“By proactively paying these additional superannuation contributions, we will help make a difference to our employees’ retirement savings and continue to retain the very best talent in this organisation. Ensuring all Australian women and men are financially prepared for retirement is one of the most important challenges facing our community.” – Gail Kelly, CEO of Westpac Read More

I've had a number of conversations recently regarding the role men can play in advancing women.  I’ve written before about engaging the good guys at work, because while ever men dominate leadership roles in our companies and workplaces, we won’t achieve realistic change without them.  But what about the role of men at home – must you have a supportive partner in your personal life in order to realize your full career potential? Read More

There are a lot of stories about nightmare bosses. And the occasional twee one about an outstanding boss. But if you’ve actually got a dream employer you should nominate them for a Dream Employers Award. You’ll get a $30 Red Balloon Voucher for your time, which you can spend on a range of great experiences. I’d probably do it just for the voucher, but it’s also a great idea to celebrate the great bosses in the hope others will follow their lead. There is no doubt that great employers are magnetic for top talent, so get your workplace and manager noticed.
 Read More

Last week I attended the Women in Banking & Finance luncheon in Sydney as a guest of Pottinger where The Hon Joe Hockey, Shadow Treasurer, spoke about climbing mountains - personal, professional and physical (last year Hockey climbed Mt Kilimanjaro raising $1.5m in the process for the Humpty Dumpty Foundation) Read More

Last week I met with a long-time mentor of mine who’s definitely a Good Guy.  Tony and I met on a consulting project, he was on the client side and I was external but still he became a mentor.  I went on to take a number of roles in that organisation and over the years we’ve stayed in touch sporadically.  It’s one of those informal mentoring arrangements where I’d call on him for help with specific issues as they arose.

It was a welcome surprise when his text message popped up on my iPhone a couple of weeks back, suggesting that we meet.  This time though, the tables had turned and it was Tony who was seeking advice.  This was a reverse mentoring session: we were meeting so Tony could ask my advice on gender diversity and the approach he should take in his company since he’d been appointed to his company’s Diversity Council.  

To use Tony’s words, he didn’t know where to begin and I think this is so often the case with the Good Guys in business.  They can see the problem, they see the impact its having on their teams and on the bottom line, and they want to get involved in fixing it.  They often just don’t know how.
 Read More

In November the Australian Institute of Company Directors announced that board diversity was an issue, so what are they doing about the fixing this issue? Read More

Even if you weren’t at last week’s Chief Executive Women luncheon, you might have read about the highs and lows in The Australian, the AFR and Chanticleer.  I was there among the throng of men and women and enjoyed reconnecting with many women in my network and hearing from the ever passionate panel chair, Wendy McCarthy and panelist federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick who both set the scene and the challenge in proclaiming that the new ASX guidelines will have achieved their goal when 40% of board directors are women. Read More