Talent Insights

Gender Diversity in Leadership roles in Australia 2013 Snapshot

Women in LeadershipThe highest level of female leaders, proportionately speaking, are in the health and pharmaceuticals industry with 39% female leaders. But, the majority of leadership roles across industries are heavily male-dominated. Men hold more than 80% of the leadership roles in some of the country’s largest industries - finance, software technology and engineering/architecture, with the finance industry having 18% female leaders. Overall there is a significant imbalance in leadership roles in Australian industries, with only 28% of leadership roles being held by women.  Female LinkedIn members in Australia with 5-15 years of experience hold 30% of leadership positions, but the proportion of women in leadership gradually erodes over time. Women with 15-20 years of experience hold 25% of leadership roles and less than 20% of these roles are held by women with over 20 years of experience.

*Graph shows percentage of female leaders and the number of members in experienced (10 years + post education) senior leadership roles (director and above)

Female penetration in experienced leadership roles by industry

OverviewCurrently in Australia there is a significant lack of female corporate leaders, with three times more men in leadership roles. Across all industries, progressive organisations are introducing diversity programs aimed at improving this imbalance. Companies benefit from having strong female leadership and LinkedIn is at the forefront of thinking on Talent and measuring Talent. With rich data on our 200 million members, we can help companies evaluate the effectiveness of these diversity programs.

Percentage of Female leaders by years of experience

May 2013

Aero & Auto

Architect & Eng.

Finance & Ins.

Prof Services

Media & Ent.

Retail/Consumer

Gov/Edu/Non-P

Health & Pharm.

LOW PENETRATIONMALE DOMINATED

% of Female Leaders

Mem

ber

s in

Lea

der

ship

0% 5% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

2,000

1,000

5,000

10,000

20,000

50,000 MODERATE PENETRATION

Tech - Software

Manufacturing

Tech - Hardware

Telecom

Oil & Energy

10%

Years of experience

36.0%

32.7%

29.1%

25.4%

21.2%

18.6%16.4%

13.3%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

What are women looking for in the workplace?The aspects of a role which are most important to a person at work is influenced by their gender. Australian women are 24% more likely than men to value culture fit, 19% more likely to say a good relationship with colleagues is important and 17% more likely to value flexible work arrangements. Australian women are also 12% more likely to say that it is important for a company to value employee contributions.

Men place a higher importance on the individual aspects of a role. Australian men are 29% more likely than women to say a company’s long-term strategic vision is important, 18% more likely to value compensation and benefits and 12% more likely to say a strong career path is important. Men are also 13% more likely to say it is important to feel proud of their company.

 

Want to learn more about how your company is already connected to this talent pool and how you can best leverage these assets to reach this important talent pool for job opportunities? talent.linkedin.com

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Opportunities to increase leadership diversity Companies looking to increase the number of women in leadership positions should tailor their Employment Brand and value proposition messages more towards the company culture in order to attract women.

To access the largest pool of Talent when looking for a leader, companies should include candidates with under 20 years of experience. Given the proportionate lack of female leaders in Australia with over 20 years of experience, companies should be looking to the next generation of leaders to increase the gender diversity amongst their leaders.

Most male dominated industries

INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION

MECHANICAL OR INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

MARITIME

VENTURE CAPITAL AND PRIVATE EQUITY

ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC MANUFACTURING

% Female Senior Leaders

6%

9%

9%

9%

10%

COMPANY VALUES EMPLOYEES CONTRIBUTION

FLEXIBLE WORK ARRANGEMENTS

RELATIONSHIPS WITH COLLEAGUES

CULTURAL FIT

Women Men

34%

38%

41%

33%

37%

29%

32%

33%