Background

The debate surrounding gender issues in the Australian workplace is one of increasing urgency. Discussion is being held at Board and executive level about how women can be promoted and retained in organisations. Providing an attractive workplace for women is quickly moving beyond a legal requirement or well-intentioned action into the realm of long term business strategy. Today more women graduate from university in Australia than do men. Women represent a large proportion of the talent pool, yet women hold only 8% of senior executive roles in the top 200 ASX companies. Increasingly, executives are struggling with issues of how to lead women successfully and how to get more women into senior leadership roles and keep them there. Australian businesses are failing to access the greatest potential from their workforce - this is no longer a gender issue - it is a business issue.

Women are also struggling with issues of career management and advancement. Increasing numbers of women are choosing to leave the corporate workplace while others are putting in enormous effort to secure senior roles, without results. The reasons for this are varied. A key driver is difficulty in combining career and motherhood. This generation of women is completely different from any other in history - they have been told they can have it all and they want it all - both a career and children ... and more. For almost all women, the battle to have it all is, in reality, far more difficult than anticipated. Some women feel they have no choice but to give up the careers they have fought so hard for, while others are gradually marginalised from the workforce as they try to reduce their hours. Many just 'tough it out'.

The implications of these issues mean that organisations are at risk through:

• An inability to tap into the full potential of the workforce.
• Loss of intellectual capital and high worth capabilities - potentially to competitors.
• Loss of competitive edge - poor flexibility means organisations are less able to react as quickly to change.
• Litigation, which is much more likely when a culture is not supportive of diversity.
• Costs of staff turnover.
• Inefficient operation where organisations are unable to effectively manage the complexities of multiple maternity leave, flexible work options etc.

With women's contribution being recognised as vital, and the risks high, organisations are looking for solutions that will ensure they keep their female staff not just working, but growing and performing.

Organisations are also frequently seeing a larger context when they start to address gender issues and this context includes the broader diversity area, including the aging workforce and cultural differences. Work/life balance and flexibility are other associated issues. To offer the greatest return on investment to the organisation it is important that strategies to address these issues are integrated.

Kalmor Consulting is Australia's premier consultancy advising organisations on the attraction, promotion and retention of women, including the flexibility agenda.