Over the week-end you may have read about the KPMG report that was commissioned to review the role of the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency. The report is currently being considered by the Federal Government.
One of the recommendations seems to have grabbed attention – it’s the one about workplaces being encouraged to have a voluntary 40 percent female representation at all levels within a three to five year period or wear a penalty.
So it’s back to the old argument of quotas vs merit. It’s extremely difficult to find a group of collective women at the top who would agree with quotas and after all who can blame them, they’ve done the hard yards and so can everyone else. But in the end the fact is that if it was all fair and even we would already have 50 percent representation. So what gives? How does this stalemate of low levels of participation by women in senior roles ever progress forward? And, more to the point, will any Government in Australia ever be prepared to go to war with employers on this matter? Can you imagine?
Mind you, overseas countries where Governments have taken the road of quotas as a fix-it tool, the business community seemed to very quickly find extremely talented women to appoint to senior management roles and boards. These women didn’t just suddenly come to light, surely? Might have had something to do with pulling out all guns to identify and attract the right women (not a token woman) or else be penalised with a hefty fine and outed as a poor performer on published lists. Amazing what you can find when you put your mind to looking for it!
Contributed by
Lynette Palmen.
Lynette Palmen AM is the Founder and Managing Director or Women's Network Australia. She started WNA 20 years ago to offer support, inspiration and services that would inspire women to succeed in their career and business endeavours. WNA is now the Nation's premier networking organisation for business and professional women. T: 1800 052 476.
Some time ago I facilitated a VIP Planning Day for a small accounting practice. During the course of the day we reviewed the progress they had made since the Planning Day we had the year before. As we were reflecting on their achievements before planning the future, one of the partners made the comment on how crucial their weekly meetings were. Read the rest…
This week-end the Government will receive the Productivity Commission’s recommendations on Maternity Leave. It appears that after all the carry-on about this idea it’s not going to even get a look-in as part of the May Budget.
It seems the Nation is not in an economic position to implement it – well the Government had heaps of time to think about accommodating this one before giving away $12 billion of the surplus to many people who don’t actually need it. Maternity Leave payments would have achieved the same outcome – women spending money in retail outlets in preparation for the birth of their baby. It’s not rocket science. And in anycase wasn’t the Government funding for the recommendations of the Commission going to be mostly funded by a revamp of the current Baby Bonus package? Read the rest…
The only consistency at the moment seems to be upheaval and change. Women are relaying to me about their unexpected job losses, business closures and the effect the sudden down turn in trade is having on them both business wise and personally.
For many the increased emotional strain and constant fear of what the future holds is almost too much. It’s during these times that the networks we build become our only safety net. For those facing change it’s really important to remain confident and know that there are people who care about you personally and what’s happening in your corner. Just talking through how you’re feeling about changes happening in your life can be helpful.
But last week across my desk came a great resource that I thought was worth a mention. It’s a user-friendly booklet produced by Beyond Blue in response to the current economic downturn - ‘Taking Care of Yourself After Retrenchment or Financial Loss’. The book is FREE but more importantly it’s an excellent tool for helping women dust off, pick up the pieces and move on to bigger and better things. Share your knowledge of the book with others.
Lynette Palmen AM, Founder and Managing Director, Women’s Network Australia speaks to, for and about women and their business issues.
Ever had one of those days where you’ve thought that you just can’t put a foot right? Customers and clients only making contact with you to complain about what you have done wrong? The way to move past these days is to simply handle them for what they are and never take anyone’s anger on board or allow them to disempower you. I have always found that when in comes to complaints it is not so much about fixing the actual complaint as it is about about how you handle the situation. After all we are all human which means we’re not perfect and that includes the customer or client who’s doing the complaining – and they know it.
Lynette Palmen AM is the Founder and Managing Director of Women’s Network Australia W: www.womensnetwork.com.au Lynette speaks across the nation to, for and about women in business.
