Time for action not talk on gender diversity

Time for action, not talk, on gender diversityAfter driving the diversity agenda in the property and construction industry for two decades, businesswoman Carol Schwartz says she’s “tired of talking about it” and it’s time to take action.While a raft of research finds that companies with gender-diverse leadership teams outperform their peers, industry continues to debate the value of targets and quotas.Schwartz, who convenes the Property Male Champions of Change, says other nations have grappled with the gender balance issue for decades and have “come up with solutions that work.””Whether you call it quotas or targets is irrelevant. Whatever word you want to use, underlying that is mechanism for driving change – and other societies have already used this mechanism successfully.”The top three countries for gender diverse boards are Norway, Finland and France – countries with government-mandated 40 per cent quotas for women. In comparison, just 19 per cent of ASX 200 directors are female, and 17 per cent of ASX 200 companies are without a single female voice on their boards. However, ASX reporting requirements, which now require listed companies to report annually on progress against voluntary gender diversity targets, are slowly shifting the balance.”All the research shows that diverse groups make better decisions for corporations, societies and nations,” Schwartz says.Recent research from the Centre for Gender Economics and Innovation finds that companies with 25 per cent or more women on their boards perform an average of seven per cent better than companies with female-free boards.In June, independent senator Nick Xenophon introduced the Australian Government Boards (Gender Balanced Representation) Bill 2015, which seeks to legislate the composition of government boards to at least 40 per cent women and 40 per cent men, with the remaining 20 per cent unallocated.This move follows the most recent audit of gender balance, revealing the number of government board roles held by women fell by two per cent in 2014.Schwartz says Xenophon’s proposal, which involves no greater administrative burden or additional red tape, is one for the property industry to consider, and is as much a quota for men as it is for women.”I’m a supporter of diversity – I don’t like all-male or all-female boards. I don’t think boards get their best results when they are homogenous – and the research supports this.”Schwartz argues that it’s time that Australia’s political parties got serious about gender balance in their own backyards too. “When just two of our 19 Cabinet ministers are women, it has a trickle-down effect and businesses start thinking that it’s not an important issue,” Schwartz says.”Ultimately, sharing the power – and the decision making – will lead to stronger societies, and stronger, more profitable companies,” Schwartz concludes.Carol Schwartz will be moderating a panel discussion on capturing the diversity dividend at The Property Congress on the Gold Coast in October. Reserve your place at The Property Congress today.