The real battleground for gender equality

By David Pich CMgr FIML

(Warning: This is not an article about the ins and outs of Brexit!)

As a dual citizen of Australia and the UK, I tend to keep a foot in both camps, so to speak. Whilst primarily focusing my attention on local leadership issues, I do keep a keen eye on leadership matters in the land of my birth. This inevitably brings me to the absolute shambles that has commonly become known as ‘Brexit’.

Before your eyes glaze over, before your finger twitches towards the minimise button, let me restate that this isn’t another article about Brexit! It’s about something arguably more significant. It’s about institutional gender inequality. It’s about the fact that – typically – our institutions remain male-dominated domains. And it’s about the fact that this needs to change.

A reality check is needed

On 14th January there was (yet another) crucial vote on Brexit in the House of Commons. (It was a vote so crucial that most people, including me, have long since forgotten what was being voted on). My interest was piqued not by the vote itself but by the reports and images of Tulip Saddiq, the MP for Kilburn being wheeled into the voting chamber in a wheelchair.

The issue was – and still is – that Westminster doesn’t have a proxy voting system that allows absent MPs to vote in debates when they are away from Parliament. In fact, the British Parliament almost has a proxy system. About 12-months ago all political parties agreed that a modern political system needed this facility. And then nothing happened.

Back in 2018, Harriet Harman MP arguing in favour of the introduction of proxy voting pointed out that there 200 women MPs in Parliament and that an increasing number were young. She went on to say that ‘there are two babies in the offing and it’s time we just got on with it’.

Indeed. I find it almost unbelievable that the institution that arguably holds a good many of the keys to political power in one of the most advanced democracies in the world doesn’t have processes in place that accommodate the realities of modern life. And that promote one of the very basic principles of gender equality.

Of course, I’m actually not that surprised at all. The ‘Tulip Saddiq incident’ is just one example of the way that women in leadership roles are viewed and treated.

What often surprises me the most about this, and other examples is the reaction of men (and yes, I’m one of those!). One notorious Parliamentarian at the time of the discussion around proxy voting in the British Parliament proudly pointed out to a newspaper that he was no ‘modern man’ and that he hadn’t changed a nappy in his life (or in the life of his kids!). That he said this proudly says it all really. That he said it at all should surely disqualify him from voting on issues such as this!

Systemic change is needed

As leaders, we are always accountable for the decisions we make. Taking personal responsibility for the way we view, decide and act on matters is part and parcel of the job description. The equal treatment of women should be no different. ­

Unfortunately, the fact remains that men continue to dominate many of the positions of responsibility in society. Until there is parity in positions of power men must play both a leading and a supporting role in the fight for gender equality.

This is a real battle and better leaders need to lead the charge. Better leaders are key. The mark of a great leader rests on decision making based on the highest standards. The highest standards of our society demand that decision-makers show the respect and consideration that women deserve. Our actions, great or small, as leaders is what will shape the society we desire. Indeed, we need to rethink how to create a gender equal future. This cannot be done in isolation, it needs the cooperation of all regardless of gender.

Cooperation is needed

Right thinking men need to be there to support women in the push for gender equality. That struggle isn’t a one-sided battle; we are stronger fighting inequality together.

My view is that cooperation is always desirable. This isn’t a fight of us and them, of men v women. It’s a battle between equality and inequality. The battlegrounds are everywhere – in the workplace, in our political institutions, in religion, families and throughout society.

The only way to fight inequality of any sort is through collaborative action.

David Pich is the Chief Executive of IML ANZ.

Mind the gap

By Anthony O’Brien

The latest IML Gender Pay Report reveals that if you’re a female working in a C-Suite role, you could be earning as much as 15% less than your male colleagues.

The report presents findings based on an analysis of pay differentials from 2014-2018 between male and female full-time employees within the Australian workforce. The research considers different employment levels and job families ranging from administration to general management. The analysis uses IML’s National Salary Survey, updated in October 2018, and data collected from 460 organisations across Australia, covering more than 250 job roles.

The research doesn’t reflect casual or part-time workers, or maternity leave which explains differences between the IML report and the gaps reported by government organisations such as Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), according to report author, Sam Bell FIML, General Manager, Corporate Services and Research, IML. The full-time total remuneration gender pay gap based on WGEA data is 22.4%, meaning men working full time earn, on average, nearly $27,000 a year more than women working full time.

WHY THE GAP PERSISTS

According to the IML report, the C-Suite pay gap fell to 9.8% three years ago after a high of 14.7% in 2014. But over the past three years, the gender pay gap for C-Suite roles climbed steadily and is now approaching the levels of five years ago. Bell explains that isolating the reasons for the widening gap at the C-Suite level is challenging. “There are probably more female managers in lower-paying industries. However, our research measures like-against-like job levels and job families, so more female executives working in lower paid industries doesn’t explain the C-Suite gap thoroughly.

“That there is a 14.6% difference in like-against-like general manager salaries is certainly an eye-opening statistic that organisations need to review.”

Libby Lyons, Director of the WGEA, says, “The gender pay gap is a symptom of a broader issue. It reflects the fact that women’s work is traditionally undervalued, and women are often paid less than men.

“As a nation, we need to be talking about what is behind the gender pay gap – the barriers women face in the workplace that cause the gender pay gap.”

WHERE THE GAP IS CLOSING

If you’re seeking work in an industry with closer to equal pay, then look no further than information technology (4.6%) and engineering and science (4.8%). That said, in 2014 the IT pay gap slightly favoured women (-0.1%), and the difference was only 0.3% for females working in engineering and science. On the flipside, the salary gap for women in finance and accounting improved from 13.7% down to 7.1% over the past four years.

