Upcoming Conferences - EGOS 2012

The 2012 European Group of Organizational Studies (EGOS) 28th Colloquium is being held in Helsinki, Finland from July 5-7, 2012.

The call for short papers opens on December 1, 2011 and closes on January 16, 2012. A number of sub-themes might be of interest to Bickley Blog readers involved in the academy:

Sub-theme 01: (SWG) Doing Career Research: Applying Varieties of Disciplines, Theories and Methods

 

Sub-theme 04: (SWG) Challenging Inequality: Changing Gender and Organizations

 

Sub-theme 18: Redesigning Leadership in Organizations: The Economic Imperative and Ethical Practice

Sub-theme 33: Elites and the Design of Institutions, Industries and Organizations

 

Sub-theme 42: Women and Work: Effective Designs, Satisfying Relationships

 

There are 57 sub-themse available. For further details and registration information please visit the EGOS 2012 website

Not for Profit, Charitable and Community Sectors - Women on Boards survey

Women on Boards are currently conducting a survey on the gendered nature of senior management and boards in the Not for Profit, Charitable and Community sectors.

If you are on the board, or employed in these sectors, please assist by completing this 8 minute survey:

http://www.surveymethods.com/EndUser.aspx?AA8EE2F8ADEAFEFEAE

On the Horizon...

Upcoming events for Women in Leadership:

 

6 December 2011 Women in Leadership - Sharing Stories of Sucess presented by IPAA WA

Join the WA branch of the IPAA for an annual Women in Leadership seminar, aimed at supporting and showcasing women in leadership roles.  Be inspired by Tonya McCusker: Government House, Melissa Parke MP: Federal Member for Fremantle, Susan Hunt PSM: CEO, Perth Zoo and Elizabeth Mackney: Litigation Partner, Freehills

For further details and registration information visit the IPAA WA website

6 December 2011 Diverse Leadership for the 21st Century presented by CEDA

The 21st century will bring new and unprecedented challenges for businesses and communities in Australia and our region. The new realities will usher in the need for more women to take leadership roles.

CEDA is delighted to welcome The Hon Julie Bishop, Deputy Opposition Leader to share her views and reflections on diverse leadership both in Australia and abroad. For further details please visit the CEDA website 

Inaugural Mary Reibey Grant - $50,000 for a Woman Leader of a Social Enterprise

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A fantastic opportunity for a woman leader in the social enterprise / Not For Profit sector - The Mary Reibey Grant of $50,000, offered by the Westpac Foundation, will be awarded to a woman founder or to a woman CEO of a not for profit founded by a woman, on International Women's Day on 8 March 2012.

For eligibility criteria and application details please visit: Ruby Connection: 2012 Mary Reibey Grant
Note that Letters of Interest are due by 1st December 2011!

Miss Representation - Women in the Media

This YouTube trailer has been doing the rounds of social media lately. If you haven't watched it, please, please take 8 minutes out of your day and do so.  Wow. So powerful.



"You can't be what you can't see" - Marie Wilson, Founder - the White House Project

For more about the film and the Miss Representation movement - go to http://missrepresentation.org/

Women on Boards - Positive Findings, an International Perspective

Reports recently released from the Women on Boards space have a positive message...

From Australia: The Reibey Institute have delivered their second research note on Women Leaders in ASX 500 companies.  The report examines women’s representation on ASX 500 boards as of 30 June 2011, and the story is a positive one.

Key findings of the report are:

• Women hold 9.5% of board position on ASX 500 boards, up from 7.2% in 2010.
• 233 of 500 (47%) of companies have a woman on the board.
• There are 235 unique women holding 307 board positions.
• 20% of female directors serve on more than one board, as compared to 12% of male directors.
• There has been a marked increase in women on ASX 400-500 boards over the 2010/11 financial year.

The report clearly indicates the benefit of having women on company boards – companies with women on their boards deliver a significantly higher return on investment (ROE) than those without women (9.2%  vs 0.5% 5 year ROE).

