How Women in Leadership are Embracing Equity

As we approach International Women’s Day (IWD), what better opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge the great strides and invaluable contributions of Australian women in leadership. Many women leaders are bringing their unique perspectives to decision making, driving innovation, inspiring the next generation of leaders, and contributing to a more inclusive, equitable future – where everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

The IWD campaign theme for this year is #EmbraceEquity. As savvy senior leaders recognise, equity isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have for their organisation to have a positive impact and achieve success. As women panellists at Indeed’s latest FutureWorks Conference share, women leaders have an important role to play in nudging open doors to opportunity and paving the way for other talented women to follow.

What equitable opportunities are women in leadership embracing? 

Equity is a compelling theme. But what does embracing equity look like in day-to-day practice? According to KPMG’s latest Women’s Leadership Summit Report, 86 per cent of executive women have relied on collaborative decision-making, because they understand the importance of gaining insights from their team. Needless to say, organisations’ ability to facilitate collaboration can depend on a few key factors. Let’s explore how top Australian organisations and women leaders are paving the way by creating spaces for support, retaining and engaging women talent, and more, within inclusive organisational cultures.

1.    Increasing representation

Many of us are well-versed in DE&I statistics and benefits. The business case for diversity remains robust, and diversity in executive teams is strongly correlated to increased financial performance. Women bring their unique perspectives and skills to the table. This increased gender diversity leads to better decision making, problem solving and innovation. It also breaks down gender stereotypes and provides role models for the next generation of women talent.

The resources industry, for one, has a reputation for being male-dominated. But established Australian resources company, BHP, hasn’t let these roots stand in the way of increasing women representation in its workforce and executive teams. The company made a public commitment in 2016 to achieving gender balance by FY2025.  And they’ve made great strides, having increased women representation to 32 per cent last year, in comparison to 17 per cent since they first set these goals.

2.    Women Employee Resource Groups (ESGs) 

Dedicating space, time and opportunities for women to connect is another great way to embrace equity. This is where ERGs can be invaluable in creating collaborative, supportive spaces and opportunities for learning and development. ERGs can act as a support network for a diverse range of team members.

For example, CommBank has ERGs for age inclusivity, disability and accessibility, cultural inclusion, and LGBTQI+ and allies. CommBank also champions WeCan, its gender equality network. As one CommBank team member shares, ‘What I love most about being part of the WeCan group is the ability to build connections with like-minded people, who are passionate about topics that really matter. It’s a platform where I can grow my own personal brand and grow my network within CommBank’.

3.    Flexibility and benefits for talent engagement 

Returning to KPMG’s Women’s Leadership Summit report, 89 per cent of executive women state their organisation’s ability to recruit and retain has changed. Interestingly, 78 per cent of executive women say their organisations are using flexible work arrangements to keep employees within the fold. The key to reducing retention risks could be for senior leaders to take a people-first approach like this.

BAE Systems Australia recognises the value of offering flexibility and other benefits to retain women workers. As BAE Systems’ Chief of Staff, Claire Geddes, shares, ‘Our employee value proposition has been redesigned with significantly enhanced flexibility. We’re also enhancing things like parental leave and pregnancy loss leave, and will be introducing more ‘non-standard’ working arrangements including formalising our hybrid working offering’.

Flexible work and leave benefits are powerful ways for organisations to facilitate more inclusive hiring practices, tap into a wider pool of talent, support workplace accessibility, and engage their existing women workforce.

4.    Recognising allies and strengthening a culture of DE&I 

All in all, initiatives like these can’t flourish if they aren’t rooted in a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. This is where allies can make a positive difference. As IWD recognises: ‘forging gender equity isn't limited to women solely fighting the good fight. Allies are incredibly important for the social, economic, cultural, and political advancement of women’.

Organisations such as Telstra promote the role male of allies in striving for gender equity. Salesforce advocates FemmeForce to create gender-equity allies, and empower and invest in women; Salesforce is also working to establish gender pay equity.

Initiatives such as WERGs, mentorship programs, and diversity and inclusion training, are important steps towards creating a more inclusive workplace. However, they’re only effective when supported by a broader organisational culture of DE&I. Without a culture that values and celebrates differences, activities like these can feel tokenistic and have limited impact.

To truly drive change, senior leaders must strive to embed diversity and inclusion into everyday values and practices. This is the foundation of work environments where everyone feels valued, respected, heard, and a true sense of belonging – regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other aspect of their identity. It’s one of the greatest ways for organisations to have an impact and enable every team member to realise their full potential.