News & Impact

In its inaugural report on the 563 non executive directors sitting on the ASX100, Apollo Communications found that despite corporate Australia being a public supporter of gender equality, on average male directors earn 20% more than their female colleagues ($263,144 vs $218,696), for no obvious reason.

Other key findings included a Bachelor of Arts is the most common degree held; distance is no barrier, with one in five living offshore; age is no limit, with the oldest director at 80 years and the youngest 33; Gordon Cairns is the highest paid ASX100 director, earning $1.8m; and the best paying boards are BHP, Resmed and Macquarie.

By Louise Rumble, Partner, and Georgie Richardson, Associate, Holding Redlich Lawyers
How is your board ensuring WHS compliance to eliminate risk under COVID-19. This article looks at key work health and safety issues Boards need to be aware of, and address, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this article Ruth explains how a telephone survey resulted in her joining an Advisory Board and reviews three online and board management products - timely given COVID-19 necessitates boards to operate "virtually". 

Finding the right board talent to lead organisations through the recovery phase of the pandemic has never been more critical.’  We asked our recruiters who post with WOB what they are seeing and doing in the Director market during COVID-19.

The sixth syndicate in the WOBSX director-led peer mentoring program for women seeking ASX roles, is officially underway.

The new world of working in COVID-19 can be exhausting, with a lot time spent in online meetings, presentations and events. If you play a major role in these activities, then you find that you need to be ON all the time. No looking away, checking your phone, leaving the room for a toilet break – but continuous focus and engagement. In this article I explore why this is the case and gives a few tips for being able to enjoy this rare time in our lives.

Over the past 12 years WOB has built an impressive bank of highly accomplished and experienced members, making it ideally placed to help organisations build boards and governance committees.  Basketball Australia is a great example of how we do this.

In times of crisis our first responsibility as company directors is the health and safety of our workforce, then we need to quickly step up to the many other business challenges. The Executive can run the business on a day to day basis.  It’s when the hard stuff comes along that directors show their worth and their wisdom and judgment is needed. It is also when we as citizens show our true worth.

A new study of the medical products industry — the first to examine the impact of female board representation on product recalls — finds that firms with female directors on their boards announce high-severity recalls 28-days faster than all-male boards.

Every industry across the globe has faced a crisis at some point in time. While most large companies survive, many struggle for years following a period of severe adversity. Others prevail and become stronger than before. How companies address crises has changed over time, as has the role of the board.

This weekend has been a watershed in our country’s history. Like no other it has shown both how vulnerable and resilient we are as a society and a species; what good and bad leadership looks like; and the huge role that both organisations and individuals have in getting us through this crisis.

Govering during a pandemic requires acting quickly and cooperatively. Infectious disease outbreaks like COVID-19 primarily impact organisations  in terms of operations and people.  If you are Non Executive Director it's important that you are across the issues and know how they will impact your organisation.  We've collated reference material that you might find valuable to help determine the necessary steps to mitigate risk in your organiston. Click here

Women on Boards is proud to be partnering with the boutique organisation, Parents on Leave™, to provide an innovative new program for men and women who are on parental leave.

WOBSX Chair, Mark Richardson, will host 10 WOBSX graduates at the highly anticipated 2020 Australian Investment Council (AIC) gala dinner in Sydney this week. The graduates will be also joined by Melinda Snowden, who chaired the 2018 Elizabeth Bryan syndicate, for WOBSX.

Lack of transparency, professionalism and peer support are just some of the frustrations with the board recruitment process, according to new research commissioned by market leading advocacy and director placement group, Women on Boards.

The WOB Vacancy Board * continues to grow and provide vital benefits to our members. The good news is that the number of remunerated positions offered on the WOB Vacancy Board increased by 7% to nearly 66% in 2019.**

MEDIA RELEASE
Experienced Chair and Non-Executive Director, Ruth Medd, has spoken out ahead of the Westpac AGM, saying the directors of Westpac are “clearly not fit for purpose having collectively presided over what has become a catastrophe.”

The latest WOBSX syndicate kicked off in Sydney in November 2019, chaired by Rob Shaw from Credit Corp (ASX:CCP). The syndicate is named after well known NED and Chair, Susan Oliver AM and is the 5th syndicate in the highly successful WOBSX program.

We had a great WOBMeet in Melbourne on Monday night with guest panellist Julie Green at the Emerald Peacock.  We were delighted to see many regular WOBers, including Sheena Wilson, Ruth Wilson, Marlene Elliot and more.

Claire Braund, WOB Executive Director, got up close with Julie Green to discuss her boardroom journey and what she’s learned along the way.

Women on Boards has taken issue with the AICD and its affiliates setting a target of 30% for female board representation for the ASX200 and then complaining when companies only reach 29.5%. WOB Executive Director, Claire Braund, said the target for female representation on boards needs to be 40% across all sectors - including the ASX. 

In 2010 when Emeritus Professor Julie Cotter was thinking about a shift to the boardroom, she completed her Company Directors course and then started to look around for roles.  As she told the assembled guests at the Women on Boards Director Lunch at Clayton Utz in Brisbane last week, she had ‘some success, but not as much as she expected.'

On October 18, NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch, performed the first all-woman spacewalk. This was the fourth spacewalk for Christina Koch and the first for Jessica Meir.  But they almost didn't get there together!