IT continuously rates well for women’s pay rates because it’s a result driven industry that typically doesn’t differentiate between male or female employees, notes Bell. “The salary gaps in finance and accounting have dropped because there is greater awareness of gender diversity issues in that profession because of CEOs such as former Westpac boss Gail Kelly.

“That industry was heavily male-dominated, but with high-profile CEOs like Kelly championing the issue and taking it head-on, the pay gap almost halved in the past four years.”

ADDRESSING THE GAP

Paul Jury, Managing Director of Australia for global HR executive search firm ChapmanCG, resolutely believes there should be no excuses for gender pay gaps. He elaborates, “Moreover, there’s plenty of research indicating that up to 70% of employers report they have policies in place to support gender equality.

“With the gender pay gap, it is all heading in the right direction, but the speed of improvement is still too slow.”

Personal biases can come into play particularly where objective measures of performance are deficient and create incidences of gender gaps in promotions and pay, reasons Jury. “For senior roles, some managers without access to objective data may tend to promote and reward people they like and whom they perceive are more like them.

“While unconscious bias is hard to rewire, more training, education, and awareness within an organisation can help to mitigate its impact on gender diversity, promotion and pay. This includes putting in place guidelines, along with checks and balances within a business to minimise the gender pay gap.”

Bell agrees more investment in educating managers about gender equality issues is required. “Educating managers who hire staff that pay gaps are not acceptable is a start,” he reasons. “And the fact that skills, experience, and qualifications should be paid for, irrespective of whether a recruit is male or female.”

From a leadership perspective, Bell believes an organisation should have a gender pay gap policy or statement in place that all managers “understand and take seriously”. WGEA research indicates that actions to correct like-for-like gender pay gaps are three times as effective in reducing overall pay inequities when combined with reporting to executives and boards. Bell says, “There’s a lot of large Australian companies that are certainly taking all these steps. All of them probably have a statement from a leadership level, whether it’s CEO down, saying that pay gaps won’t be tolerated.”

ACCOUNTABILITY COUNTS

Using market data such as IML’s National Salary Survey is another prudent step towards minding the pay gap says Bell. “Employers must understand what the market is paying for a C-Suite role or line manager and it shouldn’t matter whether someone is male or female.”

Another critical way to strengthen employer accountability would be to end pay secrecy, according to Alice Orchiston, an Associate Lecturer in Law at the University of Sydney. To this end the federal Australian Labor Party announced in September last year that, if elected, it will legislate for the introduction of publicly available company-specific gender pay gap data. In an opinion piece for academic journal The Conversation, Orchiston wrote: “If women discover they are earning less than their male counterparts for the same jobs, their legal avenues for pursuing equal pay are limited. It’s difficult to prove and costly to litigate.”

Orchiston continued, “Requiring employers to make their pay records publicly accessible or accessible to employees across the same organisation would create greater transparency and a basis for women to assess their pay, which in turn could facilitate negotiation or legal action.”

READ THE FULL REPORT

The IML 2018 Gender Pay Gap report can be purchased at managersandleaders.com.au/national-salary-survey

Why balance is better: for women and men

By Tori Cooke

To me, International Women’s Day is important because it recognises the full spectrum of women’s contribution to the world. In such diverse ways it brings ‘balance’ to the world in which we live, work and play. Part of bringing much needed balance is challenging structural conformity to male privilege. Diversity and inclusion makes so much sense when we consider what women have achieved historically – and it makes sense for men too.

 

Barriers: internal and external

Women’s achievements are rarely appreciated within the context of unequal access to higher education, employment and advancement opportunities. This means that overall, women are likely to work harder to overcome internal and external barriers to achieve success in the first place. Sometimes, the external barrier is, ‘the glass ceiling’ and unequal pay. It can also be that the structures are designed for a dominant paradigm that excludes the needs of women.

Then there are the internal barriers, the ‘soundtracks’ women are taught to play in their minds that prevent some women from believing they can achieve the full extent of their potential – leading to under achieving and high levels of stress. These are the ingrained social messages.

For some of us who grew up in lower middle class families, the soundtrack focused on working in a meaningless service job until you found your prince, got married and lived happily ever after. In my family, the women’s role was to take care of your husband, the home and the children.  Any employment was usually part time with your pay considered ‘pocket money’.

But listening to the men I work with, tells me too that these social messages can be stressful for some men to live up to. For example; the provider, the protector, the hero are socially constructed masculine roles that play a part in driving the need for financial and social success for men. The pressure of not living up to or not being able to participate in these roles can lead to a sense of listlessness and despair because access to the economic fortunes deemed socially acceptable and their associated status remain unachieved.

The key difference is these barriers do not impact on men’s access to opportunity or their thinking that they deserve opportunity to the same degree as women. 

The fact is, gendered forms of social status were enshrined in legislation. Women who sought to contribute in the same way to society were considered highly problematic, simply for challenging the social norms of the day with ideas of inclusiveness and equality.  The few men who shared and collaborated in raising a family were considered ‘not real men’.

But without these inspiring influencers, both men and women, we would not have the ongoing discussions, research and movement about the need for gender equity today.

Getting a university degree required overcoming barriers that most men do not have to experience because of what we now know and call structural male privilege. Having worked with victims of family violence and now also with the men who perpetrate abuse, it is clear to me that the attitudes and beliefs inherent in male privilege continue to heavily influence the drivers of violence against women. This violence is also a further barrier to women’s access to income equity and long term financial security. Conversely, these same issues become a cage that lock women into violent relationships.

