My Takeouts From #IWD2025 Panel Discussion, Hosted by Kearney

I thoroughly enjoyed the panel discussion last night at the ‘Accelerate Action’ IWD event, at Kearney’s fabulous offices in Sydney….that overlook Sydney Opera House btw! Just fabulous.

The panel had a mix of views and insights to share and consisted of:

Kate Beattie (CFO Endeavour Group); Christine Bennett AO (Sonic Healthcare), Jenni Dill (CMO Arnott’s Group), Stephen Langton (Head of the Asia Pacific Board Russell Reynolds) and Patrick Delaney (CEO Foxtel Group).

My key take outs were:

• The critical importance of meeting women earlier in the ‘pipeline’, with structured succession planning and mentoring earlier in their careers.

This one is close to my heart and I believe that we need to arm women with better, more strategic career advice from grad level.

• DEI is alive and well. Organisations committed to their DEI policies remain so because they know they make solid business sense. Diversity of thought and experience gives business a competitive edge; it’s good for business.

The idea that diversity and inclusion practices could somehow be derailed was given a solid rebuttal, especially by Stephen Langton and Patrick Delaney. “The practice has gone too far; we are too invested.”

• The external (systemic) barriers to women’s progression (bias, discrimination etc) were described as the ‘conditions’ that operate around us.

I liked this framing. Are you being set up for success in your career? What mentoring, support, opportunity is being made available to you? This is a process that I teach inside my 1:1 coaching program, Roadmap to Senior Leadership.

• Women’s primary internal barrier to progress: doubting their capability to perform at leadership/senior leadership levels and so opting out before applying for opportunities.

I agree with this. Women talk themselves out of opportunities and too often undersell their value and potential value to an organisation. 

• Equity will only be achieved in a professional sense when there is a division of labour at home (sharing of the mental load and domestic duties)

I 100% agree with this. Women can’t expect to take the load at work and at home.

• To accelerate progress requires ACTION… and small steps are a great way to start moving the dial.

What have you learned or enjoyed most at IWD events this year?

Rebecca