Skip to content

Supporting women leaders in one of Australia’s most female dominated workforces: retail

   
Supporting women leaders in one of Australia’s most female dominated workforces: retail

The Australian retail industry is one of the leading employers of women in the nation.

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency estimates women make up around 57% of the retail trade workforce and 49% of management.

In partnership with the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), and consistent with its commitment to addressing imbalances and promoting gender equality across the sector, CEW’s ARA Women Leaders in Retail Scholarship gives aspiring women leaders in retail the life-changing opportunity to study at Harvard Business School.

The scholarship covers the cost of tuition and travel expenses for a women leader to complete an executive leadership development course on campus at Harvard Business School in Boston, USA.

Last year’s recipient, Wesfarmers OneDigital General Manager Finance Virginia Leaf says attending Harvard will help her make a bigger impact on a major transformative initiative she is contributing to, while also accelerating her career development more broadly.

“I am a senior leader who is passionate about driving change in the retail industry,” Virginia says.

“Attending Harvard will help me improve my strategic, innovative and change leadership skills, to support the setup phase of OneDigital at a time of unparalleled ambiguity, disruption and challenge in the retail industry. I’m also looking to improve my impact and effectiveness, and excited by the opportunity to develop a network of female leaders globally.”

Find out more, or apply, here.

RECOMMENDED
ARTICLES

Media release: CEW Welcomes ‘Working For Women’, A National Strategy To Achieve Gender Equality Chief Executive Women (CEW) has welcomed the National Strategy to Achieve Gender Equality.  Released today by the federal Minister for Women, Katy Gallagher, the strategy outlines priority areas for improvements in women’s affairs, including a commitment to paying superannuation on Commonwealth Paid...
Media release: CEW celebrates new era of gendered data transparency, calls on all employers to set gender equality targets Chief Executive Women (CEW) has welcomed the publication of gender pay gaps for every individual Australian employer with 100 or more employees, calling for all Australian businesses to set gender equality targets to increase women’s representation...
Scholarships play a fundamental role in CEW’s efforts to create opportunities that level the playing field for women across the country.  Today, as three of our 2024 scholarships are officially opened to applicants, we celebrate the invaluable contributions of three remarkable benefactors whose commitment to gender equality shines through their support for scholarships.  Through their...
CEW calls on the Federal Government to unlock the economy by addressing women’s workforce participation CEW is calling on the Federal Government to address the country’s economic challenges with a suite of policy settings that will help unlock women’s workforce participation for the good of all. In its 2024-25 Pre Budget Submission, which has been...
The CEW Scholarships Program lies at the heart of women leaders enabling women leaders and 2023 has seen us reach new heights awarding scholarships to 34 outstanding women leaders across 19 different scholarships. We have been very excited to offer four new scholarships in partnership with Chemistry Australia, Actuaries Institute, Property Council of Australia, Melbourne...
CEW welcomes the findings of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s (WGEA) Scorecard, which has found that the average total remuneration gender pay gap has dropped to 21.7 per cent in 2023 from 22.8 per cent in 2022.  It is the second biggest single year drop since WGEA started collecting employer data in 2014, however, on...
CEW welcomes and supports the Productivity Commission’s Report into Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) and takes this opportunity to welcome the new Productivity Commission Chair and CEW member Danielle Wood to this important role. CEW supports the key recommendations of the report, namely: Building towards universal, free or low-cost access for all children to...
In the world of data science, where innovation and leadership play a pivotal role, women have been steadily breaking barriers and shattering glass ceilings. Their contributions are invaluable, yet there is still a gender gap to overcome. The inaugural CEW Actuaries Women Leader in Data Science scholarship winner, Lisa Green, is a prime example of...
Keren Paterson is a 2023 CEW scholar and attended INSEAD’s Advanced Management Program in France this year. Read about her amazing experience below: Some of the most inspirational business leaders that have influenced my career are graduates of the INSEAD Advanced Management Program (AMP). They have led very different businesses, but they share an incredible...
The winners of the CEW and ANZ Sustainability Scholarship are working to address some of our planet’s most pressing challenges in radically different ways. They are: Brickworks General Manager Operations Emily Antonio I’m Plastic Free Founder Simona Paganetto Coates National Environment and Sustainability Manager Robyn Simpson While their expertise and experience different greatly, they are...