Achieving gender equity requires turning these good intentions into meaningful actions. Not only in our corporate environment but in all aspects of life.

I’m proud to be a member of CEOs for Gender Equity. This commitment is a great pathway for CEOs to share knowledge and challenge each other to do more to accelerate gender equity, achieve greater inclusivity and to eliminate gender bias. Together we can influence others to act to shift the status quo.

We all have our own personal drivers for gender equity, and we know that each of us can make a difference in building a richer, more diverse and stronger society. When we commit to creating a workforce as diverse as our community, we can create a great place to work with a positive and inclusive culture.

Advancing gender equity in our business is the smart thing to do. At Water Corporation, we are striving to co-create and support environments where we get the balance right and everyone feels safe, valued, and respected at work.

Our strategies on gender equity have our people, our customers and our communities at the forefront. We have a large pool of untapped female participation and leadership talent which can bring new ideas, new management styles, and business innovation to the table.

We continue to expand our hiring pathways and development programs with a focus on bringing diverse perspectives to the business.

Looking outwards, if we want to better serve our customers and communities, our people need to reflect the diversity of our customers and the communities we serve. This starts at the top with our Board and extends across the entire organisation.

In advancing gender equality and equity, we can’t lose sight of the fact that our differences must still be recognised and celebrated. The many different backgrounds and experiences of our people is what helps us to be innovative, creative and adaptable to change.

Our Gender Balance for Better network is taking strides to break the bias, not only for women, but also men, transgender and non-binary people. The network is pursuing change across our business to champion diversity and inclusion, so that all employees feel accepted, included and empowered at work.

We are committed to flexible working for all our employees as this is key to creating an inclusive and diverse culture. We’ve just established a pilot program, in partnership with FlexCareers, to help parents and carers return to work following a career break. This includes providing options to work flex, part-time or from home around family commitments, educating managers on the complexity of transitioning back to work, and providing equal access to leadership and mentoring throughout career progression.
 
We are working hard to eliminate our gender pay gap and have recently reduced it to below 5%. We recognise we have more to do. I believe that we can’t be what we can’t see, and we will continue to focus on increasing women in leadership positions. Recently, our Board and Executive collectively achieved gender parity and this marks a significant milestone for us.

By working together, having healthy conversations and taking action to identify the blockers and enablers, I believe we really can be the change we want to see in achieving gender equity.