It is a cycle that is all too often deadly.

 

Diversity and inclusion

This is why diversity and inclusion are important to me – to stop striving for this as an abiding social norm is simply dangerous. Violence against women is now a serious and widespread problem in Australia, with enormous individual and community impacts and social costs (Our Watch, 2019).  Recently, the National Community Attitude survey (NCAS, 2018) results indicate concerns that a substantial minority of Australians do not believe women’s reports of violence. Of even greater concern is the view that this large minority believe the problem of gender inequality is exaggerated (NCAS, 2018).

Women have made many significant contributions within their families, communities and across societies. While, these alone are praiseworthy, when you consider them in context of the many visible and invisible social barriers they had to overcome, I realise that it may take more than one International Women’s Day to fully appreciate their achievements.

For inclusivity to become a valued social norm we simply must address these barriers and work hard to challenge the ingrained ideas that have no relevance for the kind of futures our daughters and granddaughters will be living in the next 100 years.

I grew up at a time when it was a challenge to finish high school and have access to higher education. My grandmother’s words often echoed as motivation in my heart, “education will be your liberation” she used to say. I am the first woman in my family to finish high school and will be the first to complete a post-grad qualification. However, the cost at times of moving past limited ways of viewing women were at times, desperately hard.

Today women are more highly educated than men, yet still earn less.

International Women’s Day continues to tell the story of why ‘balance is better’, why our collaborative work to focus on better access and celebration of diversity is absolutely critical to society’s success and an enriched life for each one of us.

References:

Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety. (2018). Are we there yet? Australians’ attitudes towards violence against women & gender equality: Summary findings from the 2017 National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS) (Research to policy and practice, 03/2018). Sydney, NSW: ANROWS.

https://ncas.anrows.org.au/findings/

Our Watch. (2019). https://www.ourwatch.org.au/

Tori Cooke is currently the Practice Specialist Family Violence & Child Safety at Relationships Australia Victoria. She is a highly regarded conference presenter, senior clinical practitioner and specialist trainer in the field of family violence in Australia. She is a White Ribbon Advocate, a current member of the Victorian White Ribbon Committee and a current Board director for the Society for Professional Social Workers. Tori is a trainer and program designer of men’s behaviour change programs. Currently, she works with clinical teams in Relationships Australia Victoria to reduce violence against women and children.

The past, present and future of maternity leave

By Andrew Fenlon

As a society it’s really important for us to have a steady stream of ‘the next generation’ coming through. The alternative is a society which is steadily aging – and as a result contracting. Governments understand this and have given various incentives to assist in the cost of having children over time.

Currently, the largest financial burden relating to child birth and child caring is carried by women. It is estimated that women having children earn 20% less than the average. Conversely men having children, with their partner undertaking the primary caring for the children get a premium of 15% (not really sure why!) compared to the average.

There are some programs which aim to help women through maternity – such as paid maternity leave and the option for 10 ‘keeping in touch’ days. Unfortunately, these are often not enough – or lack promotion, awareness and consistency.

The position is made worse by some terrible employment practices such as:

  • Making pregnant women redundant either before or during maternity
  • Making the ‘keeping in touch’ days either unknown, difficult or impossible to use
  • Not holding the person’s role open for them so that they cannot return to their previous job
  • Not providing any return to work program for returning mothers
  • Not supporting flexible work – often by requiring a role to be filled 100% by one person working nine-to-five.
  • Upon returning to work should the woman request to do the role part time, often no one is hired to fill the other days, thus the woman does the entire role, in fewer days and is paid a pro-rata salary

Hopefully your organisation is better than this – but we see many instances of the above!

It is no surprise, then, that many women, once having children, do not return to their previous employer. They either look for part time work which might support their caring responsibilities, or they decide to set out on their own.

Caring doesn’t finish when the maternity period stops. Children need support and assistance for many years after being born (in fact many parents still have children living with them into their 20s!) This support includes regular care – but also the unexpected demands when a child is either sick or had an accident. In many instances (personal and professional) the assumption is that the mother will continue to cover the bulk of these duties.

The negative impacts on women because of this approach are significant:

  • They can lack confidence (because they have been out of the work environment for an extended period)
  • They can get caught in a ‘poverty trap’ – the net earnings are less than the cost of child care – so they stay at home or are in a ‘break-even’ scenario
  • They earn less – and this continues throughout the rest of their career
  • They are more likely to work in part time jobs that are below their capability
  • They are often overlooked for promotion into management roles
  • They accumulate less superannuation
  • There is an increased chance of homelessness in older age

Society suffers too. It is estimated that if women could be fully engaged in the workforce, then there would be a 20% increase in GDP. This is larger than any other single sector – it’s three times the size of mining!

As Australians, we need to reconsider where the burden of birth and child-caring lies. The main economic beneficiary is society (children grow up, consume and pay taxes!) – so society should bear more of the cost.

If we want to continue to have a vibrant country where the creation of the next generation of Australians is supported – we need to change things. Fortunately, there are examples from overseas and some forward-thinking organisations that we can use to help us.