To read the full report – go to The Reibey Institute: http://www.reibeyinstitute.org.au/research/australian-resources/

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From the World Bank Global Corporate Governance Forum: The GCGF have released “Women on Boards: A Conversation with Male Directors” presenting a fresh perspective to the gender diversity on boards debate.  The publication offers series of conversations with a 15 male directors from around the world on how they perceive the presence and absence of women on boards.

Some of the suggestions made by these directors on increasing the number of women on boards include:

• Increasing transparency from companies on how they appoint board members.
• Greater awareness from boards and head hunters about the available talent pool.
• Education to create a better understanding of the importance and value of diversity.
• Disclosure standards by companies regarding diversity practices and representation of women through companies.
• Incentives and recognition for companies, rather than quotas, and “naming and shaming” of companies with poor diversity performance.
• Supporting corporate women in balancing family lives while pursuing corporate careers.
• Encouraging women to apply for board positions.

The conversations are overwhelmingly positive, with strong support from the CEOs, Chairpersons and Directors interviewed for board diversity. 

For the full report - visit the Global Corporate Governance Forum

“It’s who you know” - Networks and Sponsors: Savvy ways to get ahead

Networks and sponsors are hot topics in our inbox at the moment and are really reminding us of the importance of other people to our career satisfaction and progress.

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In a recent article "Managing Yourself: A recent article “Managing Yourself: A Smarter Way to Network”, authors Rob Cross and Robert Thomas speak of the importance of networks in helping with career success. Importantly, their research suggests that these networks should have certain features to be effective.  They should be balanced  - with connections that “promote career advancement and those that promote engagement and satisfaction”.  Effective networks are about quality of connection rather than quantity of connection, and should contain relationships that assist in gaining and broadening experience and learning new skills, but also help with finding purpose and balance.  The structure of the network is also key - with diverse relationships that cross hierarchy, organisations, functions and geographical location. 

According to Cross and Thomas, the most satisfied and successful leaders have the following people in their networks:

1. People who provide personal support, such as colleagues who help them get back on track when they’re having a bad day or friends with whom they can just be themselves.
2. People who add a sense of purpose, such as bosses and customers who validate their work, and family members and other stakeholders who show them work has a broader meaning.
3. People who promote their work/life balance, holding them accountable for activities that improve their physical health, mental engagement or spiritual well-being.

Some food for thought - do you have these people in your network? If not, where can you find them?

Earlier this year, a new report “The Sponsor Effect: Breaking Though the Last Glass Ceiling” was released by Sylvia Hewlett and her team at Centre for Work-Life Policy.  The “sponsor” relationship is important to the advancement to upper levels of an organisation and the study found that women do not maximise this relationship - either they underestimate the importance of it, or they fail to cultivate it. Many women in the study felt that getting ahead on who you know is a “dirty tactic” and the way to the top is through hard work.Extending beyond the mentor relationship, sponsors can have a big impact on your career and work satisfaction.

So what do sponsors do? Hewlett’s research found that sponsors:

• Advocate for your next promotion
• Call in favours for you
• Expand your perception of what you can do
• Make connections to senior leaders

And how do you find one?

Connecting with a sponsor can happen through being identified as a “protege” or a high potential, by catching the eye of an executive. However, Hewlett recommends that those aspiring to senior roles should take a proactive approach and identify and actively cultivate a sponsor relationship and routinely “ask for career guidance, feedback and stretch assignments”.

Do you have a sponsor?  If not, is there someone in your organisation that you could cultivate a sponsor relationship with?

Source: "The Relationship You Need to Get Right" - HBR Magazine October 2011
Source: “The Sponsor Effect: Breaking Though the Last Glass Ceiling” - Center for Work-Life Policy

2011 Clare Burton Memorial Lecture - coming to a city near you!

The 2011 Clare Burton Memorial Lecture is touring Australian capital cities in October and November.  This year, Dr Cordelia Fine, will speak on:

"How the New Neurosexism Helps Sustain the Status Quo: 

Charting the journey from scanner to sound bite to society".  

