• The Australian Stock Exchange commissioned a survey that found more than half of 211 ASX-listed companies have established a gender diversity policy as recommended by ASX Principle 3.
  
  
• The Australian Institute of Management has published a green paper that outlines why flexible arrangements are integral to improving opportunities for women to advance through the leadership pipeline and the retention of high performing female staff members.
  
  
• The Australian School of Business has issued its Top 10 for 2012 list of Knowledge@ASB articles including  Women in Leadership: An Intervention for the Imbalance?
  
  
• Women in Focus has released a publication called Chief Women: Tips from the Top which features advice and experience on managing careers and leading businesses from Sonja Bernhardt OAM, Sarina Russo, Naomi Simson, Cathy Tiberio, Ann Hollonds… oh, and me!
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For those in the NFP sector, here's a leadership opportunity you won't want to let slip by!  Stanford Australia Foundation (SAF) is offering 2 Scholarships: one for up to $50k and one for up to $15k for study at Stanford Graduate School of Business, located in the heart of Silicon Valley. Wow! Read More

It’s been a busy month here as I’ve been settling into the latest changes in my porfolio career, a management consulting role with Third Horizon Consulting Partners. Thanks to those of you noticed the change on LinkedIn and sent messages… and in response to your questions, YES I’m loving the change and being part of a team again (it gets lonely in your own business!), and YES I’ll definitely still be blogging and mentoring, and farming and building my board portfolio (I've negotiated a flexible role), and NO I wasn’t intending to take a month to tell you my news! (whoops, has it really a month?! Time flies!)  But with my start date coinciding with lambing and calving season at the farm, and my son falling ill with (another) ear infection, and his dad working away on a big project, it’s been a process of daily re-prioritisation… which is just business as usual, for anyone with a portfolio career or even a regular, run-of-the-mill, busy life! Read More

OurSay is a fantastic new community that is promoting democratic debate, it's next questions forum being with Australia's Prime Minister, no less! It's an online community that works by allowing anyone to submit a question - but here's the crux - only the top 3 questions (determined by a voting system) will be put the Prime Minister on 21st July.  I have posted this question - on how the government plans to engage women better for the productivity of Australia, with policy reforms - and I would really appreciate you voting for my question, it's just a one-click process so will take 30 seconds of your time. Here's my question and you vote by clicking here, then on the next screen you simply click on the blue Vote button at the top left of the page. That's it! Read More

I received a gorgeous sample pack in the mail from Miss Ruby, and have to tell you that if you're in need of some winter warmth in the form of tights and hosiery, you'll love the quality of this product and the discounted offer.  After opening the packs, I promptly sent the samples over to my friend Aedann who was the right size to trial them and she says she just loooves them - and if you know your hose, think Levante  standard without the matching pricetag.  Donna at Miss Ruby is offering a discount for my readers with 30% off this three pair sampler pack, comprising 1 x black sheers, 1 x latte sheers and 1 x patterned back seam.   Read More

Can women really can have “it” all? No, I say, until men want it too.  Media has been awash this week on this issue: former Whitehouse staffer Anne-Marie Slaughter put forward her view on why women still can’t have “it” all and had a reported one million women across the globe debating her position, why it’s irrelevant women who need “it” the most, and why stay at home parents have made the “right” choice, or why working mums have made a better one.  Women against women.  Then yesterday the NSW Minister for Woman, Pru Goward, released a report showing women in NSW don’t yet, but possibly could have it all, with better career choices.  But let’s be honest: it’s all talk, no change until the most important people in this debate get on board: our men. Read More

I'm very excited to announce on behalf of sphinxx a new and intimate gathering of women leading in the property sector. From urban planning and architecture; engineering, construction and design; and advisory, transactions and property management,  Property Connect brings together women from across the sector to forge friendships and build trusted business relationships.  Read More

Hats off to Women on Boards for their latest Boardroom Diversity Index (BDI), which provides a snap shot across 850 organisations of the number of board seats held by women.  The research, now in its third year, tracks directorships by gender across ASX Companies, Cooperative Research Centres, Credit Unions & Building Societies, Government, National Sporting Organisations, Research and Development Corporations and Superannuation Trustees, and this year the categories of ASX201-300 companies and Health Funds were also added.  Read More

Next week is the start of a new financial year in Australia and if you earn more than $84,000pa as an individual or $164,000pa as a family you will no longer be able to claim the Private Health Insurance Rebate from July 1^st.  (Note income includes things like super that is salary sacrificed, fringe benefits reportable amounts and imputation credits).  But here's a tip that could buy you a bit more time on the rebate and help you save big dollars!  
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"Women need to stop apologizing for routine workplace events," Bloom shared with me in an email. "Ladies, every time the word 'sorry' is about to fly out of your mouth, think: Have I actually done something wrong? Or has this just become a verbal tic?"  Here are three things that women often apologize for and what we can do to stop, today. Read More