and now is the opportunity.”

The diversity champion says while there has been some progress, a great deal of conflict remains, political and otherwise, about the role of women, including from Prime Minister Tony Abbott. In late May the Prime Minister accused Labor’s deputy leader of having the “vapours”, which Young intimates puts the cause of women back centuries.

Young says creating diversity unlocks economic potential across the employment market, but mandatory quotas are not the solution. Targets, however, are voluntary and Young says if organisations go about it quietly without much fuss, the numbers soon increase and companies become more diverse.

She says the hundreds of companies that have introduced targets have been successful, except a very small percentage falling marginally short.

“There’s an imperative, particularly in places that need women to be utilised at our best and all of the other diversity groups, where there just isn’t time for the conflict anymore.”

Speaking after a Committee for Economic Development of Australia conference on women and leadership, Young says discrimination is normalised in the community — whether it be in domestic duties in the home to women doing administrative tasks in an office — and attitudes need to change.

South Australian Economic Development Board chair Raymond Spencer, a champion of diversity, says there needs to be a change in mindsets, including unconscious biases developed through generations.

Even if a company has a board comprising women, men and ethnic groups, he says the challenge is to encourage diversity of thought.

“The goal is to achieve diversity of thought, it’s what creates the environment for the diversity conversation to take place in an environment that is not simply black or white,” Spencer says.

“The key to institutionalised diversity is to have a corporate culture of openness and inclusion, which can only be accommodated by a conscious policy that values gender and ethnic diversity in a workplace or organisation.”

Spencer would like to see a change in the mindset of female board members making coffees for their colleagues, or taking minutes, or a male leader holding a mentoring dinner at night with a male junior, but not having one at night with a female junior for fear of harassment.

Spence says maternity leave is also poorly structured in many organisations, making it more difficult for women to return to work than it should be.

“Give women the opportunity to stay connected and … give them the chance to occasionally participate in meetings by phone if they want to or can,” he says.

“Send them reports, send them updates, allow access into the organisation and put in place processes to make it easier for them to return to their role.”

Spencer agrees it is time to act on improving diversity. That includes quotas, even though he does not like them.

“I see no way to avoid the use of the blunt instrument for a short period of time,” he says.

KPMG national head of people and culture Susan Ferrier says her company of 6000 employees introduced targets two years ago, including 40 per cent of leadership positions being women and 25 per cent of partners. Partners have increased from 16 per cent to 19 per cent, but Ferrier says it needs to be even better.

“It would be amazing if we overshot the target,” Ferrier says.

She says graduates come in at 50 per cent female and there is no reason why it should not continue through to management.

In committing to increasing female leadership, Ferrier says the company interviewed every female partner last year about barriers and is now bringing them together to discuss concerns.

She agrees tackling diversity relates to unconscious bias and it often stems from cultural upbringing. “It’s not like we shut them off when we walk in the building,” she says.

“Women are still so often the carers, the one who makes the cup of tea, who makes the cakes. But I think we’ve got a demographic wave that’s coming through the workplace over the next five to 10 years and it’s creating change.”

YWCA board president Nicole Swaine, who created an organisation called She Leads to educate women about governance and board training, says barriers still prevent diversity.

They include personality, women conforming to traditional stereotypes and not thinking they are adequately qualified for positions, and being unaware of how to access the pathways to boards and management roles.

“The talent is there and we’ve got women who are board-ready,” Swaine says. “Whether it’s a board or a business we’ve got to have honest conversations about why we’re not seeing these statistics change at a greater rate.

“I think it’s about women being confident and bold and asking about these positions.”

The She Leads program, which is run in Adelaide and Canberra, provides business mentoring to women.

Since the program began three years ago, Swaine has seen graduates progress to boards and subcommittees.

“If we can communicate with women on what the pathways are they have more opportunities to secure them.”