Diversity of Thought Blog

A real crack in the glass ceiling

The issue of women climbing the ladder in business is big news if today’s Australian Financial Review (AFR) is anything to go by. Today’s AFR contains several major stories centred on an influential group of Australian CEOs calling for change including:

  • Qantas
  • CBA
  • Telstra
  • ANZ
  • McKinsey
  • Goldman Sachs
  • ASX
  • Deloittes
  •  The Army
  •  Dep’t of Prime Minister & Cabinet
  •  Woolworths
  •  IBM

An influential group of chief executives from Australia’s biggest companies, known as the Male Champions of Change, are putting pressure on their suppliers to commit to gender diversity. This group includes Alan Joyce, Qantas Chief Executive, who talks about starting early and trying to encourage school age girls to consider engineering as a career. There’s a notable quote in the Chanticleer column on the back page which is timely and relevant to Level the Playing Field Symposium. Quoting CBA CEO Mike Smith who notes the need to accelerate the advancement of women in leadership and for: ” … a practical approach. It’s action-oriented. It’s not just more words. Action is the only thing that will drive change.READ MORE NB. Unless you are a subscriber (there’s a Fairfax paywall) –  grab a hard copy of today’s Financial Review. There are several other stories on this topical issue. Learn more about taking action by attending the Level the Playing Field Symposium

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Qantas are sponsors of the Level the Playing Field Symposium: Turning Gender Leadership Rhetoric into more Effective Action.