"It doesn't seem to come in my size" are words that will resonate with many frustrated female apparel shoppers around the globe. While this issue often causes annoyance, it is rarely earth shattering. However, for Koch and Meir, the lack of size 'medium' on the space suit rack could have prevented them from being the first all-female team to walk - or technically 'float' - in space last Friday.

Women on Boards is proud to be sponsoring Professor Shirley Randell AO to take part in the "Global Gender Summit’ being organised by the African Development Bank in Rwanda from 25-27 November. WOB will contribute $1,000 towards Shirley’s travel to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, to take part in the summit.

Read our final report from this year's Next Generation of Female Leaders Program. The Vida Goldstein syndicate looked into how business culture has changed through time in Australia.  Their 'article based report' was developed by looking back at culture over the decades and insights shared by key business leaders interviewed.

Leading from Chair: Building the skills for the next stage of your career. Rowena Ironside, chair and co-founder of Women on Boards UK, talk to Insead about the leading-edge thinking, the tools, insights and frameworks that Leading from the Chair delivers to address the exciting and manifold challenges ahead.

Read the third of our four reports from his year's Next Generation of Female Leaders Program. This week's report from the Susan Alberti Syndicate looked at 'Leading Through Disruption'. The report is based on indepth interviews with key industry leaders and their own academic and social research.

Read the second of our four reports from this year's Next Generation of Female Leaders Program. This week's report from the Nancy Bird Walton syndicate, examines the concept of 'Natural Born Leaders?' The findings are based on interviews with 20 influential leaders, key reports and literature.

Running an AGM poses challenges.  Computershare has compiled data from 2018 to develop these interesting statistics.

Long time WOB member, Cheryl Hayman, has joined her third ASX board with the announcement of her appointment as an independent non-executive director to Shriro Holdings Limited (ASX: SHM).

WOB congratulates our twenty-one Next Gen graduates who attended the final two days of our program at AON in Sydney this week. We had great presentations, robust discussion, metamorphic personal development and deep personal connections between the graduates, mentors, presenters and WOB staff.

Read the first of our four reports from his year's Next Generation of Female Leaders Program. This week's report from the Eleanor Harding Syndicate looked at 'Leadership in the Digital Age'. The report is based on indepth interviews with key industry leaders and their own academic and social research.

We are seeing a growing trend in the number of Women on Boards members who are involved as founders, advisors, directors or investors in what is loosely termed ‘the innovation space’. This is exciting for WOB and a great opportunity to expand our networks and test out new marketplaces.

It was a big week for WOBSX with 10 of the program graduates invited as guests to the Australian Investment Council Conference at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (11th & 12th Sept). The WOB members were accompanied by AIC member, Mark Richardson, an experienced chairman & investment management professional who introduced the WOB team to the conference. A number of them shared their thoughts on the event.

Claire Braund talks to Fiona Ellis-Jones on ABC News Radio about a new report that shows the number of female CEOs running Australia's largest companies actually went backwards last year.

A diverse group of WOB members enjoyed hearing how governance guru, Trisha Mok, juggles two board roles, four committees, a full-time executive position and Oscar (seven-year-old son) at a lunch in Sydney last week.

We had a great Melbourne WOBMeet last week with guest speaker Marlene Elliott, Non-Executive Director Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA) and Netball Victoria and very successful netball player and coach.

Marlene spoke about her interesting career progression from senior management at KPMG to her decision to leave Adelaide and move to Melbourne at the tender age of 50 to progress her career and expand her board portfolio.

She shared how she went from the B Netball Team at school to represent South Australia at the Nationals and how being overlooked for the A Team taught her many valuable lessons.

Non-Executive Director, WOB mentor and executive leadership consultant, Sheena Wilson was a special guest at the latest WOBMeet in Perth last week.  Sheena, who was over from Melbourne, joined WOB Executive Director Claire Braund, at the 5-7pm networking event, to provide attendees with some sage advice about  mentoring, career development and helping individuals with career transitions.

Among the top items on the boardroom agenda in the oil and gas sector in 2019 are finance, health, safety & environment and engaging with community around land access, according to experienced Non-Executive Director, Marie Malaxos. She said this represents a significant shift from 10-plus years ago and reflects the increased community engagement in oil and gas projects via digital and social media and the change in community attitudes towards resource extraction.

The WOB ‘Jobs Board’ is well recognised as the place to post a board or committee role if you are serious about finding a female director for your organisation. It’s free to post a position, the information is quality checked and controlled, all positions are communicated weekly to the entire WOB database and applications numbers are monitored and additional services offered if required.

Australia's gender pay gap has remained stable at 14% (WGEA), however recent data shows we are falling behind the rest of the world.  According to international rankings by the World Economic Forum, Australia was ranked 15th in 2006 but fell 24 places to 39^th in 2018.

Hint – the new law has nothing to do with sport referees and their whistles.

Did you know that new laws went into effect on the 1 July 2019 in respect to whistleblowers? And did you know that there are significant fines associated with non-compliance? For example, penalties greater than $1m for an individual or greater than $10m or 25% of annual turnover (capped at $525m) for a company. Are your boards and organisations prepared for this new law?

Recent WOBSX graduate and the latest addition to the board of Syrah Resources (ASX: SYR), Sara Watts, was in The Fox Hole in Sydney’s CBD last week, to talk about her journey to the boardroom at our latest WOBMeet event.

