Telstra ‘Executive Connections’ Series

Thank you David for the very generous introduction and thank you Troy for asking me here today.

Before I begin I want to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, as the traditional owners of the land we are gathering on today.

In preparing for today, I was fortunate to be sent your statement of purpose and values together with your suggested behaviours which bring these values to life.  As with any set of organisational purpose and values it’s not possible to impose them – they must be created through collaboration and demonstrated everyday through the actions of individuals.

But as I sat at home on the weekend reading the first one - “we are here to make a difference to people's lives......We are motivated by the society we are building together” I felt a strong connection to Telstra and the work you are doing - the Australia we are creating together. 

As a mother of a teenage daughter and son, I believe the society we are building together is one where women and girls will have the same opportunities as men and boys, where both men and women can make choices without fear of being stigmatised by stereotypes.  It’s an Australia where men and women share power, where not one woman need enter her own home in fear, where men have the same ability to be engaged in family life as women - where boys and girls believe that anything is possible.

The question I want to explore today then is, what will it take to create this more gender equal world and what can Telstra learn from the experiences of others?

Some of you may have seen Simon Sinek’s talk “how great leaders inspire action”. He looks at why some organisations are able to inspire and others aren’t.  And he starts with the premise that most people, most organisations know WHAT they do, some know HOW they do it (the differentiated value proposition) but very few know WHY they do it. As he says, making a profit for shareholders is not about the why – making a profit is a result.

Asking WHY is about asking - what’s your purpose, what’s your cause, what’s your belief?  Why does your organisation exist, why do you get out of bed in the morning and why should anyone care?  These are the fundamental questions that Telstra has sought to answer through your impressive work on values and beliefs.

And that’s one of the great things about being Australia's Sex Discrimination Commissioner.  I get time to focus on the WHY. 

Being Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner is an enormous privilege but it also brings enormous responsibility.  Whether I am working to support refugee women, defence force personnel, sex workers, men with caring responsibility, women with disability, indigenous people or those in low paid jobs – every day I meet inspiring individuals – individuals committed to using whatever influence they have to create a more equal world. 

As Telstra says – “We will be judged on what we do, not what we say". In my role that is what is so inspiring – understanding what people do, WHY they do it and the impact of seemingly simple and small actions.

So it’s a pleasure to be here today to share some of their stories and my insights into how together we might create this more equal Australia.

What I want to discuss with you is an idea, an idea which encapsulates all that I’ve learnt over the last five years – whether it’s in the area of international development, women’s leadership, domestic violence or indeed the military.

I share my idea in the hope that the stories I’ll tell you today might spark thoughts about how each of you can take this idea back into your own sphere of influence – whether it be here in your team at Telstra, with your peers across companies, your friends or most importantly into your own family.

The idea is simple – but it has huge ramifications.

Equality cannot occur without commitment from men. Some would say that for many years we have recognised this. 
But what has been less well recognised is a deep understanding of what it will take to move men from being interested to taking action.

What I know, what I have learnt is that to deliver equality for women we must focus on men – that to create a more gender equal world we must go beyond women and focus on men.  And that to do this we must engage both the head and heart – we must make the case for change personal. 

The question is how? 

You see, I came into my role firmly believing that it was women working together who would drive change – and all that I had to do was to add my voice and mobilise my networks.

I thought this formula would work for women at decision - making level all across Australia.  You know the figures – as well as I do – change is very slow.  But the raw data does not lie. We still have a long way to go before we can claim to have harnessed the talent, creativity and industry of the majority of our population.  The recent cabinet formation is just one recent reminder. 

By no means is it all bad. There are many, many successful women in leadership already driving change across organisations - influencing policy and programs, setting agendas and signalling possibility to others.  But this only addresses part of the problem.

In most organisations the business case for diversity is well understood intellectually but despite this and despite “program excellence” we continue to see little change in outcomes.

One reason for this is that we haven’t embraced at an emotional level the case for change. By that I mean our gender schema - the deeply held beliefs we have about the role of men and women – about who cares and who works – the thoughts we internalised at a very young age when we first placed our feet on the ground and looked around to understand the place of women and men in the world today – those beliefs clash with the case for change.  This makes it difficult for us to accept a new model – a model where leadership is shared between men and women.

The second reason many initiatives fail is that they focus solely on engaging and changing women — from the way women network to the way women lead. Too many organisations look to women alone to change the organisational practices that maintain the status quo - an approach that fails to recognise the site of most organisational power.   Such power resides with men.

Today i want to talk about engaging men – engaging men in the battle for gender equality.  And when I say battle - that was how the Chief of Army saw it when he delivered his 3 minute address to his troops a couple of months ago now. 

As you know being a values-led organisation requires courage – You need the courage to challenge, to raise difficult issues with integrity.

