From the top

New research from Chief Executive Women (CEW Australia) and Bain & Company reviews what Australian companies are doing to achieve real results in gender-balanced leadership.

The Take it from the Top: Accelerating Women’s Representation in Executive Leadership report examines the practices of 22 Australian companies that are outperforming the ASX300 average in terms of gender-balanced leadership teams. The qualitative analysis revealed five accelerators for increasing women’s representation in executive leadership:

1. Executives must be committed and accountable.
2. Commitments must translate into actions — for everyone.
3. Targeted talent management unlocks equal opportunities.
4. Succession plans must be deliberate and long term.
5. Recruiting must be equitable.

The report found more than 60 per cent of interviewed organisations tied diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) outcomes to executive compensation. “This matches a global trend,” said researchers, noting almost half of financial services companies in the UK tie executive compensation to gender representation, according to a 2022 Bain report, Women in Finance Charter: The Blueprint.

While significant headway had been made, the report emphasised women’s persisting underrepresentation. Its 2021 census found women hold only a quarter of ASX300 executive leadership team positions and comprise under 6 per cent of CEO positions.

The report expounded on the effectiveness of diversity and inclusion targets, with buy-in driven from the board. For Link Group, the research found that the board and ELT were “in absolute unison” in support of achieving their long-term commitments, with senior leadership emphasising the correlation between diversity and business performance in their messaging. “Alignment between business goals and diversity targets encouraged Link Group’s leaders to introduce DEI targets into their scorecards,” researchers found.

ANZ used scorecards to help refine its gender equity approach, initially adopting blanket targets across divisions. The scorecards demonstrated that some divisions, for example Talent & Culture, required counterbalancing for men in the division, leading ANZ to calibrate their goals toward “balance”.

Public accountability

Consumers, investors and staff are often referring to annual reports, impact documents and Australian Government statutory agency Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) data to substantiate companies’ ability to meet environmental, social and governance (ESG) and equity commitments.

BHP mining subsidiary South32 told researchers that its investors appreciate the transparency DEI targets provide. “The company’s progress towards achieving an inclusive and diverse culture is an important signal to investors that South32 can deliver on its long-term strategy.”

Board investment

The companies spotlighted involved their boards in succession planning for key management personnel decisions, the research showed. “If the board is comfortable with a role’s requirements and objectives, it may be more open to successors with the right skills and potential, even if they lack specific industry or role experience. This is particularly important for women, as they are less likely to have previous key management personnel experience at large ASX companies.”

Deloitte increased the percentage of women on its Australian leadership team from 15 per cent in 2015 to 38 per cent in 2019 by identifying and developing high-potential women for leadership roles as part of succession planning. However, the report emphasised there is no “one and done” solution. “The companies we interviewed have multi-layered and detailed plans to advance candidate readiness.”