It sounds fascinating and brain-bending!

For details of Dr Fine's lecture, read on...

For as long as there has been brain science there have been - in retrospect - misguided explanations and justifications of sex inequality: women's skulls are the wrong shape; their brains are too small; their hemispheres too unspecialised. These hypotheses eventually find themselves hurled on the scientific scrap heap - but not before they become part of cultural lore, and reinforce social attitudes about men and women in ways that hinder progress towards greater sex equality.

It is still happening.

In this lecture Cordelia will show how contemporary social attitudes about gender subtly shape the neuroscience of sex differences and, less subtly, its popularisation. These over-confident claims about 'his brain' and 'her brain' then reinforce old-fashioned gender stereotypes.  Evidence is growing that these stereotypes, invigorated by neurosexism, can influence attitudes and behaviours in the workplace in self-fulfiling ways. Neurosexism, in other words, helps to sustain the very differences it is supposed to explain.

About the speaker...

Dr Cordelia Fine is an academic psychologist and writer. Cordelia studied Experimental Psychology at Oxford University, followed by a M.Phil in Criminology at Cambridge University. She was awarded a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University College London. She is currently based at the University of Melbourne, as an Associate Professor in the Centre for Ethical Leadership at the Melbourne Business School.

If you want to read up before the lecture...


Cordelia has authored two books - her latest book Delusions of gender: How minds, society, and neurosexism create difference was short-listed for the Best Book of Ideas Prize 2011, the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Non-Fiction 2011 and the prestigious John Llewellyn Rhys Prize 2010.
Cordelia is also the author of A Mind of Its Own: How your brain distorts and deceives.

Dates around Australia

• Wednesday 26th October - Melbourne
• Thursday 27th October - Sydney
• Monday 31st October - Adelaide
• Friday 4th November - Brisbane
• Friday 11th November - Perth

For details of these events, please visit the ATN WEXDEV site

2012 CME Women in Resources Awards - Nominations are open

This will be of interest to those of you working in the resource sector in Western Australia...

Nominations for the 2012 Chamber of Minerals and Energy Women in Resources Awards are being sought.  The awards recognise the contribution of outstanding women working in the WA resources sector and companies that are committed to enhancing the participation of women in the sector.

This year there are five award categories:

• Women in Resources Champion
• Outstanding Professional Woman
• Outstanding Young Professional (aged 34 years or under as at 31 December 2011)
• Outstanding Operator / Technician / Trade Woman
• Outstanding Company Initiative

For more information and to complete an online submission, visit the CME website. Entries are being accepted until COB Monday 7th November 2011.

Congratulations to the 2011 Telstra Western Australia Business Woman of the Year

source Congratulations to the Western Australia’s Chief Nurse and Midwifery Officer Catherine Stoddart on being named the 2011 Telstra Western Australia Business Woman of the Year and winner of the White Pages Community and Government Award category. As Chief Nurse and Midwifery Officer, Catherine leads 12,000 nurses and midwives in the public system, while also providing professional leadership for about 35,000 private and non-government nurses. She has been influential in raising the profile of nursing careers in Western Australia, particularly amongst Aboriginal people and in rural communities. Catherine’s professionalism, commitment and dedication to improving nursing and midwifery in Western Australia make her a deserving winner of the 2011 Telstra Western Australia Business Woman of the Year Awards.

Winners of the 2011 Telstra Western Australian Business Women’s Awards are:

Telstra Western Australian Business Woman of the Year
Catherine Stoddart - Western Australia Department of Health, East Perth

Commonwealth Bank Business Owner Award
Pauline Francis - LJ Hooker, Leeming

Hudson Private and Corporate Sector Award
Amber Stanton - Minter Ellison, Perth

White Pages Community & Government Award
Catherine Stoddart - Western Australia Department of Health, East Perth

Nokia Business Innovation Award
Sasha de Bretton - Million Dollar Makeovers, Burswood

marie claire Young Business Women’s Award
Juliette Sperber - POAGS, Fremantle, Geraldton and Bunbury

More information on the Telstra Business Women’s Awards can be found at
www.telstrabusinesswomensawards.com

(Source: Telstra Business Women’s Awards)

Gender, Work and Organisation 2012 - Call for Abstracts

Gender, Work and Organisation will be holding their 7th Biennial International Interdisciplinary Conference from 27th - 29th June 2012 at Keele University, Staffordshire, UK.