You need the courage to ask ‘why are we doing it this way, and to challenge the status quo.’  And that is exactly what Lt General David Morrison, the current Chief of Army and one of the most courageous leaders I have ever worked with is doing.

You may have seen his recent speech to his troops but I want to play you a short excerpt to demonstrate what I mean.  It’s now had almost 1.4 mill views – more than Angry Cat and Miss Memphis!!

And just in case you thought courage cannot result in systemic change I was fascinated to read last week that a Magistrate in the Victorian County Court, ordered a defendant soldier before him accused of sexually harassing a female, to leave the courtroom and watch the Chief of Army’s video which had been set up in the room next door and then come back for sentencing.  As I said to David – built in to the criminal justice system as a sentencing aid!!

Shortly after the video was released David called me to say “What’s so interesting?””

Well what’s so interesting is that powerful, decent men hardly ever stand up and speak out about violence against women in such a compelling manner.

Powerful, decent men are vital allies in this struggle. When a career soldier looks down the barrel with a steely eye and takes a stand on behalf of women it gives permission to every man to imitate this behaviour without fear of being derided as a SNAG or a metro-sexual.

When the YouTube video was released, my office became a repository for a lot of David Morrison’s fan mail. Let me read you one of the emails that came our way:

Dear Sir

I feel compelled to write to tell you of possible unintended impacts from your speech last week.

After watching your talk, a senior female in my organisation found the courage to report ongoing predatory sexual harassment that she has been subjected to over … a 2 year period by a very senior executive in our company.  …
I know you have no responsibility to corporate Australia, but your speech was the finest example of leadership we have seen publically in this country for many years.  When you talk about the impact …. the Australian Army has on and to the rest of Australian society, I would like you to know that you personally have had a significant positive impact on our organisation …..- not just the Defence forces.
Thank you Sir. Regards, Clare.

We should never underestimate the impact that older men also have on younger men.  I have heard many stories from men about how their sons were moved by David Morrison’s words …  indeed my own son …

I want in the next short video to show you the impact your own CEO, as one of the male champions of change a group I will talk about shortly, has had on young men and women in this country.

Let me spend a few minutes now talking about 2 strategies I have employed over the last couple of years to take men from interest to action.  One involves the military and one involves the MCCs.

Two years ago now I was appointed to Review the Treatment of Women in the Australian Defence Force – a permanent uniformed force of 60,000 and 40,000 reserves, APS and others.  Together with my team I have now visited over 60 military bases across Australia, including naval, air force and army bases, training colleges and recruit schools.  We have observed exercises and demonstrations including TS 2013. We spent time under water in submarines and above water on warships. We travelled in tanks and armoured vehicles. We have flown in Black Hawk helicopters, tactical transport helicopters, C17s and C130 Hercules.

We visited 6 offshore military bases including forward operating bases beyond the wire in Uruzgan Province in Afghanistan, as well as elsewhere across the Middle East.  We have spoken to over 3000 ADF members, analysed reams of documents from the ADF on policies and practices and conducted surveys through Defence.

When I was first asked whether I would undertake the Review, I reflected on the fact that the ADF was one of, if not the most, reviewed organisation in Australia.

And I was put in my place early on when I was told on the very first day that gender equity was, and I quote, “dog’s balls” or what might be more politely described as “a complete waste of time”!  I was told this not by a senior member of the service, I hasten to add, but by a mid-ranking person, an NCO, who on reflection would no doubt be a strong keeper of the culture and an influential role model for others.  In his view, women had no place in the military.  

So I was not naïve enough to think that the delivery of a comprehensive report would change his view or anyone else’s – no matter how well researched and comprehensive - even when tabled in the Parliament!  I needed to use all the levers of influence I had to create change in a more personal way – to work with those leaders who had integrity, those committed to cultural change. 

As I travelled across Australia and beyond, a great many people told me stories – many stories about how the ADF had served them well.  But others told me deeply distressing stories. Often these stories had never been told before. 

And that is when it occurred to me that, while it was important for me to document these stories – it was even more important that those who had the power to change the system - powerful men - heard first hand these personal narratives - that they would both hear and feel the case for change.

So I flew in women from all across Australia, many with their mothers, so that the Chiefs could hear and feel what extreme exclusion means; to know what it’s like to be on exercise for 2 months when no-one speaks to you; to feel what it is like to be sexually assaulted by your instructor, the very person you go to for advice; to understand what it’s like to face your perpetrator every day at work even though you reported his assault to your superiors; to learn what it means to have your career ruined and your peers ostracise you because you had the courage to make a complaint. 

I vividly remember the very first session – the Service Chief sitting uncomfortably in his chair – the mother nervously escorting her daughter to the chair beside, a box of tissues in the middle.  Where to begin? And then that courageous young woman saying “Sir, I’m so nervous” and the Chief replying, “Believe me, I’m scared too.” 

