Grameen Foundation helps the world’s poorest, especially women, improve their lives and escape poverty through access to small loans, new ways to generate income, and important information about their health, crops and finances.  Founder Muhammad Yunas - who was awarded a Nobel Prize for his work - understood the power of providing women with the opportunity to change their worlds and has since granted millions of women the gift of financial freedom through pioneering microloans in the developing world.   Read More

Fifteen of Australia’s top CEOs have produced a business letter outlining their experiences in elevating the representation of women in leadership, stimulating thought and discussion on the issue.  What is unusual of the report though – and what we’ve come to expect from the gender balance debate – is the absence of women contributors.  Instead, the report launched in Sydney last week by The Governor General, Quentin Bryce, features insights from an all-male “Champions of Change” group.   Read More

Last week I attended the Women on Boards Gender Matters conference with a group of sphinxx members and while there’s more coming on the educational outcomes in a subsequent post, the biggest a-ha moment for me was that this gender agenda is on a fast track to no where if we can’t get more men engaged in the conversation. Read More

Are you thinking of joining a board this year?  Or already on one?  Then you will benefit from attending the 2011 “Gender Matters” conference being run by Women on Boards in April this year.  sphinxx is again organizing a group booking to enable sphinxx readers to receive a $700 discount on the public registration price. Read More

I was delighted to learn that Paul Hitchcock, CEO of Corporate Express Australia Ltd was announced the 2010 winner of the EOWA Award for Leading CEO for the Advancement of Women.  I have watched Paul elevate the status of women at Corporate Express ever since I was invited to present to an internal gathering for International Women’s Day at their head office last year.  This is truly a best practice example of how quickly change can be accomplished, when it is driven from the top. Read More

John Colvin, CEO of the Australian Institute of Company Directors is really leading the ranks of good guys and showing his commitment to gender diversity on boards with the announcement of a new Board Diversity Scholarship Program by the AICD.  Under the program, the AICD together with the Australian Government Office for Women will award 70 full fee scholarships (not including accommodation and travel costs) to board-ready women to undertake the Australian Institute of Company Directors' highly regarded Company Directors Course or Mastering the Boardroom Program.  Read More

The predictable topic for discussion at last week’s Women’s Forum Global Meeting in Deauville, France was quotas.  Dubbed the Davos of women, the annual gathering attracted a raft of female business and political leaders, and 23 chieftains of industry — 13 of them men — committed to six concrete measures to improve the gender balance in their companies over the next 12 months. The measures included pledges to make the advancement of women a top strategic priority at the chief executive level, to require female candidates in every recruitment pool, and to deliver specific targets for more female representation at all levels of their companies. Read More

Welcome to the 3M Australia team members who participated in my workshop at the 3M Innovation Centre where I asked to address the topic of "What women do to sabotage their career success".  People often ask me if I find it hard going to convince business about the benefits of taking women all the way to the top - but the reality is that most organisations that ask me to come and speak at their women's forums and to leadership teams are already getting a lot right when it comes to advancing women.  This is certainly true of 3M in Australia. Read More

“By proactively paying these additional superannuation contributions, we will help make a difference to our employees’ retirement savings and continue to retain the very best talent in this organisation. Ensuring all Australian women and men are financially prepared for retirement is one of the most important challenges facing our community.” – Gail Kelly, CEO of Westpac Read More