Attracting gender researchers from around the globe, the conference is a forum for debate and analysis of a variety of issues in relation to management, work and organisation, and gender studies. Amongst the 21 streams planned for the 2012 conference are:

• Gender in Global Knowledge Organisations
• Career and Transition: Women Crossing Boundaries
• Gender in Science Institutions and Knowledge Systems
• Inequity amongst low paid women workers
• "New Masculinities?" Reshaping the Discourse

The call for abstracts for the 2012 conference is now open, with further information and a full list of the 21 streams available at: GWO2012 Call for Abstracts and Information.

Work and Life - Getting the Balance Right - Committee for Perth

The Committee for Perth is pleased to invite you to a complimentary special event "Work and Life - Getting the Balance Right" with guest speaker Professor Barbara Pocock - Director of the Centre for Work + Life at the University of South Australia. Barbara will share her thoughts on how we can create a health work and life balance and as a result get a more sustainable community.

For the past 30 years Barbara has been researching work, employment and industrial relations in Australia, and has published a number of books that examine the complexities of how work affects our families, home life and social life. Barbara's books include Living Low Paid: The Dark Side of Prosperous Australia and the Labour Market Ate My Babies: Work, Children and a Sustainable Future


Event Details:
Date - Thursday 20th October 2011
Venue - Ernst & Young, Level 5, 11 Mounts Bay Road, Perth 6000
Time - 4:30pm to 7:30pm

For further details visit: Committee for Perth Events


Registrations can be made online at: http://www.trybooking.com/Embed.aspx?eid=13076

Show me the money!

Time to raise that bar ladies?

From a recent Harvard Daily Stat: asking for an absurdly high salary when negotiating a pay rise can work in your favour.
A 2011 study conducted by Thorsteinson from the University of Idaho, USA, published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, found that job candidates requesting ridiculously high salaries received 9% higher wage offers than those who were... more sensible. Thorsteinson suggests that the initial offer - even an implausible one - serves as an "anchor" that affects the eventual outcome.

Full details of the study can be found here

Chamber of Minerals and Energy 2012 Awards

On September 20th, the Chamber of Minerals and Energy will be launching their annual CME Awards. In 2012, awards will be given in the categories on Safety and Health Innovation, and Women in Resources:


2012 CME Safety and Health Innovation Awards
CME’s Safety and Health Innovation Awards are the WA resource sector’s peak safety innovation accolade, recognising creativity and ingenuity by individuals, teams and companies who have developed a solution to a specific safety and health problem in the workplace.
2012 CME Women in Resources Awards
Recognising the power of diversity in the WA resource sector - The Women in Resources Awards recognise individuals and organisations working to build a world-class industry which provides attractive career opportunities and enhances the recognition and participation of women in the sector.


Entry will be open to all Western Australian resource companies including contractors associated with the minerals and energy industry. CME encourages all industry members to consider submitting an application for these awards.


Award recipients will be announced on International Women’s Day - 8^th March 2012.


The launch event, including an optional workshop to assist with the writing of award submissions will be held:

Date:       Tuesday 20 September 2011
Time:       Presentation: 4.00pm for a 4.15pm start
                Cocktail: 5.00pm – 7.00pm
Location:  Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, Mounts Bay Rd, Perth

For details of the pre-evnt workshop and registration, please go to the CMEWA webpage.

On the Horizon...

The "On the Horizon" section of the blog has been updated to include upcoming events for women. Perhaps there's an opportunity for you to expand your network or hone your skills in this list...