Sage and strategic advice was the order of the day from the experienced panel interviewed by WOB Executive Director, Claire Braund, in Brisbane last Thursday (1 August).

MEDIA RELEASE:- 

The news from the AICD that Australia's top 200 ASX listed companies have failed to achieve 30% of women in board roles comes as little surprise to Women on Boards.

There was an excited hum in the air to kick off Brisbane’s first WOB Meet on 18 July. From first time members to long term WOBers ,everyone was looking forward to having some fun and meeting likeminded women. The venue was a cosy downstairs bar that, as one woman said, was like sitting in someone’s loungeroom and added to the convivial atmosphere.

An innovative and unique service that's been provided by Women on Boards since 2006 is our Board & Committee Vacancy listing.   We are delighted to report that our Vacancies continue to grow, with WOB posting more than two and a half thousand vacancies in 2018, an increase of 164% in just 12 months.

As latest reports from the UK and Australia show we still have a way to go to reach 40:40:20 gender balanced boards, but there are trends in board recruitment that are helping to move things in the right direction.

A great group of WOB WA members attended the very first WOBMeet held last week at The George in Perth.  From 5pm the wild weather and rain hit. but this didn’t deter members from wading through water and traffic problems to attend the evening.

MARGIE COOK joined WoB a few months back. In January 2019 she was awarded the AO for services to the international community for the promotion of democratic electoral processes and for human rights.  She penned this article for Women on Boards. 

Next time you pitch to an advisory board or committee, know WHY they need your skills so you can make a solid case.

​Congratulations to all the of women who stood in the Federal election to Parliament in May 2019 and to the 46 who succeeded in being elected in the House of Representatives and the 35 continuing or re-elected to the Senate. Of the 81 women, just 27 are in the Morrison Government. This means that 24% of our Federal Government representatives are female.

There is a mismatch in the skills and experience boards are recruited on and those that are effective in the boardroom, according to Stanislaw Shekshnia, Senior Affiliate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Entrepreneurship at INSEAD.

Board recruitment by established companies has been slow to adapt to the challenges of AI, automation, and the changing workforce, says Women on Boards Chair Ruth Medd.

Women on Boards was delighted when Jim Askew, the Chair of Syrah Resources, announced in his AGM address on 24 May 2019, that “Ms Sara Watts has consented to act as a Non-Executive Director. “

Victoria is gearing up to implement a 40% minimum quota for female representation on sports boards, effective from 1 July 2019, while Stephanie Spence proved age is no barrier on a sports board.

A chance to master the elevator pitch over duck pancakes and a glass of vino.

A funky little Melbourne wine bar called Seamstress was the venue for our inaugural WOBMeet, held last Tuesday night as an event exclusively for subscribed members.

The ALP is making a strong pitch to female voters in the upcoming Federal election, with Prime Ministerial hopeful, Bill Shorten, releasing the ALP's Plan for Equality last week and topping it up with his $4 billion boost for childcare on Sunday. The Liberal Party is yet to make any further announcements than the $109 million Women’s Economic Security Statement released by then Liberal Minister for Women, Kelly O'Dwyer, in November 2018.

Against the backdrop of an imminent election, Budget 2019-20 must be read as the basis for the Government’s narrative of its vision for the nation – to be elaborated during the campaign itself. Buoyed by a lift in prices for minerals exports (which could be transitory) and hopeful assumptions about growth in wages, the grand vision appears to be yet another fistful of dollars.

Being someone who has an overdeveloped interest in politics, I have just completed the exercise of seeing how many women are standing in the upcoming Federal election on 18 May from the Liberal / National Party side of politics.

A common question we’re asked at Women on Boards is how much can a Non-Executive Director (NED) earn?  From the thousands of board vacancies we’ve posted, we know it varies depending on the type and size of organisation (e.g. not for profit, government or ASX) as well as the industry.  We’ll briefly take you through some of these.
Click here .... this article is subscribers only content. 
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Graeme Samuel’s rather unfortunate public comments about the impenetrable "girls' club" in Australian boardrooms (the ‘Golden Skirts’) has conveniently taken the spotlight off the “Tweedy Trousers” club and ignored many of the real issues around Non-Executive Director recruitment.

NSW may have elected a female Liberal leader for the first time, but the overall numbers are looking a bit grim for the Coalition Government in the Legislative Assembly when it comes to gender. If Wendy Lindsay is elected in East Hills and The Nationals retain Dubbo, then there will be 13 women sitting in the Lower House from 48 government representatives.

Fresh on the back of her graduation from the INSEAD International Directors Programme, Women on Boards Chair, Ruth Medd, has been appointed to two boards.

Nicole Misurelli, Western Water’s Manager of Employee Relations and Business Transformation, knew how valuable a corporate subscription was to Women on Boards.  

MEDIA RELEASE
Women on Boards has welcomed the NSW Premier’s $120 million commitment to make before and after school care available to public primary schools by 2021.

Women on Boards has recognised the work of two NSW women working in areas of social need in awarding scholarships to its 2019 Next Generation of Female Leaders program.

MEDIA RELEASE IWD2019 
Women on Boards has called for Australian governments and businesses to urgently prioritise closing both the gender-pay and gender-investment gaps to achieve #balanceforbetter.
 

MEDIA RELEASE

Women on Boards is using the week of International Women's Day 2019 to reiterate its call for a gender balance of 40:40:20 on boards and in leadership roles.

