When Tony Burke became the new Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry in 2007, he was in for a surprise. Sitting down with his Department Heads to review selection committee recommendations for the next round of appointments to advisory boards, he was shocked to discover that 90 per cent of nominees were male.
“How one earth can this be merit?” he said. “How on earth, if we’re basing decisions on merit, can we have committees that keep recommending that merit somehow uniquely resides in blokes?” He didn’t introduce quotas to increase the number of women. He didn’t make a fuss. He changed one thing: he took away previous board experience from the selection criteria. In 18 months the representation of women on these boards and committees has risen from 20 per cent to 43 per cent.
Structural barriers like this are rife, particularly in the corporate sector. But so are internal psychological and skill related barriers.
Tony Burke removed a barrier that had become invisible and taken for granted. Just like the internal constraints that influence the way we think and act.
Learning to lead..
Two recent leadership programs designed and run by make stuff happen have helped senior librarians in Australia and New Zealand, and regional leaders from NSW and the ACT, learn more about themselves by learning together.
Amazing stuff can happen when smart people come together to change things in their profession, region or community. When they help each other learn to lead.
