Gender equalityTwo different programs have been promoted this month to deliver a better balance of women in Tasmanian leadership positions.

The Government has a target of achieving 50 per cent representation of women across Tasmanian Government boards and committees by July 2020.

It has partnered with the Australian Institute of Company Directors to offer corporate governance education scholarships, to help more Tasmanian women learn the skills they will need to serve as company directors, including potentially on government boards and committees.

Scholarships are being offered for the Company Director Course (CDC) and the Foundations of Directorship.

Applications are now open and close Friday, September 16 – via http://aicd.companydirectors.com.au/contact/tasmania

Meanwhile, Tasmania’s head of the State Service, Greg Johannes, announced a commitment that at least 40 per cent of Senior Executives will be women by 2020.

This is the first time that the State Service’s most senior leaders have signed such a commitment to ensure an inclusive Tasmanian State Service where women and men are valued, respected, and treated equally and fairly.

The current statistics show that while over 70 per cent of the State Service workforce are women, only 35 per cent of the Senior Executives are women.

The key actions that will be undertaken across the State Service are:

· Identifying the barriers to women working in senior levels in the Tasmanian State Service;
· training and other steps to help overcome unconscious bias; and
· support for flexible work arrangements.

“We need to identify and remove the actual and potential barriers, including the cultures and policies that are holding back gender equality in our workplace,” Mr Johannes said.

“Naming up and addressing issues like unconscious bias is critical to the diversity and success of our workforce, to making us a workplace of choice in the eyes of the community, and to leading by example on gender equality in Tasmania.”