Take a selfie with our sign and post it on social media.

Long term WOB subscriber, Leanne Heywood, has celebrated her graduation from our boutique WOBSX program in 2018 with two new ASX roles.

Gina McClement credits amazing support through the WOB mentorship program for her success in achieving a board position on Basketball NSW, which she took up on 1 January 2019. She describes this as her first active directorship and is fullsome in her praise for WOB mentor, Cheryl Hayman.
 

Gail Emerson, Women on Boards' CRM Marketing Manager, reflects on her time on as Chair of Lambeth Rathbone's board of trustees. 

This article from Gail Emerson, WOB UK, shares six learnings from her time on a Charity (Not For Profit) board in the UK.

Vocus founder and former CEO, James Spenceley, has been announced as the first ambassador for the Women on Boards WOBSX program, a role which will see him instrumental in the organisation’s efforts to create more opportunities for women on ASX and equivalent boards.
 

INSEAD Corporate Governance Centre (ICGC), in partnership with Women on Boards (WOB), will launch its highly acclaimed International Directors Programme (IDP) in Australia in 2019.

Women on Boards (WOB) has called on the Federal Liberal Party to introduce a quota for female candidates at pre-selection and adopt a program of culture change and reform if it is to remain relevant to Australian voters.

It rained across some of parched NSW over the weekend. Welcome water from the vaporised tears of millions of Australians perhaps? Voters frustrated, angry and just plain upset over the nonsense in Parliament last week? Because not since Julia Gillard was deposed (so no need for the ALP to be smug) have we seen such acts of pure self-interest from the elected representatives in our national capital.

Adding a board appointment to your CV, is a sure way to draw attendtion to your capabilities while catapulting your career up the ladder of success.

This week I was in Singapore as a member of the WOB contingent attending session one of the INSEAD International Directors Program. The group of 40 or so was extremely diverse in terms of culture, professional experience and background.

The National Foundation of Australian Women has once again put its shoulder to the wheel, expertly reviewing the Federal Budget through a gender lens.

I have attended several seminars with some very inspiring women speakers ranging from Senator Penny Wong to Hillary Clinton (no bio needed) to Nicole Seebacher the 2017 NSW Young Women of the Year, and many more.  The events had some great takeaways which I thought I would share. 

Women on Boards is increasingly being asked to assist with the recruitment of directors for ASX listed companies, as they seek to diversify the skills and expertise of their board.

The representation of women on corporate boards has risen substantially over the past
decade, but the growth rate is slowing. Meanwhile women’s power on the boards on
which they sit is often limited.
 

The federal and state governments are increasing the number of vacancies posted with the Women on Boards website, with Victoria the stand out state.
 

I would have written you something shorter but…

Our experiences on the Women on Boards Next Generation of Corporate Female Leaders Program influenced the selection of our project theme. The first session held in Sydney challenged traditional leadership models and explored the more contemporary capabilities required of leaders in the future. The rapid pace of change and disruption experienced by business and increasing complexity is making it more difficult for leaders to predict and plan for future events and impacts. 

Your scribe continues to visit the hot climates of northern Australia. In 2017, I wrote about what I did in my holidays in an article featuring the crocodile (a lovely pet according to ABC news item in the silly season)

Every year the women on the WOB Next Generation of Female Leaders program undertake an action learning project. The follow story is a snippet from the report compiled and presented by one of the program syndicate groups.

The 2018 Next Generation of Female Leaders program is now enrolling.

The annual survey of the positions posted with WOB finds that the number continues to grow and in 2017 close to 20 per cent of the Not for Profit entities listed with WOB continued to pay director fees.

Mentoring is probably the most powerful developmental process people can experience. And when it works, it develops two for the price of one. In mentoring, the relationship between mentor and mentee is all-important. In this article, WOB Director and experienced mentor, Cheryl Hayman, gives nine key tips for making the relationship work.

Our call out for favourite traditional family Christmas recipes produced some yummy results for all to try. 

Mary-Sue Roger's top summary of the lessons learned and things you can do to help improve your chances of appointment to a NED position for a listed organisation.

Australia’s gender equality scorecard was released today by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. Some relatively good news on the pay-equity front and in relation to flexible working, but no progress in relation to the number of women in board and top leadership roles.

Mighty racing mare,Winx, might appear to be the fastest and best, but that is because she takes the lead and is the first past the post. CLICK HERE for the full article.
By Dr Judith Chapman, November 2017

The WOB annual survey of the board and committee positions posted on our website will be released in December. It is anticipated that the upwards trend in those offering board members some form of remuneration will continue to rise. The figure was 18 per cent in 2016.

It's been a busy time over the past couple of weeks. From the bright lights of the big cities to chocolate farming in FNQ - where awards have been won! 

Two new events will be held in Q1 of 2018 for the WOB Marketplace for Innovation following on from our launch event in mid-2017 kindly hosted by AON. The format was speakers followed by table mentoring and attendees were a mix of WOB entrepreneurs and WOB members interested in early stage companies. It was a great evening with unexpected connections made and new relationships formed.

Our boards and committees event for aspiring younger directors in Melbourne this week was a roaring success. A big thank you to hosts, Mercer, and the two panellists, Jenny Taing and Michelle Di-Fabio, who provided some great advice for the audience, many of whom had not considered boards or committees this early in their career.
 

