Bold changes make better workplaces

This year, as International Women’s Day sparks conversations around the theme of #BeBoldForChange, we asked leading women in our industry what bold changes we can make to forge a better working world.

International Women’s Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, and marks a call to action for gender parity.

But the World Economic Forum predicts the gender gap won’t close entirely this century  – and that demands bold action today.

Virginia Briggs (pictured top left), a partner with Minter Ellison and director on the board of the Property Council, certainly has a bold idea. She says property companies should use their considerable buying power to affect change.

Briggs, who is currently judging the diversity category awards for the Property Council of Australia / Rider Levett Bucknall Innovation & Excellence Awards, says there are “great organisations doing great things” throughout the industry.

“But if we really want step change, we need to move outside what we are doing in our own organisations, and use our buying power to change the practices of our supply chains.

“This may mean big property companies demanding that leasing or sales teams include a certain number of women or lose their business, or that law firms demonstrate a certain percentage of females in partnership positions.

“That’s what I’d be doing if I was bold.”

Alison Quinn, chief executive officer of RetireAustralia and president of the Retirement Living Council, has an equally bold idea. While workplaces must be flexible, so must families, she says.

“Managing families is one of the stumbling blocks for women through their careers,” Quinn says.

“Families need to be flexible in their thinking, and challenge traditional child rearing models if the gender gap is going to close faster. Workplaces have a role in keeping women in the workplace, but families will determine how available women are to participate,” she says.

For Mia Bannister (pictured, right), national business development manager at WG Architects, encouraging everyone – whether a mother, an LGBTI person or a person of faith – to bring their whole selves to work will create better, more equitable workplaces.

“Our workplaces need to try to accommodate differences. They too often confine themselves to traditional diversity categories like gender, race, age and ethnicity. 

“Many of us change parts of ourselves when we turn up to work each day. But when we can bring our whole selves to work, our companies get the benefit of that.

“This approach can help us build stronger relationships and stronger companies,” Bannister says.

Kristan Conlon (pictured bottom left), a partner at McCullough Robertson, says being bold doesn’t need to be outlandish. In fact, practical solutions can provide best outcomes to help close the gender gap.

Conlon says law firms have struggled to keep senior associates who often ‘opt out’ in favour of alternative career paths.

“At McCullough Robertson we have piloted a ‘concierge’ service which is available to both women and men working on demanding projects for a fixed period,” she explains.

The program, which has helped catapult McCullough Robertson into the finals of the 2017 Innovation & Excellence Awards for diversity, helps senior people manage the competing demands of work and family life.

“Our service can provide assistance with managing various domestic duties. Early feedback indicates that the trial is a success, with staff saying ‘this is making a real difference’.

“By helping senior women manage the busy peaks, we are creating positive role models for junior women. We are showing them first hand that, with the right support, working successfully and sustainably at the very top is an achievable goal,” Conlon adds.

The Property Council has also taken bold action over recent years, establishing the Property Male Champions of Change, creating the 100 Women in Property sponsorship program (now in its second year) and the 40:40:20 campaign which established and exceeded targets for committee participation.

Property Council chief operating officer Kathy Mac Dermott says the 40:40:20 target is now being applied to audience participation at Property Council events throughout the country.

“Gender balanced audiences create the best discussions and we are encouraging our members to bring as their ‘plus one’ a person of opposite gender to our events. This includes our signature The Property Congress 2017. We have set a target of 40 per cent women delegates at Congress this year – an increase of 10 per cent on 2016,” Mac Dermott says.

“Small things – done often and with strong commitment – lead to bold change.”

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