Kelly ups women’s leadership positions targets
(18 October 2011 – Australia) Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly shocked a few executives last week when she told a packed conference room that she had unilaterally "upped the target" of women in leadership positions.
She told the conference she wanted half of all 4000 leadership positions to be filled by women by 2017, a rise on the target of 40 percent of all positions from bank manager up held by women by 2014.
''Why wouldn't it be 50 percent? Why would we be happy with anything less than 50 per cent of our senior people?'' Ms Kelly said.
The bank has since been quick to point out that 50 percent is an ''aspirational'' target. Its formal target is to increase the level of female representation from 33 percent to 40 percent by 2014; at present 37.5 percent of these positions are held by women.
One suspects Ms Kelly is undeterred. ''It's amazing the focus that comes into an organisation when you have a target. You line up your policies, your practices behind making sure that you really are driving an agenda … All of this is based, of course, entirely on meritocracy,'' she said when explaining her new target.
Ms Kelly outlined key measures - developing talent pools from which senior staff were drawn, looking at career management, coaching and mentoring, and ensuring that when opportunities arose for promotion, those talent pools were looked at.
''Why wouldn't it be 50 percent? Why would we be happy with anything less than 50 per cent of our senior people?'' Ms Kelly said.
The bank has since been quick to point out that 50 percent is an ''aspirational'' target. Its formal target is to increase the level of female representation from 33 percent to 40 percent by 2014; at present 37.5 percent of these positions are held by women.
One suspects Ms Kelly is undeterred. ''It's amazing the focus that comes into an organisation when you have a target. You line up your policies, your practices behind making sure that you really are driving an agenda … All of this is based, of course, entirely on meritocracy,'' she said when explaining her new target.
Ms Kelly outlined key measures - developing talent pools from which senior staff were drawn, looking at career management, coaching and mentoring, and ensuring that when opportunities arose for promotion, those talent pools were looked at.
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