I recently attended a seminar in London on the new mandatory reporting on gender pay.  The event was co-sponsored by Huntswood, a UK based specialist resourcing and consulting firm that focuses on governance, risk and compliance and Women on Boards UK.  The statistics were pretty amazing and alarming, and while the data and insights are from UK organisations, I am sure that the underlying results would be the same in most of the world.

"If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools." – Plato

Clearly Plato was not an accountant or a member of the CPA Australia, but never let it be said that your scribe and WOB suffered this prophesy. The very public agitating of a group of members over this past year has produced some good news for CPA Australia. Nine new appointments have been made to the board.

Women on Boards receives regular compliments about our Post a Position service.  In particular how it provides organisations seeking board and committee members with high quality applicants and an opportunity to particularly promote positions to women.

This week I flew via Cairns, Gove and Darwin to Groote Eylandt as a guest of South32 – the global mining company demerged from BHP in 2015, listed on three continents and with operations across five countries. South32 is the latest corporate member of Women on Boards.

Many of you know that Women on Boards established an operation in the UK in 2012 – exactly five years ago this month. If you haven’t already then jump onto our website and select WOB UK at the top left corner and have a browse. Some great articles and useful tips - as applicable here as in the UK.
 

In 2016 Women on Boards put a lot of effort into encouraging members to apply for Victorian Government Boards. Clearly it worked as the figures from the Victorian Government show:

 “In 2017, women now make up 54 per cent of all Victorian health service and public hospital service board members, compared to just 45 per cent in 2015. There are now more than 400 women on Victorian hospital boards - an increase of more than 70.

Last weekend I stood on a polling booth for 10 hours handing out how to votes and seeking to convince voters to elect me as an independent to the Central Coast Council. Others, including Ruth Medd, graciously gave up all or half of their days to do the same. Many heart-warming and humourous interactions with other polling booth workers and voters made the day go relatively quickly. Our pitch was strong and we were feeling good.
 

Regular readers will be aware of WOB’s interest in encouraging women in the earlier stage of their careers - in their 30's - to join a board. Often the response is:

• Am I too young?
• Do I have any skills a board would want?

These were the words of the current World Champion in Persuasive Speaking, Jacqueline Farrell, at the Ravenswood School for Girls last night. Speaking at an empowerment event organised by the prefect body at the school, Jacqueline (Year 12) opened with an account of what it meant to be of the female gender. “My gender is heard before my words” she told us – illustrating how through body language, vocal tone and mansplaining, men were constantly at an advantage. It might have been a useful eye opener for the young men from various private male boys schools who were part of the assembled audience of prefects, staff and parents.

Women on Boards was pleased to be invited to the Singapore Australia High Level Women’s Dialogue on 21 August 2017. Your scribe attended as the WOB representative.

Those of you who have attended a WOB event may have heard me describe myself as an advocate. Well it might be my biggest advocacy challenge yet if I am elected to Central Coast Council on 9^th September.
 
Yes, I have decided to put my hand up at the first elections for our merged super council – formerly Wyong and Gosford - which is now the third largest in NSW. Needless to say, it will be a challenge – both to be elected and, if successful, to be one of 15 councillors in an area with 330,000 people

This week we have an interesting perspective on director remuneration, remunerating charity boards.

Ruth’s Review of 7 July 2017 canvassed why you might do this and what level of remuneration may be appropriate. But for a fuller exploration of the issues check out the ACNC report on Remuneration which also sets out some questions that a charity should consider when deciding whether or not to pay its board members; including:

When the plane trip from UK to Australia starts to drag I usually listen to the three tenors on the entertainment system. 

So, it was while enjoying the glorious sounds of Domingo, Carreras and Pavarotti on my recent return trip from the UK that turn my mind turned to WOB’s three MMM’s.  That is -  the Maldives, Malta and Mongolia. 

A  demanding and highly experiential leadership program to challenge the way you build skills to collaborate, co-create and co-lead.  Sounds like something the embattled companies being featured daily in the news might like to consider. 

Having returned from a successful four weeks with the colleagues at WOB UK your scribe is now back onto the thorny matter of CPA Australia.

Firstly and most importantly, all WOB members who are CPAs are encouraged to sign the spill petition (6,000 signatures are needed) to requisition an EGM to debate a board spill and other motions. Well done to Jen Dalitz and other diligent CPA members for getting this underway.

Three WA-based members of Women on Boards have been appointed to Indigo Junction, a crisis housing accommodation service in Perth.

My topic this week is one that has caused great controversy of late in the media. It follows the explosive ABC reports by Julia Baird and Hayley Gleeson alleging links between Christian faith, gender and family violence. Aired over two nights on ABC and followed up extensively in the media, the reports have caused churches across Australia further angst on top of the Pandora's box of opened by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

WOB UK runs regular FTSE breakfasts for WOB members to hear from experienced directors and headhunters. Your scribe attended one recently where the guest speakers were Sue Kilsby, Chair of Shire PLC - a leading global biotechnology company focused on serving people with rare diseases - and Karin Barnick, partner at Korn Ferry.

Sue, an investment banker by profession, spoke engagingly about her FTSE career, which has seen her appointed as a Non-Executive Director to the boards of BBA Aviation PLC, Goldman Sachs International and Fortune Brands Home & Security Inc. Great tips for those in the audience.

Karin then spoke about the head hunter scene in London which revealed that, as expected, the top headhunters in London take much the same approach as their Australian counterparts. She provided some interesting data on FTSE 350 boards.