A start could include:

  • Recognising that the financial burden of bringing up a child should not all fall on the shoulders of the mother. The father and society need to bear more of the effort and cost
  • Having more open-minded workplaces that allow men to look after their child. Removing the stigma around a man asking to be home with their child
  • Working to the point where child care is substantially funded by the public purse – just like childhood education
  • Providing realistic and enforceable (on the manager) options for the ‘10 keeping in touch days’ (which might well be part days to assist the mother with her caring duties)
  • Ensuring that men are supported by their organisations to be more available for their children – two weeks of paternity leave doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface
  • Ensuring women cannot be retrenched just because they become pregnant
  • Ensuring mothers have the right to a reasonable return to work plan (which might need to be over a period of years) to their previous job
  • Ensuring flexible working options are available to everyone as a default
  • Ensuring organisations offer management positions either as flexible roles or as job shares

I’m not saying that these changes will totally address the current maternity chasm, but if we can start to make these changes, we’ll all be better off!

Andrew Fenlon is the director and co-creator of Women into Leadership. He has over 20 years of international experience in public and private sector organisations. After doing some analyses on what was impacting women and their ability to become leaders, he saw a need to help women – organizationally and individually – thus Women into Leadership was born. As a brand of Fast Track Leadership, Women into Leadership has a range of programs that implement systemic and lasting change at an organizational level so more women can achieve leadership roles. It also provides leadership development programs for individuals.

My Brain made me do it – Exploring unconscious gender bias in the workplace

By Clare Edwards FIML

Let’s start with a brain teaser.

Two judo experts take a bow and the match begins. One is wearing a brown belt the other a black belt. After a long tussle, the black belter player has the most points and is declared the winner, even though during the entire contest no man threw the other to the ground.

How can this be?

Before you read on to the answer, if you haven’t figured it out yet, take a moment to think and reflect.

 

The answer – both judo experts were women.

When you first started reading this riddle what images came to mind? What was your brain making you think?

Let’s explore this a little further. Read the following roles to yourself and be conscious of the images that come to mind:

  • Surgeon
  • Nanny
  • Engineer
  • Midwife
  • Builder
  • Secretary

Despite all the above roles being equally open to both sexes, there’s a good chance your brain assigned a gender to them and you have just demonstrated unconscious gender bias. Why is this?

Before you start castigating yourself for reverting to ‘the obvious’, it’s OK, it just means that you’re human.

Our brains make shortcuts and associations to simplify our complex world where we are inundated with billions of bits of information. When it comes to gender, we have schemas, generalisations and stereotypes borne out of associations we made when growing up.

The reality is, if we have a brain, we are biased. Gender bias is only one of the 150+ biases we have, and it plays out extensively in the workplace both explicitly and implicitly.

Let’s explore some of our unconscious biases with implications in the workplace.

  • Similarity bias. The unconscious belief is “people like me are better than others”. Similarity bias, like many biases, has its roots in evolution where ‘same’ or ‘similar’ equalled safe and ‘different’ equalled possible danger. Our brains default to ‘foe before friend’ (Baumeister 2001) and so our decisions can be unconsciously influenced as we select people for employment, promotion or sidelining based on aspects of similarity such as education, location of upbringing, interests and of course gender.
  • Gender stereotype. Conditioning still exists at an unconscious level and this is further influenced by media portrayals of women as nurturing cooperative home-makers, and men as competitive, competent providers. So, when it comes to making a decision about a certain candidate for a senior role, for example, might this conditioning influence our choice? In one study (Moss-Racusin et al), a science faculty from a university rated the applications of a student who was randomly assigned a male or female name for the position of laboratory manager. Faculty participants rated the male applicant as significantly more competent and hireable than the female, despite identical resumes. They also selected a higher starting salary and offered more career mentoring to the male applicant.Symphony orchestras have traditionally been male-dominated until the introduction of blind auditions where a screen was placed between the audition candidate and the selection panel (women were also asked to remove heels that made a noise).  As a direct result, women are now 50% more likely to be selected for a final interview and membership of the orchestra.

What’s the lesson?

Awareness isn’t enough. Why? Because it is neurologically impossible for our brain to decide and, at the same time, be aware if that decision is biased or not.

However, we can implement systems and processes to mitigate gender bias in the workplace.

Reflection and disclosure. Be aware of our own biases when we reflect on decisions made and whether bias came into the process. This helps us to become more aware of our biases. If we courageously disclose them to others, we can achieve greater objectivity.

Transparency and challenge. Whilst it’s hard to see bias in ourselves, we can spot it in others. Once you are familiar with the key biases that impact work performance, aim to be more open in your meetings and create an environment of ‘permission to challenge’ on possible biases.

In BrainSmart’s ‘Getting to Grips with Unconscious Bias’ workshops, we use a model from the Neuroleadership Institute that simplifies and condenses our 150+ biases into five categories using an easy to remember acronym.

Diversity. When making decisions involving gender, it is important to have them reviewed and challenged by a diverse group of people ensuring the greatest degree of objectivity possible.

If you use selection panels consider a diversity of thinking, culture, personality and even people from a different part of the business.

Ask yourself, “If this person were of another gender, what, if any, difference would it make and why?”

Anonymity and neutrality. Because our biases are primarily unconscious, we may not be aware of how our words in job adverts and other communication influence readers. Applications like Textio can help highlight and neutralise our language. In addition, consider removing names from resumes before presenting it to decision-makers.

I work with medium to large organisations and whilst the overall gender balance of the employee base is fairly even, the executive leadership team or the board is another kettle of fish. It’s time to redress the balance don’t you think?

 

Make known the unconscious

Our unconscious biases directly affect not only who gets hired, developed and promoted, but also the ability of teams to perform at a high level, the effectiveness of decision-making and change, the health of an organisation’s culture and the relationship it has with its clients.

By taking steps to mitigate gender bias in the workplace we can move closer to an equal and diverse work environment that has proven to be more productive, engaging and enjoyable.

Let’s make the unconscious conscious.

