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Chief Executive Women makes informed contributions to the national debate on gender balance. One of CEW’s most important achievements has been to cut through the myths surrounding women in leadership with hard data.
2020 CEW The Case for Change
CEW advocates for change in key priority areas to achieve our vision of a society where women and men have equal economic and social choice and responsibilities. We are presenting the case for change by reviewing the current status of women in Australia in leadership, economic security, workforce participation and workplace flexibility. CEW is working to remove the barriers to women’s progression and ensure equal opportunity for prosperity.
2019 CEW ASX200 Senior Executive Census
The ASX200 Senior Executive Census measures year on year progress towards gender balance in the executive leadership teams (ELTs) of Australia’s largest listed companies.
In addition to an aggregate measure of gender balance, the Census highlights the proportion of women in ‘line’ roles and ‘functional’ roles in ELTs. Line roles are those that directly drive key commercial outcomes in a business and usually involve profit and loss accountability. Line roles represent the most significant pipeline for the ASX200 CEOs of the future.
3 in 4 AUSTRALIAN MEN SUPPORT GENDER EQUALITY,
BUT MOST OF THEM DON’T ADVANCE IT
Bain & Company and Chief Executive Women’s seventh report on gender parity in Australia examines which men are taking action and why others may not.
In the workplace, while most men (76 percent) are gender equality supporters, few (17%) prioritise taking action. This is the key finding from Bain & Company and Chief Executive Women’s (CEW) seventh Australia gender parity report, Better Together: Increasing Male Engagement in Gender Equality Efforts in Australia.
Bain & Company and CEW surveyed almost 2,000 Australians across more than 14 industries to understand the current levels of male engagement with gender equality initiatives, the most effective motivators to increase it and the barriers preventing uptake.
2018 CEW Building the CFO Pipeline
According to CEW’s annual ASX 200 Executive Census, only a small number of women hold ASX200 Chief Financial Officer (CFO) positions (9% in 2017 and 12% in 2018). This is despite a large number of women entering the workforce with a finance background.
In 2018, CEW interviewed 10 ASX CFOs and four former CFOs, whose insights have demonstrated that whilst many organisations are actively creating pipelines for female finance talent there are still gaps. This has demonstrated that proactive leadership is needed to increase the women in senior financial roles in the foreseeable future.
The report provides practical recommendations for both Boards and Senior Executives to assist them in building the female finance pipeline.
Analysis of the gender composition of executive leadership teams is important because it indicates the progress of women to the most senior ranks in corporate Australia.
This Census measures the number of women in ASX200 executive leadership teams as well as the proportion of women in ‘line’ roles and ‘functional’ roles. Line roles are those that directly drive key commercial outcomes in a business and usually involve profit and loss accountability. Line roles represent the most significant pipeline for the ASX200 CEOs of the future.
The results of the 2018 Senior Executive Census were compared with the baseline results set by the 2017 Senior Executive Census. The 2018 Census demonstrates the progress made by ASX200 companies in increasing female representation in their executive leadership team in the year to August 2018.
In a challenging period for organisations and leadership in Australia, a focus on advancing gender equality remains key to our nation’s future economic prosperity and social cohesion. We have made some advancements, but gender equality will only be achieved if we are more successful at engaging all parties on both the need and the pathway to gender equity.
This report acknowledges that backlash and resistance are a natural part of change, and that we must understand the reasons why people respond differently to efforts to improve gender equality.
We can and must do more to engage employees and the community on the rationale for progress towards gender equality and the benefits it delivers to all.
This report identifies underlying drivers of resistance, describes how resistance may manifest and explains what leaders can do to address resistance and advance gender equality.
Analysis of the gender composition of executive leadership teams is important because it indicates the progress of women to the most senior ranks in corporate Australia.
While the Australian Institute of Company Directors conducts a quarterly report on women’s representation on public company boards, there is currently no regular reporting on the gender composition of ASX200 executive leadership teams.
This Census measures the number of executive women in ASX200 executive leadership teams and also highlights the proportion of women in ‘line’ roles and ‘functional’ roles. Line roles are those that directly drive key commercial outcomes in a business and usually involve profit and loss accountability. Line roles represent the most significant pipeline for the ASX200 CEOs of the future.
Women in line roles in corporate Australia are progressing more slowly than men towards leadership. The Bain-CEW report, based on a survey of nearly 4,500 respondents from the Australian business, government and not-for-profit communities, found that almost 60 per cent of men were promoted twice or more in the past five years compared with only 41 per cent of women. This gap in promotion rates only increases with seniority.