In that moment I knew we had a chance at change.  It takes an authentic and compassionate military leader to admit that he fears what he’s about to be told. 

The Chiefs heard the pain of mothers – mothers who had encouraged their daughters into the Service – mothers who had believed fervently that the enemy lay outside the military not within.  As one mother said “I gave you the person I love most in the world and this is how you’ve treated her?”

And at the end to hear the Chief say “If I could stand in your shoes and take away your pain every day, I would choose to do that.  What happened to you should never have happened.  I am so deeply sorry.  I will do everything I can to make sure this never happens again.”

As David Morrison the Chief of Army said in his speech to the United Nations in NY when we travelled together to deliver the International Women’s Day address to the UN earlier this year. 

“Sadly, it [has] become clear in recent years that the tribal culture, through which we sought to build small teams capable of enduring combat, [has] become distorted, misinterpreted and abused. And the evidence of [this] was brought home to me in a very personal, poignant and confronting way by Elizabeth Broderick.

One day early last year she called me and suggested that I needed to hear from some of the women whose experiences she had been collating. I agreed, not reluctantly but certainly with some trepidation. Not long after I was sitting very uncomfortably, and with mounting disbelief, through lengthy face-to-face meetings with three women who had endured appalling physical and emotional abuse at the hands of their fellow soldiers; so much for our pride in looking after our mates. These women had been let down by their leaders and their comrades. They had been robbed of that irreplaceable component of their individual human personal identity – their dignity and self respect. This was not the Army that I had loved and thought I knew.

My disbelief gave way, in turn, to shame that this had occurred in the institution to which I had devoted my entire life and of which I had been fiercely proud since I was young boy. That was my conversion experience and it had all the qualities of the road to Damascus apart from the fall from the horse.

I hasten to add that I had already concluded that the ‘bad apple’ theory was a comforting self-delusion. …Cultural problems are just that; they are systemic and ingrained, not the work of a few rogues.”

When I look back – this is some of the work I am most proud of; the work that reinforced for me that when you work with men to engage both their head and heart even in the most traditional and conservative organisations, transformational change happens. 

But the same idea - to deliver equality for women we must focus on men - can have widespread ramifications in a very different environment – namely the corporate world – the world you inhabit.

Let me explain.

Two years ago, we embarked on what was at the time quite a controversial strategy - known as the Male Champions of Change strategy – a strategy that once again focuses on men.  I was proud to have David as one of the founding members, and one whose passion for making a difference comes through clearly.  

Perhaps unsurprisingly the establishment of the MCCs was met with a degree of scepticism - some were concerned that it might be construed as corporate knights in shining armour, galloping paternalistically into territory that women have occupied for years.

I have no idea, of course, how the MCCs view themselves. Maybe David will enlighten us later. 

Perhaps some do have a penchant for bravado in their spare time. But as their convenor, I’m interested in results. I see this group as just one of many strings to our collective bow - a recognition that, one CEO explained, ‘[t]he rules of work have been invented by men for men’. 

This is why I believe that men – particularly those most influential in their respective industries - must be part of the endeavour to reshape those rules.

How did this begin? 

I picked up the phone and rang a dozen of Australia’s most powerful and influential men – men, like David, who lead Australia’s iconic companies like Telstra.  Qantas, Commonwealth Bank and Woolworths – men who lead local arms of global organisations like Deloitte, Citibank and IBM. Would these men use their power and influence, their collective voice and wisdom to create change for women? 

I remember the first conversation I had.  This particular CEO had twins – a boy and a girl.  I remember his deep concern that his daughter might not have the same opportunities as his son – all because she was a girl. 

I remember our first meeting – David, will as well.   A dozen ‘A’ type personalities and me – these men having cleared their diaries, some having travelled thousands of miles to attend.  I saw then and heard in the words they spoke that there was a deep commitment to take action.  As one man said “This issue is not beyond our intellectual capacity to solve. Excuses are just that!”

While rhetoric is important it is action that creates change.

That is why this year, a year later, we agreed to expand the group to include Heads of Departments – Dr. Ian Watt and Dr. Martin Parkinson, the Chief of Army – David Morrison, and a few others. 

The group meets a minimum of 4 times a year – no delegates accepted.  The MCCs also understand that without the expertise of senior diversity and HR specialists their discussions will be limited and not well informed.  For this reason they have created a corresponding Implementation Leader group (diversity and HR specialists) to support the activities of the MCCs.  Troy Roderick represents Telstra on this group, and does a terrific job.

Let me give you a sense of the issues the MCCs are pursuing.

