Latest happenings

Lauren, in her skilful and engaging analysis of three of Australia’s leading media women, examines the way that their careers were constructed (in the media, by themselves and others) to reinforce gendered assumptions regarding women’s leadership capabilities. These constructions evidence a nascent postfeminist conception of women in power in Australia from the 1970s through to the 1990s. The article suggests that the ability (or not) of Buttrose, Boling, and King to conform to idealised ‘feminine’ leadership ideals reinforced (rather than challenged) the highly gendered nature of Australian corporate media leadership and governance.

We integrate the analysis of social diversity (structural connections) and demographic diversity amongst ASX50 boards in 2019 and 2023. Social network analysis (SNA) reveals a closely connected corporate community, with prosopography data identifying a narrow range of ‘acceptable’ demographic characteristics. We extend institutional theory by examining the role of global social movements (GSMs) for the destructuration of board appointment practices, and the resulting uneven progress on equality. We argue that activism from the global feminist movement has applied multi-dimensional coercive and normative pressures to develop a ‘pipeline’ and ‘catalyst’ for women’s board appointments. Absence of targeted action on other diversities, and the intensification of directors’ professional requirements, has institutionalised the group’s social and demographic profile. 

Is there a disconnect between companies saying they support diversity, and their actual practice of appointing diverse leaders? We explore the extent and change over time of both gender and ethnic diversity in leadership and disclosure for Australia’s largest firms from 2005 to 2021. Using institutional theory, we compare the isomorphisms driving change, and examine the extent to which there is rhetorical decoupling between diversity disclosure and practice. We find that there has been close alignment between diversity reporting and women in leadership, but a stark disconnect between general public commitment to diversity, and the practice of appointing non-white corporate leaders.

Panel event with Anne Summers (AO), Verity Firth (AM), Anna Bedford, and Tarunna Sebastian (chaired by Bronwen Dalton). We discussed the exceptional leadership contributions women are making in various fields, and the strategies to support gender equality. 

Blog for Emerald Publishing based on a recent working paper. The paper explores rhetorical decoupling (difference between disclosure and action) between ethnic and gender diversity disclosure and the leadership appointment practices of large Australian companies.

Nominated for best paper at the 2022 Academy of Management Annual Meeting.  We explore the extent and change over time of both gender and ethnic diversity in leadership, and diversity disclosure in company annual reports. We interpret our findings with institutional theory, comparing the institutional ismorphisms driving change in each organisational form, and examining the extent to which there is rhetorical decoupling between them. 

Examines Australian women in corporate leadership since 1910, revealing the role of networks and personal characteristics for access to positions of corporate influence. From 1910 to 1964, corporate women were cast as the ‘good wife’, with marriage and kinship affording some the ability to influence the networks of corporate men, and the fortunes of the companies they controlled. Since the 1980s, the number of women directors has grown substantially, and women have come to occupy central positions in director network. Efforts by government, regulators and professional associations have improved the number of women in leadership, their importance in the community, and their ability to integrate with core male board members.