Gender equality in the workplace is a hot topic – research has shown that organisations with a culture of diversity are six times more likely to innovate, six times more likely to anticipate change and respond accordingly, and twice as likely to meet or exceed financial targets than organisations who do not prioritise diversity.

However, Australia has a way to go in this space. According to the latest Board Diversity Statistics released by the Australian Institute of Company Directors, women make up only 27.9 per cent of directorship on ASX boards.

Readers of FeeSynergy’s newsletters will know that we are a proud supporter of The 100% Project, a not-for-profit organisation that aims to address gender inequality as it affects leadership positions, opportunities and culture in Australian organisations.  Their mission is to challenge organisational leaders to change the practices and mindsets within their organisations to fully realise the leadership potential of both men and women.  This month, they launched #gofor5050 in a bid to achieve their vision of having a 50-50 gender balance in workplace leadership roles.

#gofor5050 aims to draw attention to the imbalance of women and men at leadership and board level in both corporate Australia and the public sector and encourages working women and men to raise their voices and create a conversation about gender imbalance at their workplace. It launched ahead of The 100% Project’s 10-year anniversary dinner on October 4, hosted by KPMG, and proudly attended by FeeSynergy.

Keynote speaker at the event, 2015 Australian of the Year and domestic violence campaigner, Rosie Batty said equality can only be achieved when power and resources are distributed equally between women and men.  A panel of speakers from leading organisations including KPMG, Australia Post, City West Water and Victoria Police discussed how we can accelerate gender equality and strive to #gofor5050 in all Australian workplaces.

I encourage all professional service firms to consider how they can get behind #gofor5050 by sharing on their social media what they are doing to support gender equality in the workplace with the hashtag #gofor5050.  To learn more about The 100% Project, please visit the100percentproject.com.au and sign up as a champion to keep up to date with their research and events.

For more information on this article please email mikis@feesynergy.com.au