The Role of the Leader – explores models of inclusive leadership that promote diversity and gender equality.  The very recent launch of the new Telstra Purpose and Values provides an excellent opportunity for all of you to link inclusive leadership with broader cultural change in your organisation.

Building flexibility into the DNA of organisations.  David and Ian Narev (from CBA) have worked with other Male Champions to build a deeper understanding of flexibility.  This is of course about cultural change, and person by person mindset and behaviour shifts.  But you know that here at Telstra, because you have been working on this for a long time. 

In the August meeting, David and Ian challenged the group to look beyond HR-led programs, inviting the MCCs to make it more personal, and to do more to challenge the ideal worker mindsets where they exist in their organisations.  I am impressed by the work that Telstra has done to build flexibility into every day work, and into the very fabric of your values.  What excites me most is your bold “All Roles Flexible” initiative – again, linked in with your Purpose & Values – that creates a new aspiration around mainstreaming flexibility. This is the winning strategy and will deliver on the productivity and inclusion promise the Flexibility holds.  And Telstra sharing your ideas and approaches so publicly means that others will adopt them. 

I think flexibility is the single biggest way to unlock the talent of all people, and particularly women. 

What else are the MCCs working on:

Lead on gender reporting – what gets measured and reported publicly matters.

Parental leave a career accelerant rather than a career killer – imagine that?

Supplier multiplier – harnessing the purchasing power of MCC organisations to grow women-owned businesses and drive a focus on gender equality among MCCs’ key suppliers.   We are talking about more than 50,000 suppliers here - $80 billion, with whom they would like to create a “Multiplier” effect on gender equality.

Part of the Supplier Multiplier was the very simple action that the MCCs have taken to increase the profile of women at conferences.  Think back to the last few conferences you have been to?  What was the gender balance like on panels and in the keynotes?  What the data tells us is that women are under-represented in all these opportunities.  These are important sources of profile building and development.

The MCC have agreed to ask a simple question around gender balance when they consider speaking engagements, which are often at the very same conferences that I am referring to.  I particularly like the way that David has implemented this, right on the speaker request landing page on the Telstra website.

I hope you will think about this the next time you are at a conference or sit on a panel. 

Make the plus one pledge – ANZ – more than 1,100 sign-ups and growing – more importantly is continuing the conversation in the bank about gender balance.  It’s great to hear that Telstra is inviting its people leaders to also take this pledge inside your organisation.
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Aside from driving change in their own organisations the MCCs have been strong advocates. To date they have spoken at more than 100 events – travelling around Australia, to New York, New Zealand, Washington and Brazil.  Government MCCs pulled together all the senior public servants …. Just yesterday Stephen Fitzgerald represented the group in Washington and Elmer Funke Kupper dialled in as his assistant at 4am Sydney time. 

There are now related groups established in Western Australian, Southern Australia, Queensland, New Zealand and sector based groups such as one focused on companies involved in infrastructure, engineering and the Built Environment.  And the model is being adopted in a number of emerging economies across the world.

There is a realisation amongst the MCCs that they have levers of power and influence that only they can use.  There is also a realisation that when men step up and take part ownership of the women’s leadership agenda they give it legitimacy and they make it safe for women to engage.  These men recognise that many women fear that associating too closely in a work sense with this agenda can be career suicide. 

And in early November the MCCs will launch the results of their work over the last year.  The power of their last report was the unique CEO perspective. They will recreate this unique 'CEO voice' in this year's report, by focusing on the role each of them has played as a leader to develop and champion bold ideas.

As I was contemplating how I might finish today, I reflected on how I had changed over the last five years. 

Like all leaders at times I have self-doubt and for me that is exacerbated when I don’t know the rules of the game – when I have little familiarity with the environments I am entering. 

You see, 5 years ago I’d never been beyond the wire in a war zone in combat armour, I’d never run a focus group while perched on a missile 200 metres under the ocean trying to stave off sea sickness, I’d never chaired a meeting of 20 triple A type personalities - many of whom were competitors, I’d never sat behind the sign that said Australia and addressed the United Nations. 

What I have learnt over the last 5 years, what I now believe is that whether I’m crawling out of a hutchie covered in camouflage gear in the middle of central Australia or sitting in my best suit in front of Senate Estimates in Canberra – I’ll be okay – and most importantly, I will be a strong agent of change.  I believe now, rightly or wrongly that through understanding WHY you do something, through commitment and perseverance, through compassion - the engagement of head and heart - and through hard work - almost anything in life can be accomplished and almost any challenge overcome. 

As the young people on the video I played earlier said: “This is our world, not just a males world or a females world.”  It will take all of us working together to turn things around!

As a member of Telstra’s executive group you have much to be proud of. From where I sit, its organisations like yours – those who have made the connection between the WHY (your purpose) and the HOW (your strategy), who will create a brilliant connected future.

Thank you