Alex Malley's ears might have been burning again this week if they were not already scorched off by the roasting he has received in relation to his tenure as CEO of CPA Australia. He was the exclusive case study of Peter Swan AO FSSA, Emeritus Professor the Unviersity of NSW Business School, in his address to a joint Women on Boards / Clayton Utz lunch helpfully titled "Cult of the CEO: CPA Australia and how its non-standards helps generate ASX governance dysfunction".

In November 2014 the UK Office of National Statistics published a report revealing that in the year to April 2014, the gender pay gap for all employees stood at 19.1%, down from 19.8% in 2013. The gap has also decreased in the long-term, from 27.5% in 1997.  Despite the decrease in the pay gap, the rate of progress is widely-considered to be too slow. 

This week I was a guest on Philip Clark's Nightlife program on ABC Radio. For 48 minutes Dr Alison Gaines, General Manager Asia Pacific at Gerard Daniels and Chairman of the Murdoch University Foundation, and I discussed the various responsibilities of boards, how they are constituted and the work involved.

WOB is regularly asked about director remuneration. Most often the question is what should a Not-for-Profit (NFP) pay its directors? This usually occurs as the board readies itself to pay their appointed members.   
 
Most Not-for-Profits do not remunerate their directors. However, those that are running a business with staff and resources are increasingly likely to do so.
 
There are a number of surveys done annually on this topic. Some are publicly available and others require payment. WOBs posted vacancies is a perfect regime for surveying remuneration trends. As such we have collected data over many years.  
 

Developing your board career is a matter of persistence and vigilance. You never know when your ideal opportunity will appear. WOB regularly does search assignments for companies seeking Non-Executive-Directors. Often these are paid roles on interesting boards, well suited to some WOB subscribers. 

Women on Boards is proud to be partnering with leading graduate school, INSEAD, to offer its International Director's Program to WOB subscribers. Offered the opportunity early in 2017, WOB Directors understood the immediate value this program would provide to those women seeking to upgrade their international governance qualification.
 

No-one likes it when their team kicks its own goal. Indeed, journalists and commentators often engage in hot debate about which is the worst ‘own goal’ across the many sports codes. However, there is little doubt that as we approach the end of the financial year, that CPA Australia has taken the prize for the most own goals scored in the shortest period of time in corporate history. 
 

This was the advice given by a team of senior men to a woman at a financial services firm who was trying to make some changes to the 'business as usual' approach her colleagues seemed to enjoy. Apparently change was not on the agenda. The anecdote was recounted to the 32 women taking part in the 2017 WOB Next Generation of Corporate Female Leaders program in Sydney this week. Heads nodded.

A recent column commented on the rise of postings of faith based postings with WOB.
 
The Uniting Church (UC) has posted with WOB over many years. So WOB is delighted that the UC has begun a formal partnership with us to assist with their governance, leadership and diversity objectives. 

The trend towards engaging men on gender equality might have more benefits that first realised. Over the past two years we have been moving to a new paradigm around men 'owning the problems of gender inequality' as highlighted in a timely new Diversity Council Australia report titled Men Make a Difference: Engaging Men on Gender Equality.

The trials and tribulations at CPA Australia continue apace, with fresh revelations today that this week the NSW Government is threatening to deregister it as a professional standards body. This is principally because the loss-making business championed by CEO Alex Malley, CPA Australia Advice, competes with the members of CPA Australia.

Coupled with the resignations of Kerry Ryan and Richard Alston from the board and the very public renouncing of membership by David Murray, it’s been a tough week.  

CPA Australia has released the individual director and CEO remuneration details; plus other information in response to membership questions. They have finally done the right thing by their members with regard to remuneration disclosure. 

"This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill—the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill—you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Remember: all I'm offering is the truth. Nothing more." (The Matrix)

Was the film, The Red Pill, as controversial and anti-women as I had been led to expect?  

Tomorrow I am going to a screening of American documentary film by feminist, Cassie Jaye, that explores the men's rights movement.

Last week’s item on the ASX company for which WOB is doing a board search was the subject of a lot of attention. It certainly kept my inbox full!
 
For some WOBers it was a case of putting their hat into the ring for the role, despite the realisation they had little chance of success. This is not a bad thing. It was heartening to us that the ASX position inspired them to action.

The types of vacancies posted with WOB vary widely across organisations and sectors. Increasingly ASX companies are coming our way as they realise WOB offers a unique database of aspirant (and often not well known) women with the skills and experience to fill board roles. This is good news for WOB subscribers seeking an initial or their next ASX board. 

Robots joining unions, data for sale on the dark net, skewed algorithms for NDIS avatars ... we discussed it all at the WOB Director's Circle in Sydney on 18 May ... and more besides.

Australia has not had a Women's Budget Statement since it was dropped in 2014 by then Prime Minister and Minister for Women, Tony Abbott. While many felt it was insufficiently resourced the principal around the statement was important. 

Why do we need a women's budget statement? Surely the budget impacts equally on men as well as women?
 

Budget week in Canberra is fun – if hectic.
 
Your scribe was at Parliament House on budget night to listen to the Treasurer's budget speech. This was followed by the NFAW Gender Lens conference call where the assembled experts gave their first impressions of the impact of the budget on women.
 

