As Australia looks to build the proportion of women performing leadership roles in operational industries, the forum will discuss the benefits this will have for men working in the sector. Research shows a clear correlation between gender balance and profit, innovation, safety, governance and job satisfaction in the workplace.
Called ‘More women in operations, what’s in it for men?’, the forum will examine these and other benefits to men and women and address the challenges for organisations as they strive for a 50/50 gender balance in leadership and to effectively engage male employees in this process.
According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WEGA), women represent almost 49.7% of all employees in Australia and in many sectors there is a growing pipeline of women in leadership roles. However, in the operations industries, for example in mining and manufacturing, the picture is different. Not only are women underrepresented in leadership and managerial roles, they are also underrepresented across all levels of the organisation. In 2016 WEGA reported that in the mining industry women made up 15% of employees, of which 13% were in management, and in manufacturing 26.6% were female employees, and of that only 18% were management personnel.
Louise Weine, National Director of NAWO said: “Women hold 21% of key management roles across operations industries. This figure is gradually improving but we need to talk about what benefits this shift brings for men in the industry, what are the blocks to engaging men and what can operations organisations do differently to more positively engage men in the way forward.”
Troy Roderick is the keynote speaker who will make his address live from Sydney where he is attending a Male Champions for Change event. Troy is the Executive Ambassador for Catalyst Australia and Strategic Advisor for Male Champions of Change. He is an expert on women’s leadership and advancement, flexibility, inclusive organisational approach and engaging men.
The panelists include:
Natalie Goldman, CEO, FlexCareers
Phillip Austin, President CHEP Asia Pacific
Michelle Redfern, Facilitator and Program Manager, Lighthouse Group
Tim Hart, MD and CEO, Ridley Corporation
NAWO will ‘Livestream’ this event to its national network enabling its 5000 members to join the conversation. Non-members can also register to view the event live.
“Due to the nature of their professions, a significant proportion of NAWO’s Members are in regional sites,” said Ms Weine, “we also want to attract non-Members working regionally and enable operations employees in unlimited locations to access the ideas generated at this event.”
While 60% of university graduates in Australia are women, only 28.5% of key management positions are held by women. Globally, despite making up half the world’s population, in 2015 women only occupied around 15% of global board positions.
According to Goldman Sachs, narrowing the gap between male and female employment rates in Australia could potentially boost GDP by 11%. In addition to the economic benefit, women working in leadership roles create more innovative and diverse executive teams, give men access to a better work/life balance, create higher productivity, and give opportunity for men to be more present for their families. The forum will address these advantages and discuss ways to accelerate gender balance in operational businesses.
This event is part of NAWO’s Regional Delivery Program which aims to reach the large pool of female talent across regional Australia and is funded by Australian Government’s Office for Women. This funding is part of the Government’s Women’s Leadership and Development Strategy, which is focused on improving gender equality and providing support for women’s economic empowerment, safety and leadership. It is anticipated this partnership will enable hundreds (if not thousands) of regional women to participate in operational leadership development opportunities, and regional organisations to further their gender diversity targets.
Strong interest in the event is anticipated, and although the event in Melbourne is by invitation only, there is unlimited availability for the Livestream.
Registration for the Livestream is free to NAWO Members and $35.00 + GST for Non-Members. Registrations close at 9.00pm on the 21st November.
Register for the Livestream here
More information: http://www.nawo.org.au/nawo-livestream-events/
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