Narrowing the gap in promotion rates demands that our Australian organisations be meritocratic, yet the survey data from the Advancing Women in Australia: Eliminating bias in feedback and promotions report highlights that there is significant room for improvement. Less than half of the female respondents (45%) felt that their organisation is meritocratic, with men slightly more positive at 61%
‘Boards for Balance: Your Leadership Shadow’ is a collaboration between Chief Executive Women (CEW) and the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), building on the highly successful Leadership Shadow model, created by Chief Executive Women and the Male Champions of Change in 2014 for use by CEOs and other executive leaders.
This research was conducted as part of the 2016 Barbara Cail STEM Fellowship and funded by the Australian Government (Office for Women, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet), in partnership with Chief Executive Women (CEW).
Chief Executive Women and the Male Champions of Change have collaborated to produce In the Eye of the Beholder: Avoiding the Merit Trap.
This report blows the cover on the common biases that impact decision making and calls on every leader to reflect on their decision making and avoid falling for the merit trap.
Over 1000 members of the Australian business, government and not-for-profit community responded to the survey about their use of flexible work arrangements and their perceptions of their organisations.
In order to advance gender equality in the workplace, flexible work arrangements must be available to and actively supported for both genders. Currently less than 50% of Australian organisations have a workplace flexibility policy and even when such policies exist, there are barriers to effective utilisation.
The right culture and active support are fundamental to improving employees’ experience of flexible working. Male and female respondents to the latest Bain-Chief Executive Women Survey agreed that proof of the potential to progress one’s career, visible commitment by the CEO, leadership and colleagues, and respect for boundaries are the most important factors in their experience of flexible working. Where flexible arrangements are widely used, all employees are four times happier than in organisations with no flexible options. However flexible work arrangements are not driving advocacy or confidence for men, despite strong interest in their uptake.
Bain and CEW have identified several key actions to normalise and accelerate the success of flexible working. Organisations must:
• Actively encourage and role model the uptake of flexible work arrangements
• Ensure flexible arrangements are supported and working successfully for both genders
• Create the right culture and support employee priorities of career progression, visible support from the CEO, leadership team and colleagues, and respect of boundaries
• Create clear policies around promotion and compensation when working flexibly
• Ensure technology and an agile work environment are in place and working well
It’s a powerful force: One Gallup analysis of 50,000 companies showed that high-engagement organisations have more than 20% higher profitability and productivity levels than their low-engagement counterparts.
Bain Partner Melanie Sanders and CEW members Kathryn Fagg and Meredith Hellicar sought to understand specifically what CEOs and other leaders can do to create positive and engaging environments for both genders.
Based on survey responses from nearly 1,500 senior executives, the report found that there are critical leadership behaviours that can make major differences in employee perceptions of the organisation in general and as a place for women to progress. Importantly, these leadership behaviours affect engagement levels for both women and men, spurring higher performance (and productivity) across the board.
- Would you recommend your organisation as a place to work? Why / why not
- Would you recommend your organisation as a place where women can progress to senior leadership? Why / why not
- Would you recommend your manager as someone to work for? Why / why not
The results discredit the notion that achieving equal representation of women in executive positions is simply a matter of time. They show that the biggest factor in enabling women to reach their full potential is the presence of women in leadership positions. As Melanie Sanders, Bain partner and co-author of the report, puts it: “The answer is less talk and more action: appoint more women.” The report highlights that women have been graduating from university at higher rates than men since 1985, yet men have a 9-times better chance of making it to senior executive ranks than women in large corporations. This is despite almost equal levels of ambition for senior leadership positions between women and men, according to the study. It found that women are half as likely as men to recommend their organisation as a place to work. And 53% women are detractors of their organisations as a place where women can progress to senior levels.DOWNLOAD THE REPORT
Senior leaders do not value the different perspectives that women bring to a team
They appoint executives with styles more like themselves
Men are viewed as better “promoters,” women as better “collaborators” – and whose style is more effective is crucial to the debate
Women and men are viewed as equally effective at making commercially-sound decisions, managing high-pressure situations and delivering transformative change
Some 60% of all respondents to this 2011 study felt that gender-specific approaches to management situations and issues are a bigger obstacle to women’s career advancement. This group includes a majority of women, at 78%. Only 39% of men surveyed agree with this. A majority of men, 61%, believe that competing work-family commitments is the main inhibitor to senior leadership roles for women.
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- Not enough visible, committed leadership
- Unintended cultural barriers
- Under investment in sustained change management