Recently a group of future club leaders asked me if I had ever experienced discrimination during my career because of my gender. The conversation was that these women had sometimes felt intimidated, but that training and increased knowledge had empowered them to challenge the status quo in their clubs. It was not the first time I have been asked about this issue.
Diversity on boards, particularly women on boards, is a hot topic in Australia and globally. Irrespective of your view on whether organisations should have diversity quotas or targets, the underlying issue remains: Do we need a strategy for promoting women into leadership roles? Are we still stuck in the bubble of hiring the best man for the job rather than the best person, irrespective of gender, ethnicity, culture, age, sexual orientation or disability? While diversity is multifaceted, this article focuses on gender.