Why “Gender Matters”?

Current trends forecast a labour shortage of 1.4 million workers by the end of the decade (ANTA). Australia’s economic success may depend on attracting and retaining the skills of women and expanding the pool of talent available for leadership positions.
The World Economic Forum has found that, while Australia ranks equal first for women’s educational attainment, it is 40th in women’s workplace participation. There is no industry or sector which can afford this kind of loss.
A lack of promotional or developmental opportunities for women not only disadvantages individuals, but also results in a lack of participation and the inability of a portion of the workforce to contribute in a meaningful way to an organisation.
A Catalyst Survey of 353 Fortune 500 companies revealed that companies with the highest representation of women in their senior management teams achieved a 35% higher return on investment and a 34% higher total return to shareholders than companies with the lowest women’s representation.
By increasing the representation of women in senior roles, organisations are seen as employers of choice by women and the wider community.

3% of ASX200 chairs and 2% of CEOs are female
10.3% of ASX200 directors are female and 47% of our top companies have no women on their boards at all.
8.3% of executive managers in the ASX200 are women and only 4.2% are in line roles.
In our universities, women account for less than a quarter of academic staff above senior lecturer and 14.5% of professors.
Women constitute 45% of the total workforce in Australia but they are radically under-represented in leadership positions in the paid workforce.
Women get paid 82 cents for every dollar a man is paid for work of equal value.
Australia’s ranking in the Global Gender Index of the World Economic Forum (a framework for capturing the magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress) slipped from 15th place in 2006 to 20th place in 2009. This ranking incorporates measures of workforce participation, remuneration and opportunity.