Gender balance guidelines launched for Women in Australian Leadership

In an article reported in the Lawyers' Weekly, new gender balance guidelines aim to increase the number of women in senior leadership positions in Australian companies.

The guidelines provide:

• measurable targets for organisations’ gender composition of their workforce;

• base salaries, promotion and bonus levels of workers by gender, and

• the availability and use of flexible work practices

Women account for less than 10 per cent of Australia’s executive managers in the ASX200; this is up from eight percent in 2010.

“At this rate it will take 30 years to reach a 40 per cent target,” said HSBC and Stockland chairman Bradley, when officially launching the guidelines. He added that if businesses committed to more focused reporting, gender equality would improve.

Under the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, non-public sector entities with 100 or more employees must report on gender equality outcomes with standardised data by 2014.

Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick said the guidelines were clearly and logistically set out, and equally applicable to small and large businesses, to help organisations comply with these new laws.

Read more here and read the guidelines here.

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