Word on the street is that there are CPA members who are concerned about the governance of their respected body, but feel they cannot speak publicly.  Women on Boards has a history of calling out the laggards and will continue to do so. Your scribe is a CPA member of some 30+ years.

I have been asked about my stance on gender quotas many times. This week I was asked again on the back of comments made by former Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, during his regular spot on 2GB on Monday (1 May 2017).

Women on Boards is a global network of some 40,000+ women who largely work on the principle of reciprocity. We work to underpin this approach with a wide range of development offerings.
 

Today WOB attended the Lifeline Steel Magnolia Awards on the NSW Central Coast. Six finalists in an award that recognises a woman who overcame, who lifted herself up and who did something for others.

Not for Profit organisations range from small bodies or local service providers in areas such as disability and transport, to significant enterprises registered as unlisted companies limited by guarantee, such as CPA Australia (CPAA). 
 

It is always useful to remind myself that Women on Boards was once a start-up. An idea that had its genesis back in 2001, tested the market until 2005 and formed in 2006. At the time Ruth and I founded WOB, I had an eight month old daugther, was working from our first (tiny) home on the Central Coast of NSW and thinking how, at 35 years of age, I might seek to make a difference for women.

Some of you may have seen that the Minister for Communications has announced the demise of the Catalyst Australian Arts and Culture Fund.

‘The Government has announced that the majority of funds from Catalyst will be transferred to the Australia Council from 1 July 2017.’

First my declaration. Your scribe is an independent assessor for this program. And it’s a (tiny $) paid gig.

The background is that a previous Minister for the Arts carved out some funding for projects not typically funded by the Australia Council; the established federal government funding body for the arts.  

There is no doubt that being born of the land gives you a tenacity that stands you in good stead throughout your life. I was reminded of this again on two occasions this week; at the 2017 NSW Rural Women's Award gala dinner at Parliament House and, in an address I gave to the Sydney Hills Business Chamber.
 

You may have noticed WOB has an ever-increasing number of board and committee positions available. As of 31 March 2017 there are 70 current vacancies. To date we have received 250 positions posted since 1 January 2017 - many with multiple positions available.

This week I noticed a few amusing news items come across my desk. BKindred founder, Penny Locaso, delivered a keynote presentation in a swimsuit, George Brandis told Parliament that being called a white man" was “deeply offensive and insulting" and a UK national newspaper asked readers whether the British or Scottish Prime Minister had better legs?

Being awarded an Australian Honour is highly regarded and signals your contribution to your profession, industry or cause. As is the case on governing bodies, women are under-represented in the Australian Honours awarded on the occasions of Australia Day and Queen's Birthday. 

Do you think the move to include female pedestrian signals is a positive addition to the City of Melbourne?

International Women's Day is now behind us and we there are some items worthy of note.

• Gear up Girls was a great success, organised by the very capable crew at Bicycle NSW, who as it happens are seeking a board member (ID4834). 
• The winner of the 2017 TAP Gallery IWD art prize was Debbie Nankervis with her work titled Sister Cities. WOB previously sponsored this prize and I have taken this on personally.
• The AFR BOSS article of 6^th March 2017 which featured an interview with Ruth and Claire received many compliments. Thank you.

International Women’s Day is all about us as women. So make sure everyone notices.  Women on Boards has been doing its bit – Claire in the OzHarvest CEO Cookoff, Ruth taking part in the Gear up Girls bike ride and donating to the TAP Gallery IWD Art Prize.

Had another coffee this week with my male friend - he from my previous article 'Coffee chats in the diverse, digital and dichotomous world of 2016' about International Women's Day. He told me that he listened to the radio until 12noon on Wednesday 8 March and then had to turn it off as it all 'became a bit much.' What became a bit much you may ask?

WOB believes that there is a board for everyone at all stages of your career journey. So don’t be hesitant in applying for a role. WOB is here to help!

The title of Catherine Fox's latest book is meant to be as provocative as it reads. For too long we have focussed on blaming women rather than shifting the system.

• A system built and designed by white anglo-saxon men to benefit white anglo saxon men.
• A system that normalises white anglo-saxon male behaviours across government, business and society.
• A system that says because we legislate for equality we will get equity.

Yours truly was delighted to be invited to become an ambassador for the 2017 Gear up Girl, the annual community bike ride of Bicycle NSW and the Heart Foundation. 

‘The ride shows off some of Sydney’s most spectacular separated cycle ways. Starting at Sydney Olympic Park and finishing in a festival atmosphere at Cronulla Beach. With 20km, 40km and 60km options; there is a ride to suit you and all your friends.’

This week I was in Brisbane presenting one of our 'get to know WOB information evenings.' Another great crowd of professional, skilled and diverse women with so much to offer our organisations. Just like the women in Sydney and Melbourne last week - and so it goes, in every city, every year. 

This column has previously canvassed the desirability of including a government board in your portfolio of career activities.

The news today that the Law Council of Australia will roll out a program of unconscious bias training for barristers and law firms, raises more questions than it answers. Universally acclaimed as the new thing in training three or four years ago, there is little evidence to show this approach has reduced the outcome of biases in the workplace - for example, closing the gender pay gap or leading to a significant improvement in the number of women in top leadership roles.

WOB is a movement for change. It has been this since the original idea was broached. We went where others did not tread. We are enthusiastically ‘on the job’ after 10 years.   