Clare Edwards is the Principal of BrainSmart Consulting. She is also a speaker, facilitator and author. Clare worked in a team serving Europe, Africa and the Middle East, between them speaking 13 languages – highlighting for her the value of diversity in business. After moving on from her corporate career, she studied the Neuroscience of Leadership – how knowledge of our brains can help us to be more emotionally intelligent and effective leaders and managers.  Clare now consults with organisations from a variety of industry sectors internationally. She helps people effectively manage and lead themselves and others in complex and uncertain business environments.  

Culture Club

Chair of the Canberra Raiders, Allan Hawke, says leadership and culture are critical to the club kicking goals.

By Anthony O’Brien.

Allan Hawke AC FIML is a former senior public servant and diplomat. He served as Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Paul Keating, led three major government departments including the Department of Defence, and was High Commissioner to New Zealand from 2003 to 2006, later adding Chancellor of the Australian National University to his list of credentials. For the past five years, Hawke has been Chair of the Canberra Raiders National Rugby League (NRL) team, where his unique brand of leadership is galvanising players, fans and the Canberra community to share a culture of success.

A winter’s night in Canberra can be inhospitable. But it takes more than sub-zero temperatures to dampen the spirits of the 12,000 Raiders fans who have turned out to barrack for their team. The gate count amounts to more than one in two of the club’s 20,000-plus membership, a figure that has doubled since Hawke took the helm and which he credits to the Raiders’ administration.

Hawke is justifiably proud of the growth in member numbers, and puts it down, in part, to culture. “Culture simply describes the way we do things around here,” he says. “It involves developing a set of shared and lived values about what it means to be a Raider.”

Results through people

Culture comes from the top, and the Raiders’ board has bucked the trend of most other NRL clubs by helping to crack the glass ceiling. Hawke, a long-time advocate of women in executive roles, explains; “One thing that has changed during the course of my five years as Chair, is that we now have two women on the Board. One is former group accountant, Yvonne Gillett. The other is former elite athlete and lawyer, Bronwyn Fagan.”

Combined with other leaders in their field on the current board, Hawke says he has “a good group of people”. Nonetheless, he is aware that having women on the board sends a clear message of inclusion to the broader community, and this, he believes, has helped to bolster the club’s female membership and participation. He’s recently been looking at the board’s composition and renewal and expects to add another female in the not too distant future, based on a particular skill set and aims in the longer term to achieve a ratio of 40 to 50 per cent women on the board.

However, one issue the board doesn’t touch is player selection. “You hire the Head Coach and the CEO to do that,” says Hawke. “You don’t second guess them by doing the job for them; it’s not the USA model where the Chair is also CEO and President.” This notion of giving employees the scope to effectively perform their role is at the heart of Hawke’s leadership philosophy. “I call it ‘results through people’,” he explains. “It’s based on a fundamental belief that unless you get the people side right, you cannot deliver and sustain high performance on the results side of the equation.”

Hawke’s views were formed early in his career when he moved from being a subject matter expert to having others report to him. Hungry for guidance on what it meant to be an effective leader, Hawke read widely and attended seminars. But it wasn’t enough. Finding the answers lay in self-reflection.

“I started looking for ways to maximise and optimise people’s performance and contribution to the job,” recalls Hawke. “I realised my role as a leader was to mentor, coach, and help people strive towards their potential and a continuing high level of performance. It’s all about bringing the best out in people; lighting the fire inside them rather than the all too prevalent control freak approach of lighting a fire underneath people.”

Indeed, Hawke is unwavering on the value of nurturing people: “If you get the people, the results will follow. If you spend all your time worrying about finances, results and the like, you’re just spinning your wheels; you won’t get the best out of people and you can’t create and sustain a high performing organisation.”

A sense of community

Hawke’s mantra on the value of people has seen player welfare become a cornerstone of the Canberra Raiders. Considerable support is given to help players invest in their future. However, they are expected to give back: “We’re interested in turning out good people,” Hawke says. “So our players are heavily involved in community-based activities, and that’s been very well received by the local community.”

Over the course of the season, the Raiders raised more than $70,000 as part of their game day charity fundraising for 12 local charities. And one of their first-grade squad, Sam Williams has been nominated for the NRL’s community award, the Ken Stephen Medal, in recognition of his ongoing role as an Ambassador for Ronald McDonald House as well as his personal fundraising and support for a young person in his home town, who was left a paraplegic after a backyard trampolining accident.

However, “community” can also be a very personal concept at the Raiders. Hawke cites the example of debutante Emre Guler, the first person of Turkish origin to play professional NRL. “His mother was given the honour of presenting him his first Raiders jersey,” says Hawke. “Anybody who saw that video clip would have been touched by the emotion of the moment. It was just extraordinary. It garnered so many positive responses, even from fans of other NRL clubs.”

Part of being a Canberra Raider is an expectation that players will embrace the club’s culture. Hawke notes, “I was a young player once and it’d be fair to say that I was no angel. And sometimes our players misbehave too. We have a reputation for helping people through their mistakes. But, if we feel they’ve really breached our culture, we move them on even though that has sometimes worked against us in terms of results on the field.” Despite this, Hawke believes the Canberra community supports the club’s disciplinary actions because “they can see that we are acting for what is right, not who is right”.

As head of the green machine’s board, Hawke admits it is a challenge steering the ship through Australia’s crowded sporting market. “We face competition, particularly from Australian Rules and soccer, which drives us to engage with the broader district to identify, recruit and develop talented kids through our junior development system.” He also  continually looks at ways the club can make a difference to its supporters – a focus that has yielded results. Hawke says:
“We are currently in the best position
we’ve ever been in, in terms of sponsorship, membership and financials, which should deliver us an assured future.”