Follow the links for further details and RSVP.

6 September 2011 - How Female Engineers Can Improve Their Career Prospects in a Male-Dominated Organisation - presented by Engineers Australia (Perth, Australia). Also sessions in Mandurah and Geraldton on 7th and 8th September.

12 September 2011 - Leadership WA 2012 Leadership Program information session - presented by Leadership WA. RSVP required by 7th Sept.

27 September 2011 - Through the Looking Glass: Reflections on Leadership and Action - presented by Westpac Ruby Connection (Perth, Australia).

29 September 2011 - Energetic Women - presented by LunchBox List (Perth, Australia).

31 January to 3 February 2012 - The Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship (ACE) Research Centre and DIANA International Conference (Fremantle, Western Australia).  Registrations are now open: www.aceredianaconference.com.au

Entrepreneurship and the Acere-Diana 2012 Conference - Final Call for Abstracts

Acere-Diana 2012 Conference

31 Jan - 3 Feb 2012

Fremantle, Western Australia

www.aceredianaconference.com.au 

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS CLOSING FRIDAY

Prospective authors are reminded that the deadline to submit abstracts for papers to be presented at the Acere-Diana Conference, is Friday 2 September 2011.

The proud tradition of an annual, Australian-based, high quality entrepreneurship research meeting continues. We encourage the presentation of empirical and conceptual papers on any aspect of entrepreneurship understood as the creation of new economic activity and/or as the founding and management of independent ventures. Papers will be grouped into thematic sessions, one of which will be the DIANA track(s) on entrepreneurship and gender. Other likely tracks include, but are not limited to, new venture creation; corporate entrepreneurship; social entrepreneurship; resourcing new ventures; and entrepreneurship theory.

Abstracts should be submitted via the Conference website www.aceredianaconference.com.au. Before you prepare your abstract, please read the attached abstract submission guidelines.

For any enquiries, please contact the Conference secretariat on 08 9389 1488 or lexie@eecw.com.au.

On the Horizon...

The "On the Horizon" section of the blog has been updated to include the plethora of events for women during July and August. Perhaps there's an opportunity for you to expand your network or hone your skills in this list...

Follow the links for further details and RSVP.

28 July 2011 - Women in Global Business series, Perth, Australia - presented by Ruby Learning with Austrade

29 July 2011 - Presentation on Corporate Governance with Vanessa Guthrie - brought to you by Minter Ellison

30 July 2011 - Powerful Impressions Workshop - with Egami Style

During August 2011 - Think Women 2011: Get to Grips with the Gender Gap - from Women on Boards

31 August 2011 - The Making of Me: You as a Leader - presented by LunchBox List

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Air Force - Pursuing Diversity and Flexibility

At a recent Australian Women’s Leadership Symposium held in Sydney, Air Force was recognised with a Certificate of Acknowledgement for it’s “outstanding contribution to supporting the development of Australia’s female leaders”.

Air Force is investing in building an organisation that values diversity and flexibility, with an awareness of the challenges presented by the nature of it’s operation - including 24 hour flying jobs, a high tempo operational environment and a lack of nearby family support resulting from interstate postings. Driving the identification of these challenges and development of practical strategies and solutions is the Air Force’s Directorate of Workforce Diversity and Flexibility (DWDF). A recent initiative aimed at advancing women to the upper ranks is the introduction of a networking, mentoring and education program for Air Force women. This program is part of the Air Force’s commitment to build personnel capability and retain it’s best and brightest.

What is happening in your workplace?

The Bickley Blog would love to hear about diversity and inclusivity developments in your organisation. Pass on your news to us - email here

(Thanks to Wing Commander Dee Gibbon from Air Force DFDW for passing on this news. Wing Commander Gibbon is a dear friend of the Bickley Blog and is currently completing her doctorate through the Australian Defence Force Academy / University of NSW exploring the attraction and retention of female pilots).

