1. Talent Insights
Gender Diversity in Leadership roles
in Australia 2013 Snapshot
Women in Leadership
The highest level of female leaders, proportionately speaking, are in the health and pharmaceuticals industry with 39%
female leaders. But, the majority of leadership roles across industries are heavily male-dominated. Men hold more than
80% of the leadership roles in some of the country’s largest industries - finance, software technology and engineering/
architecture, with the finance industry having 18% female leaders. Overall there is a significant imbalance in leadership
roles in Australian industries, with only 28% of leadership roles being held by women.
Female LinkedIn members in Australia with 5-15 years of experience hold 30% of leadership positions, but the proportion
of women in leadership gradually erodes over time. Women with 15-20 years of experience hold 25% of leadership roles
and less than 20% of these roles are held by women with over 20 years of experience.
*Graph shows percentage of female leaders and the number of members in experienced (10 years + post education) senior leadership roles (director and above)
Female penetration in experienced leadership roles by industry
Overview
Currently in Australia there
is a significant lack of female
corporate leaders, with three
times more men in leadership
roles. Across all industries,
progressive organisations are
introducing diversity programs
aimed at improving this
imbalance. Companies benefit
from having strong female
leadership and LinkedIn is at the
forefront of thinking on Talent
and measuring Talent. With rich
data on our 200 million members,
we can help companies evaluate
the effectiveness of these
diversity programs.
Percentage of Female leaders by years of experience
May 2013
Aero & Auto
Architect & Eng.
Finance & Ins.
Prof Services
Media & Ent.
Retail/Consumer
Gov/Edu/Non-P
Health & Pharm.
LOW PENETRATIONMALE DOMINATED
% of Female Leaders
MembersinLeadership
0% 5% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
2,000
1,000
5,000
10,000
20,000
50,000 MODERATE PENETRATION
Tech - Software
Manufacturing
Tech - Hardware
Telecom
Oil & Energy
10%
Years of experience
36.0%
32.7%
29.1%
25.4%
21.2%
18.6%
16.4%
13.3%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

2. What are women looking for in the workplace?
The aspects of a role which are most important to a person at work is influenced by their gender. Australian women are
24% more likely than men to value culture fit, 19% more likely to say a good relationship with colleagues is important
and 17% more likely to value flexible work arrangements. Australian women are also 12% more likely to say that it is
important for a company to value employee contributions.
Men place a higher importance on the individual aspects of a role. Australian men are 29% more likely than women to
say a company’s long-term strategic vision is important, 18% more likely to value compensation and benefits and 12%
more likely to say a strong career path is important. Men are also 13% more likely to say it is important to feel proud of
their company.
Want to learn more about how your company is already connected to this talent pool and how you can best leverage
these assets to reach this important talent pool for job opportunities? talent.linkedin.com
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Opportunities to increase leadership diversity
Companies looking to increase the number of women in leadership positions should tailor their Employment Brand and
value proposition messages more towards the company culture in order to attract women.
To access the largest pool of Talent when looking for a leader, companies should include candidates with under 20 years
of experience. Given the proportionate lack of female leaders in Australia with over 20 years of experience, companies
should be looking to the next generation of leaders to increase the gender diversity amongst their leaders.
Most male dominated industries
INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION
MECHANICAL OR INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
MARITIME
VENTURE CAPITAL AND PRIVATE EQUITY
ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC MANUFACTURING
% Female Senior Leaders
6%
9%
9%
9%
10%
COMPANY VALUES EMPLOYEES CONTRIBUTION
FLEXIBLE WORK ARRANGEMENTS
RELATIONSHIPS WITH COLLEAGUES
CULTURAL FIT
Women Men
34%
38%
41%
33%
37%
29%
32%
33%