We often assume that women's rights, like wine, will mature and improve over time. The truth is that both are influenced by many factors and require significant effort, commitment and financial investment to achieve and maintain.

Women on Boards has a track record of working with Governments who are actively seeking to increase the representation of females on their boards and committees. We also lobby others who should be doing more - Western Australia comes to mind.

It has been something of a rough start to the year. From the tragedy in Melbourne to Trump's executive orders on abortion, refugees and trade, it seems hard to make sense of the world we live in at the moment.

Occasional address by Claire Braund at the 121^st Speech Day of the New England Girls’ School, Armidale NSW on 7^th December 2016.

​Your scribe continues to visit hot climes. This past week it’s been Mission Beach, Cairns and the Atherton Tablelands.  All at 35 degrees but with little wind, unlike the biking expedition in South Australia in November.

The annual survey of the positions posted with Women on Boards 2016 has found that close to 20 per cent of the Not For Profit entities pay director fees
 
The survey of positions posted from 1 January until the end of November 2016, found that of the board vacancies posted on our website in the categories of Charity/NFP; Foundation / Trust and Sporting Body in 2016:

We came to the end of our 'Leadership in Focus' series at WOB this week. The public interface of our highly successful Next Generation of Corporate Female Leaders program, the series gives voice to the reports and presentations on leadership that each syndicate is required to produce.

I have an interesting and ongoing conversation with a male friend of mine about older white men being increasingly marginalised by the rise of feminine power in Australia and the wider world. As all of our work at WOB is focussed on building the capacity of women to lead and affect change, it made me reflect on our purpose and if we need to talk about the elephants in the room. Men!

Australia has a first in class dataset on gendered workforce employment.  To give you a sense of the scale of this dataset, in 2016 more than 12,000 employers provided a gendered break down of their workforce of more than four million employees. That's a lot of numbers to be crunched by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) which this week released its third Gender Equality Scorecard

There are many pathways to the boardroom and some of them are longer and more circuitous than others. Few aspirant non-executive-directors (male or female) will leave a role and leap onto boards in short order. Many hedge their bets, starting earlier in their career by combining boards with executive roles or establishing a portfolio career of boards plus consultancy/advisory activities. 

The world's top job once again goes to a white anglo-saxon man. This time it also goes to a man who has a history of treating women like something he scraped off the bottom of his shoe. A man who has bragged about "grabbing women by the pussy" and said we should be "punished for having abortions."

Are female CEOs and political leaders more likely to be handed a poisoned chalice and then their gender used to blame them when they fail?

The Coalition Government is pushing legislation through the Senate to end "double dipping" by new mothers who receive paid maternity leave from their employers as well as from the government through the Paid Parental Leave scheme, with the changes to potentially take effect as early as January 2017.

The move has come up against significant public backlash, with the Opposition predicting around 80,000 new mothers could lose up to $12,000 in such payments every year, including thousands who are already pregnant.

Earlier this week Women's Agenda published a proposal WOB took to the Federal Government on paid parental leave in 2015. WOB believes it's a solution that's fairer across the long term and will ultimately provide more mothers with the 26 weeks paid leave that will help them bond with their babies and return to work. It also aims to give fathers and partners access to more paid leave, AND to achieve some of the significant savings needed.

The Liberal Government has not covered itself in glory when it comes to promoting women into leadership roles and its latest efforts with regard to Government boards and committees are lacklustre to say the least.

An update on a report into the gender metrics in global sport has found the huge pay gap in many sports played by both men and women is not likely to close anytime soon. This is despite a concerted push by many global sportswomen to be rewarded equally to their male counterparts.

Download the 2016 Gender Balance in Global Sport Report

The recently released 10 year plan to have 50 per cent female Liberal MPs by 2025 through "mentoring" via a Male Champions of Change initiative is a bit pie in the sky to say the least.It is also top down and very old school in its approach. 

Women on Boards is delighted to announce the appointment of innovation and digital transformation executive and Women on Boards member, Susan Wheeldon-Steele, to the board of ASX listed, Centuria Capital (CNI).

Analysis by Women on Boards shows that 45.3 per cent of the candidates standing for election for the ALP are female, compared with 28.6 per cent for the Coalition. The Greens are the most gender balanced on 50 per cent with the Xenophon Party at 33.3 per cent.
 

Weekly postings of board vacancies are tracking upwards as organisations emerge from the holiday period. To date, some 90 new boards and committees have been listed with WOB. Many of these offer multiple board seats. This week NSW government vacancies have returned. 

Women on Boards has backed Senator Nick Xenophon's bill to mandate gender balance on Australian Government Boards and Committees.

I recently posted on Linked In that it was good to see media reporting on the number of men and women appointed to Parliament in the recent NSW election, but sad to see only 30% female MPs, with 23 per cent in the governing Coalition. A comment on the post implied we should not measure the success of women by their number in politics as the selection process is flawed, but then went on to say we are very fortunate as women in Australia to have Julia Bishop as a role model. Emphasis on the singular. While Ms Bishop is an excellent role model (as was Julia Gillard, Amanda Vanstone and others before her) it bears remembering that she is only one of two women in a cabinet of 19 - giving a shade over 10 per cent female representation.

In the 2015 edition of the Boardroom Diversity Index Women on Boards evaluated 1422 organisations from more than 10 sectors

A Department of Employment report into the summary of consultations for Workplace Gender Equality Reporting is a flawed document that misrepresents support for the initiative.