An independent report pinpoints the value delivered by the Raiders to the ACT in the 2017 season at almost $15.5 million. According to Hawke, “The Raiders give back to the Canberra and district community in a way that no other sporting club does in the ACT.” That concept of giving back is broad. “If you look around the Rugby League, there’s a disproportionate number of coaches, administrative people and media commentators, who have all come out of the Raiders,” says Hawke. “We’ve also made a big contribution in identifying and developing talent that goes on to play with other clubs. Maybe there’s something in the Canberra water; maybe they leave us with lime green in their bloodstream and an imprint of the Raiders DNA.”

Sticking to a game plan

Being inside the club at a high level has changed Hawke’s own experience of being a Raiders fan. “I figure it increases your blood pressure,” he quips. Though he adds, “When you can see clearly what this team is capable of and you try and rationalise this against some of the close losses we’ve had in 2018, it’s a bit of a conundrum.”

Hawke says an area of focus has been the players’ resolve to stick with a game plan. “In the past, they were unsure about how to handle adversity, and they would do things they would never do in the other 70 minutes of the game. These days they are executing what everyone has agreed on. The players have really come of age in that area as we saw in their last three games of the season, beating two of the top four teams at home and narrowly losing to the eighth team in Auckland, while remaining committed until the final whistle blew.”

Although 2018 won’t be the year the Raiders take out the premiership, Hawke says he will be “completely flummoxed” if the team doesn’t make the top eight in 2019.

Hawke continues to be passionate in his belief that through good leadership one man or one woman can make an incredible difference to an organisation. He stresses too the importance of life-long learning and says becoming a Chartered Manager sits near the top of his “To Do” list. (See managersandleaders.com.au/chartered-manager for details.)

When it comes to inclusion, the questions matter!

 

My partner – Eileen – recently decided to return to the world of work after spending time as the CEO, COO and CFO of Pich Inc. Whilst this crucial leadership role involved all those critical managerial skills (setting strategy, defining culture, making decisions, leading two young daughters, etc etc) it was sadly very poorly paid (in fact, the salary reduced to ‘absolutely nothing’ after the initial 12-weeks of minimum wage maternity pay!).

Dipping a toe back into the job market is undoubtedly a daunting experience for the vast majority of parents or primary carers who have spent a decent period doing the parenting and primary carer thing. It’s fair to say that Eileen was more than a little nervous and apprehensive. In her favour, she had a strong CV which included experience in Australia and Germany, a degree in marketing communications and a personal skill set that was actually honed at home with the kids. If she could manage and lead our two monkeys successfully, the workplace would be an absolute breeze!

“The CEO asked Eileen, ‘I see you have two kids, how do you think you will juggle your home life with this role?'”

She soon spotted a role on seek.com.au (other job search websites are available – ed) and sent off her CV and a nicely-crafted covering letter. And waited. She scored an interview with the manager. The interview went well. She was invited to spend an afternoon with an employee doing a similar role. The road trip went well. She was asked to complete a written ‘sales and marketing assignment’ (oddly relating to selling toothpaste – the role was nothing to do with selling toothpaste!). She did pretty well. The local manager said he wanted her to ‘meet’ the company’s CEO in Sydney on a Skype call. Eileen was over the moon. Her first application and she was scheduled to chat to the CEO – score!!

And then this happened.

The CEO asked Eileen, “I see you have two kids, how do you think you will juggle your home life with this role?”

Let me state for the record that since Eileen and I have had our kids – Pearl and Olive – I have had three jobs. I have never (in the more than 8 interviews that were involved in getting these roles) been asked how I will ‘cope’ with balancing my home life and my work life. In fact, the only time my family has been brought up has been at the end of the interview in the part that might best be described as ‘general chit chat and small talk’. My family life, hobbies, passions and what I get up to in my spare time have never formed any part of a serious interview question.

And nor should they. Ever. Not for me, not for Eileen and not in any interview for any role.

“All too often questions are asked in interviews that have no place in interviews.”

Unfortunately, all too often the opposite occurs. All too often questions are asked in interviews that have no place in interviews. Robert Half, the global recruitment company, published a list of ‘example questions and statements’ that should never be asked or made during an interview.

This list (below), whilst not intending to be comprehensive, offers a reasonable starting point.

Age: “How old are you?”
Disability/impairment (physical and mental): “How many sick days did you take last year?”
Family/carer’s responsibilities: “Are you the carer for your elderly family members?”
Marital or relationship status: “Are you married?”
Parental status: “Do you have children?”
Political beliefs and activities: “Are you a Liberal voter?”
Pregnancy: “Do you plan on becoming pregnant anytime soon?”
Race: “What’s your nationality?”
Religious beliefs and activities: “Are you Christian?”
Gender (including sexual harassment): “Females rarely succeed in this industry.”
Sexual orientation: “Are you gay?”
Union or employer-association membership: “Are you a member of the union?”
roberhalf.com.au/blog (January 2015)

An alternate approach to the whole ‘what should I or shouldn’t I say in an interview’ approach, is what might be described as ‘the nuclear option’ in progressive selection processes; inclusive recruitment.

“Eliminating bias – unconscious as well as conscious – is critical for a robust recruitment process.”

Inclusive recruitment – often called Blind Recruitment – comes in a variety of forms. In the purest sense, it involves removing all references to potential ‘discrimination triggers’ at the very beginning of the selection process. This would include deleting references to age, marital status, gender and sexuality from the CV prior to it being scrutinized. In some cases, references to educational institutions and addresses are also removed.