Source: Air Force e-news July 7, 2011

Sleeping Dragon: The Unfinished Business of Abortion Law Reform in Australia

For Your Diary

The 2011 Pamela Denoon Lecture will be given by Dr Leslie Cannold, Adjunct Fellow, School of Philosophy, Anthropology and Social Inquiry, University of Melbourne

When: Monday 7 March 2011 8pm – 9pm, followed by light refreshments
Where: Manning Clark Lecture Theatre 3 Union Court Australian National University (ANU)

For those not in Canberra, ABC Radio National "Big Ideas" will be recording the lecture.

A 19 year-old Cairns woman and her 20 year–old partner are charged with procuring an abortion and hauled into court. This did not take place in the 19th century when the laws were framed. The couple were tried in late 2010. In this lecture, Dr Leslie Cannold will argue that abortion law reform in Australia is unfinished business. Only in the ACT and Victoria is abortion not a crime. She will discuss why abortion is still a fundamental issue for women and how we can - and must – campaign for change.

Dr Cannold is an author, commentator, ethicist and activist. She is an adjunct Fellow at the School of Philosophy, Anthropology and Social Inquiry at the University of Melbourne and senior lecturer at the Monash Institute of Health Services Research. She is President of Reproductive Choice Australia, a national coalition of pro-choice organisations that played a key role in removing the effective ban on the abortion drug RU486. Dr Cannold is also President of Pro Choice Victoria which was instrumental in the decriminalisation of abortion in Victoria in 2008. Her books include The Abortion Myth and What, No Baby? She has a chapter on abortion in The Australian Book of Atheism (Scribe 2010) and her first novel, The Book of Rachael, will be published by Text in April 2011.

Women of Egypt Rise Up

The fight of the Egyptian people and the liberation of their nation from the regime of (now ex) President Mubarak has been inspirational. Women of the Middle East have been key to the protests and made their voices heard.  

How can we not be moved by these amazing and powerful women in action...

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TEDWomen - Why we have too few women leaders...

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Check out this TEDWomen talk from Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook – she shares her thoughts on why we have too few women leaders.

Her advice for women:

1. Sit at the table.

2. Make your partner a real partner.

3. Don't leave before you leave - keep your foot on the gas pedal.

Thought provoking, yes? Interesting that the focus is on what women can do to stay in the game and not on recommendations to organisations for change...

NB: If you are not familiar with the amazing on-line resource TED, please pay a visit to www.ted.com

UN Women and International Women's Day

1^st January 2011 saw the official launch of UN Women.  UN Women is a new entity merging and building upon the work done by four previously separate parts of the UN system that focused on gender equity and women’s empowerment.

The latest news from the Australian Committee for UN Women explains that the entity will officially work on two fronts:

1.     It will support international political negotiations to formulate agreed standards for gender equality.

2.     It will provide support to UN Member States to implement those standards through technical expertise and financial support.

The Australian National Committee for UN Women will be launched on the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day (March 8th 2011) by the Governor General, in Canberra.  The Australian group will work to engage the support of the Australian Government in gender and development issues, raise awareness of the need to achieve gender equality in the Australian Community and raise funds for UN Women projects across the world.

At a local level, the UN Women WA Chapter is chaired by Anne Banks-McCallister. Anne, the Shire of Peppermint Grove Chief Exectuive, is well known to the Bickley Blog and was a speaker at the Maureen Bickley Centre Women’s Leadership Forum “Personal Reflections on Leadership Journeys”.  Anne and her volunteer team focus on projects in Australia, Asia and the South Pacific and will play a leading role in the upcoming International Women’s Day Centenary celebrations. Last year's breakfast was a sell out - stay tuned for details!

The Bickley Blog is back for 2011!

The Bickley Blog is back for 2011. We look forward to continuing to bring you news on activities of the Maureen Bickley Centre for Women in Leadership and updates on happenings in the women in leadership space.

We love to hear from our readers - please drop us a line mbc@gsb.curtin.edu.au with your comments, feedback and news.

Best wishes for a great year! - The Bickley Bloggers