The Business Council of Australia wants its members, 120 of our biggest companies, to increase the number of women in senior roles to 50% by 2023. This ambitious target has been set as part of the BCA’s Action Plan for Enduring Prosperity which is a call to action to grow Australia’s economy and provide the basis for a resilient and prosperous community.
In a letter to members the BCA president, Tony Shepherd AO said this:
“Achieving this goal brings with it several significant benefits to the economy, business and the community.
While Australian women have been graduating from university in greater numbers than men since 1985, and women now make up around 46 per cent of the Australian workforce, they remain under-represented at board levels (16.4 per cent) and chief executive levels (3.5 per cent) of ASX 200 companies. This is despite the fact that women are well represented in the disciplines that underpin the pipeline of senior managers, making up 50 per cent of business graduates and 60 per cent of law graduates in 2011. Growing the pipeline of women in senior management roles across all businesses is an essential step to redressing the under-representation of women in executive and board roles.
In discussions with BCA members it was clear that companies have longstanding policies requiring equal opportunities, and many have proactive policies and programs designed to encourage women into senior roles in their organisations. There is a strong interest in knowing what else can be done to ensure companies successfully access the full talent pool of both women and men.
To help BCA members achieve their goal of having 50 per cent of senior positions filled by women in 10 years, the BCA commissioned work to identify the best practices in recruitment, appointment and promotion processes that would enhance the number of women in senior executive roles.”
Shepherd went on to explain that 10 best practice checklists have been developed following a comprehensive research project to give members a roadmap to redress the under representation of women in senior management.
“These checklists relate to the role of the board and the chief executive in ensuring gender diversity, as well as critical elements of the recruitment, selection, retention and promotion processes. These checklists have been designed as short reference tools BCA members can use to assess their own practices and help managers identify where they can make improvements that will support a more inclusive workplace and improve gender diversity.
The checklists examine merit-based approaches to recruitment, selection and progression in an organisation, as well as providing clear advice on how to minimise the potential for inherent biases in the critical stages of recruitment, selection, retention and promotion processes.
The first four checklists consider what the board and chief executive can do to ensure a pipeline of women in senior management positions, the importance of organisational culture, and the need for targets, measures and organisational accountability.
The further six checklists address specific aspects of recruitment, selection and retention processes where it has been found that the risk of unintentional gender bias and poor procedures are most likely to impede merit-based progress of women into senior management roles.
The low representation of women in senior levels of management cannot continue. We risk not getting the best talent for the job and women not reaching their true potential. Such a situation is not good for individuals, business or the economy.”
If member companies do not reach the 50% target by 2023, BCA’s deputy chief executive Maria Tarrant told the Australian Financial Review they will not be penalised. Rather they will be provided with further resources.
“We are not dictating, here,” Tarrant said. “People are going to need to be trained.”
Without penalties do you think this goal is achievable?