The intent of implementing inclusive recruitment is to eliminate bias – both conscious and unconscious.  Numerous studies have shown that, whether we like it or not, we all have unconscious biases that cloud our judgements. When selecting the best person for a role, clouded judgement does us and the organisation no favours. For example, if we went to a certain school or were born in a certain place, it’s understandable that we would feel a certain ‘affinity’ to a candidate if we know in advance that they also went to that school, or were born in our hometown. Whilst this is completely natural (commonality makes people feel comfortable) it doesn’t help the interview process at all. We are after all looking to hire the best person for the role.

Eliminating bias – unconscious as well as conscious – is critical for a robust recruitment process.

Back over at Eileen’s ‘first recruitment process since having the monkeys’ (as we now call it!) – she didn’t get the role. The CEO emailed her and told her she wasn’t ‘salesy enough’. That’s fair enough I guess. But ‘that question’ lingers. Was it really that? Or was it ‘something else’.

“Conscious bias, unconscious bias and asking silly questions at interview is, sadly, extremely common. And even more worryingly, it’s often gender blind!”

And here’s the thing, the CEO who asked ‘that question’, well, she is female!

Conscious bias, unconscious bias and asking silly questions at interview is, sadly, extremely common. And even more worryingly, it’s often gender blind!

7 Top tips for leaders wanting to ‘do recruitment right’

  1. Ensure a thorough job analysis and job description is developed at the beginning of the process.
  2. Establish a clear set of selection criteria based directly from the job description. Know what and who you are looking for.
  3. Interviews should be an objective information gathering process. The focus should be on:
  • Skills and knowledge
  • Work history and professional experience
  • Education and training
  • Personal attributes and behaviour
  1. A set list of interview questions should be asked of all candidates in order to gather consistent information on every individual.
  2. Even if you are part of a smaller organisation, always have a colleague with you in the process to ensure you have more than one opinion and interpretation of the selection data.
  3. It is important to make the selection decision as soon as possible after the recruitment and selection process has been completed. Do not allow the process to drag out as the best candidates may accept another role.
  4. Keep in mind the culture of your organisation and whether the personal attributes and behaviours of the individual will fit within that culture.

 

By David Pich FIML
Chief Executive

Institute of Managers and Leaders

The Importance of neurodiversity in the workplace

By Candice Chung

 

When it comes to attracting diverse talent, most companies tend to think of this in the context of improving gender or ethnic diversity. In recent years, however, the concept of neurodiversity has emerged as an area of growing interest on the HR frontier.

Put simply, neurodiversity refers to the idea that workplace inclusivity should extend to neurological differences. This means finding a way to hire and retain talents with conditions such as ADHD, dyslexia, Tourette’s syndrome, or those who may be on the autism spectrum.

In Australia, over 80 percent of people with autism are unemployed or underemployed. Neurodiverse candidates often get left behind in standard hiring processes, with some struggling to fit in with typical corporate culture or missing social cues.

And yet according to a 2015 study by Drexel University, many high-functioning autistic job seekers have the kinds of skills, focus and problem-solving abilities that are highly sought after in specific industries.

“Technology-related work resonates for many on the autism spectrum, with many excelling at mathematics, cryptography, and programming,” says Andrew Ramsden, Founder and CEO of leadership development firm, Alpha Transform.

Companies that are currently leading the charge in hiring neurodiverse workers include accounting firm EY, software company SAP, Microsoft, and Hewlett Packard Enterprises, which pioneered the highly successful Dandelion program in Australia. Launched in 2015, it’s a holistic pilot program that includes on-the-job and life-skills development training, matching candidates with autism with roles in testing, analytics and cyber security.

“Research tells us time and again that diversity in all its forms will galvanise a company culture, so long as the culture doesn’t perpetrate silos,” says HR expert Nathalie Lynton from Shared and Halved Consulting. “The more diverse and inclusive a workplace, the better and faster problems are solved. Innovation will occur at a greater rate, too.”
To improve workplace neurodiversity, Lynton suggests being open and transparent in everyday recruitment practices. This means incorporating taglines like, ‘Our company supports diversity in all its forms, neurodiverse candidates are encouraged to apply’ in job ads.
Also, don’t hire purely on ‘cultural fit’, says Ramsden. “This can too easily become a ‘gut-feel’ excuse to reject those who are different.”

“Remember that for many roles, job-hunting skills are very different from the on-the-job skills required. Allow applicants opportunities to show you the work they’ve achieved and what they’re capable of. On-the-job tests and trial periods allow a better assessment of what people are actually capable of.”
In the end, just as some employees will be introverts and some extroverts, some will be neurodiverse. ”Part of a leader’s tools box is learning how to interview and communicate with different people and understand [the opportunities they may bring to the company],” says Lynton.

 

 To gain further insight on Emotional Intelligence, Self Awareness and Neurodiversity, be sure to book at one of our upcoming Conferences on the 7 attributes of successful leaders today.

Creating the right culture for your workplace

All workplaces have a culture – sometimes more than one – that colours employees’ interactions and behaviour, as well as what is considered appropriate or acceptable conduct. The abstract, nebulous nature of culture often means organisations write it off as outside of their control. Nonetheless, the right culture is a crucial to a business’s success.

Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, when asked about the importance of workplace culture in business replied:

“The stronger the culture, the less corporate process a company needs. When the culture is strong, you can trust everyone to do the right thing. People can be independent and autonomous. They can be entrepreneurial…Ever notice how families or tribes don’t require much process? That is because there is such a strong trust and culture that it supersedes any process. In organisations (or even in a society) where culture is weak, you need an abundance of heavy, precise rules and processes.”

A workplace’s culture is the product of each individual, their communication with one another, and the organisation and environment in which they work. No two cultures will be exactly the same, and what is a desirable culture for one workplace may not work for another. Below are some ideas for developing the culture you want for your workplace, whatever that may be.

Hire the right people

At the heart of a workplace’s culture are its people, which means creating the right culture for your workplace must inform your hiring practices. There will be many talented people with the education, experience and skills to match a role, but that won’t make them a good fit for the culture of the broader organisation. During the hiring process be explicit: ask prospective employees to describe the type of culture they have come from and what type of workplace culture they are hoping to move into. Include questions about their broader motivations, passions and values. This will enable you to make hiring choices that will actively contribute to the culture you want to create.

Create the right space

The physical environment that your employees work in will also inform the culture that develops. Substantial structural decisions such as whether the office is open plan and which departments are close to each other play a part, as do smaller decisions such as decor and seating arrangements. Also relevant to the environment’s impact on a workplace’s culture is how the space is used day-to-day: meeting locations and where lunch is eaten for example can all play a part in determining a workplace culture.

Have a clear vision

An organisation’s vision is the foundation of its culture. Although vision is determined at the top of an organisation, it lays the groundwork for determining the type of culture that will develop within the workplace. It will play a role in who applies for jobs within your organisation, who stays for the long-term, and how each employee will understand their role. So make sure that vision is clear, precise and accessible. Ensure every employee knows it, and lets it inform every action they take at work.

Measure it

Culture may seem an impossible concept to measure or quantify, and there will certainly be limits on how it can be presented in a spreadsheet. But with the right metrics and feedback loops, even something as intangible as culture can be measured. Having established the culture you want to facilitate, identify how this might manifest amongst the individual employees. Create surveys that directly address workplace culture and regularly collate the results. Even if you can’t put it into a graph, you will have some empirical data on the type of culture within your workplace.

Recognition and Reward

If you can measure it, you can reward it. Often workplaces will have a mismatch between what is desired behaviour and what is actually rewarded. Make sure you are providing clear and consistent indicators of the type of culture you want to foster and then reward those who follow suit by recognising and celebrating behaviour that creates the desired culture. Furthermore, ensure that instances where behaviour and interactions undermine a positive workplace culture are dealt with promptly.

Lastly, remember that a positive workplace culture needs to be reinforced from the top. As always, leadership is crucial in establishing the type of workplace that you want, so set the example who want to see mirrored by your employees. And never underestimate the value of a strong and positive workplace culture. As Chesky says, “If you break the culture, you break the machine that creates your products.”

 

 

Encouraging diversity in your workplace

Many organisations now recognise that a diverse workplace is not only something to aim for on equity grounds, it is also strength that enriches and expands the skill sets and understanding of an organisation. A workplace that values diversity can increase employee job satisfaction, in turn reducing staff turnover, as well as harness perspectives and insights it might not otherwise consider – a crucial step to understanding different customers and markets. At a time when Australia is facing a skills shortage and an ageing population, workplace diversity is more important than ever.

However, actually ensuring people of diverse backgrounds are hired in your organisation and are then made to feel welcome is something that many workplaces struggle with. Here are five steps you can take to encourage workplace diversity.

 

  1. Ensure your HR team recognises the importance of diversity

    There is no point espousing the importance of a diverse workplace if the people responsible for hiring are not on board. An HR team needs to do more than pay lip service to the value of diversity – it needs to truly appreciate that a homogenous workplace is one that is missing out on crucial perspectives and skills. Ensure your HR team has done rigorous diversity training, and, critically, ensure your HR team itself is diverse.

  2. Invest in diversity training

    There will be limitations to what an organisation can learn through in-house measures. Organise for an external body to run diversity training for your workplace and ensure that all employees attend – even (maybe, especially) senior staff. Get feedback on what the workplace thought of the training – have debriefs with staff members who may have specific concerns or questions. These will not be trainings that you can organise as a one-off occasion. They will need to be ongoing, firstly to cater to new employees and secondly because diversity is not a static or fixed issue – it is constantly changing and being re-assessed as Australia’s wider diversity changes. What’s more, if the aim of the training is to educate the workplace, a commitment to reinforcing the lessons is important.

  1. Implement diversity-friendly policies

    Providing alternative working arrangements, such as a compressed work week, job-sharing, part-time roles and modified start and end times to the working day will make your workplace more accessible to those with children and caring responsibilities. Accommodating cultural and religious holidays will make your workplace more welcoming to employees from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, as will permitting diversity-friendly clothing choices in the office. Lastly, but most importantly, make sure that your wages are fair and equal – not only within your organisation but across the workforce more broadly.

  1. Mentoring

    While facilitating diversity in junior and middle management positions is often very achievable, ensuring that diversity reaches the senior levels of an organisation will often involve further steps. Mentoring is one way to encourage diversity in executive positions. Match underrepresented employees with senior members of staff and encourage membership with relevant external professional organisations to support diversity in your workplace.

  1. Recognise your own limitations

    Any individual will have a limited experience of the world and will subsequently have limited perspectives on a given issue. Acknowledge that there may not always be an objective way of seeing something and if someone else in your office has a different perspective, stop talking and listen. Everyone has unconscious biases. Don’t be defensive if you are called out on them – acknowledge it is okay to be wrong and treat it as a learning experience.