At the NAB Women’s Agenda Leadership Awards alumni cocktail party on Wednesday evening, hosted by Audi at its Zetland dealership in Sydney, a senior business woman told me that she was seriously considering trading in her car for an Audi. She said it with such passion. And she really was serious. “If Audi cares this much about supporting women then I feel like I need to support them,” she said. I will admit the same thought crossed my mind upon entering the showroom. Any company that genuinely supports women gets my vote.
One of a number of overachieving women at my table at the Leadership Awards lunch yesterday made a similar remark about Paspaley Pearls, when guest speaker Anna Bligh returned to our table with her thank you gift courtesy of Paspaley’s support of our awards. And I have lost count of the number of women who told me that they were going to talk to the NAB about their business needs. That’s how seriously this group of women takes a show of investment in gender equality, big or small.
Women’s Agenda’s position has always been to reward companies that support the career progression of women by naming them and drawing attention to their initiatives, rather than going after the companies who don’t. The spotlight should be on those who are helping women make progress. The group of companies in our Select Employee section are some of the best examples of that. I’m not exaggerating the point when I say that I actively choose Caltex petrol rather than the competitors due to their visionary initiatives for women.
At the alumni cocktail party Carnival Australia CEO Ann Sherry reminded me that every woman can make a difference to the progression of other women, “and we must”. Ann is generous with her precious time and believes five minutes of advice for a woman who has questions about her career or ability is vital. Her message was to be conscious of other women and the impact that you can have on them.
We must all commit to pulling women up the ladder behind us. The overwhelmingly positive feedback that we have had for Women’s Agenda since we launched just 18 months ago tells me that many women are increasingly doing their bit to bring on the next generation. But change at the top of far too many companies remains slow or non-existent so perhaps it’s time to proactively drive faster change. I am of the belief that the current government’s thinking on rolling back gender reporting for small to medium enterprises means that we are going to have to take ownership for the change we want and start making the kinds of decisions that can impact gender equality. If quotas are off the table, and gender reporting is viewed as annoying red tape, then we need to try a different strategy.
A year ago I made the decision to choose to buy products and prioritise organisations that actively support women. Not the ones who pay lip service to women but those who have put their money where their mouth is. One of the key reasons that Ann Sherry was selected as this year’s inductee into the NAB Women’s Agenda Hall of Fame was the impact that she had on the widespread introduction of maternity leave two decades ago. At the time she was a senior manager at a bank and looking to position that bank as an employee of choice. That one decision shook the corporate world because it had it’s desired effect. As a result maternity leave became standard throughout most of the corporate world.
Similarly, if we support organisations that have progressive employee initiatives, like Our Employer Initiative winner Caltex and finalist Rice Warner, then I am convinced it will cause other organisations to prioritise initiatives to bridge their gender equity gap. We can consciously make a difference.
Boards and CEOs are in the business of listening to their customers. It’s time we made our choices matter.