DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE – AUSTRALIA

ASX diversity guidelines face axe as new proposal emerges

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Original article by Perry Williams, Janet Albrechtsen
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 19-Feb-25

Tanarra Capital founder John Wylie says the ASX Corporate Governance Council should abandon a proposal to require directors of listed companies to disclose personal information such as their sexual orientation and religious ­beliefs. He says it is a gross invasion of people’s personal privacy to have to disclose their sexual identity in order to be eligible for a board position. A number of corporate directors have released a joint statement backing Wylie’s stance. Wylie has proposed his own reforms, which include requiring directors of listed companies to stand for re-election annually rather than every three years.

CORPORATES
TANARRA CAPITAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE COUNCIL

Australian TV news presenters still mostly white, report shows, sparking row over balance

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Original article by Mostafa Rachwani
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 23-Nov-22

A new report highlights the lack of diversity among Australian television news and current affairs presenters. The report from Media Diversity Australia shows that 78 per cent of TV journalists have an Anglo-Celtic background, up from 75.8 per cent in 2020; meanwhile, people from a non-European background account for just 6.1 per cent of appearances on news and current affairs programs, despite comprising 24.7 per cent of the nation’s population. The report is based on a sample of free-to-air news and current affairs programs over a two-week period in June. The ABC’s Gavin Fang says the sample size was not large enough, while restricting it to one media format is also a shortcoming.

CORPORATES
MEDIA DIVERSITY AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Fortescue’s Gaines says more gender diversity needed in ASX firms

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Original article by Stuart McKinnon
The West Australian – Page: Online : 3-Aug-22

Fortescue Metals Group’s outgoing CEO Elizabeth Gaines addressed the Diggers and Dealers forum on Tuesday. She lamented the continued lack of gender diversity among the senior ranks of Australian-listed companies, noting that she became the first female CEO of a major Australian mining company in 2018 and this has not changed much since. Gaines also noted that just seven per cent of speakers at the annual mining industry event are women, while she highlighted the fact that women comprise half of Fortescue’s board.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, DIGGERS AND DEALERS FORUM

BHP digs deep to make new Pilbara mine female friendly

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 26-Oct-18

BHP Billiton has awarded about $1.5 billion worth of contracts associated with its new South Flank iron ore mine in the Pilbara. BHP has required contractors to demonstrate their track record with regard to gender and cultural diversity when bidding for South Flank contracts, as part of its push for the project to have a gender-balanced workforce. Women comprise about 35 per cent of workers at South Flank, which is slated to commence production in 2021.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Westpac aims for 20pc Asian managers

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Original article by Misa Han
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 29-Jul-16

Westpac CEO Brian Hartzer wants the bank to have greater diversity among its staff. The bank aims to raise the ratio of its executives with an Asian background from 13 per cent to 20 per cent. Hartzer says it is primarily a business issue, although social justice is also important to him. Race discrimination commissioner Tim Soutphommasane suggests that businesses should aim for 10 per cent of their senior executives to have a non-European background.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Guthrie’s ground rules: an ABC of inclusiveness

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 28-Jul-16

ABC MD Michelle Guthrie will be one of the speakers at the Creative Country conference in Melbourne on 28 July 2016. Guthrie will outline the need for the public broadcaster to extend its multi-platform audience reach beyond its current level of about 71 per cent. She will also outline plans to increase the ABC’s diversity in terms of both staff and content, and significantly increase the proportion of its annual budget that is allocated to content production.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, STAR TV, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Diversity key for ABC, says Guthrie

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Original article by Michael Bodey
The Australian – Page: 3 : 3-May-16

Former Google executive Michelle Guthrie officially succeeded Mark Scott as MD of the ABC on 2 May 2016. She has called for greater diversity in the ABC’s staff and its content, to ensure that the public broadcaster is relevant to all Australians. Meanwhile, Guthrie will appear before a Senate estimates committee on 5 May, while the ABC’s funding is likely to be retained at about its current level in the Australian Government’s Budget.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SKY PLC, STAR TV, PROVIDENCE EQUITY PARTNERS INCORPORATED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Australia lags in female CFOs

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 8-Mar-16

Boral, Origin Energy, Dexus Property Group, Perpetual, GPT Group and Magellan Financial Group are the only top-100 listed companies in Australia that have a female CFO, according to research by Conrad Liveris. In contrast, 11 of the 100 largest companies globally boast a female CFO. The research also shows that women now account for 13 of the CFOs at Australia’s 200 largest listed companies, compared with 10 in 2012, while 12 of these companies have a female CEO.

CORPORATES
BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, DEXUS PROPERTY GROUP – ASX DXS, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, GPT GROUP – ASX GPT, MAGELLAN FINANCIAL GROUP LIMITED – ASX MFG, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, WESTPAC INSTITUTIONAL BANK, DIVERSITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, ARETE EXECUTIVE PTY LTD

Building sector wants more women leaders

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 39 : 9-Feb-16

Australian companies are taking steps to reduce gender imbalance among their staff. Buildcorp has hired a number of women with a non-building industry background. Buildcorp principal Josephine Sukkar says there are now three women among 33 mid-level project managers and engineers. The Property Male Champions of Change program is meant to facilitate the entry of women into the sector.

CORPORATES
BUILDCORP COMMERCIAL PTY LTD, ERNST AND YOUNG, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, DEXUS PROPERTY GROUP – ASX DXS, GPT GROUP – ASX GPT

Gender equality one commodity avoiding the rout

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 17 : 21-Jan-16

BHP Billiton’s vice-president of strategy and performance, Laura Tyler, says there has been a significant change in the mining sector’s attitude toward women in the industry since she began her career. CEO Andrew Mackenzie has implemented initiatives aimed at increasing gender diversity within BHP, where the proportion of senior positions that are held by women has increased from eight per cent to 17 per cent over the last five years.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32