Leadership drives gender diversity

More than 200 people attended the Property Council’s latest Downtown Lunch, Regimental Change for Women, to hear from three inspiring leaders who are championing gender diversity.

The Property Council and the Property Male Champions of Change are taking a lead role in championing diversity, and this event provided the opportunity to learn from the experiences of Lieutenant General David Morrison AO, Ming Long, Group Executive, IOF Fund Manager – Investa Property Group and Peter Hyland, Regional Director – Urbis.

With fog delaying Lieutenant General Morrison’s flight from Canberra, Ming Long kicked off proceedings with a passionate address that touched on her personal experiences in climbing the corporate ladder as a woman, and her leadership on gender diversity.

Ming explained that in an industry that is dominated by men, this can be both confronting and an opportunity. It is important for women to work together, as being in a minority can be lonely, yet at the same time adds to your value.

Research shows that having gender diverse teams is beneficial for business, and as a leader Ming is driving gender diversity and has a vision for Investa to be leading the pack. Before closing, Ming challenged the audience to become activists in their work place, and not wait for their leaders to change.

Following Ming’s address, Peter Hyland and our moderator for the day Kathy Mac Dermott, COO – Property Council of Australia joined Ming on stage for a discussion focused on the achievements of Urbis and Investa in the diversity space. Peter spoke about the journey they are on under the leadership of Sally Herman, Chair of the Board at Urbis, and how they have set KPI’s to ensure they remain on track to create change.

The attention then turned to Lieutenant General Morrison, who after an earlier delay was next to deliver his key note address. Concentrating on his time as Chief of the Army, the Lieutenant General drew similarities between where the Army was, prior to making significant policy and cultural changes, to that of the property industry today. He congratulated the Property Council on taking a wonderful first step in establishing the Property Male Champions of Change, however was at pains to say this was only a first step, and there needs to be strong leadership to make change a reality.

With the Army being fixed on processes and structures, the Lieutenant General spoke about changes he introduced, in particular the document he signed allowing service women and men the ability to retain their rank if they choose to leave the Army for a period of time. This highlighted the challenge of talent attraction, and the competition the property industry has with other employment sectors, including defence.

In summing up, the Lieutenant General spoke about gender diversity being a societal issue and one that leadership teams must tackle head on.

Ming, Peter and Kathy joined Lieutenant General Morrison back on stage for Q&A session, with audience members having the opportunity to pose a question to the panel. A range of topics were covered during this time, including the use of quotas for recruiters, gay and lesbian diversity, international best practice and global leaders of gender diversity.

The Property Council would like to thank our guest speakers Lieutenant General Morrison, Ming Long and Peter Hyland for their insightful and empowering speeches. A special thanks must also go to our very own Kathy Mac Dermott for moderating, as well as our sponsors Buildcorp and Herbert Smith Freehills, as without their support the event would not have been possible.

Sponsors