The results of the 2011 Gender Diversity on Australian Boards survey, conducted by Women on Boards, revealed over 70 per cent of female directors support setting gender diversity targets at board level, with approximately half in support of legislated quotas. While individual corporate initiatives and guidelines for ASX companies are in place, HC recently reported that gender diversity still gets overlooked due to the time pressures of recruitment.

Maureen Frank, founder and CEO of gender diversity company Emberin, says increasing the proportion of women in leadership makes sound business sense.

“Advancing women in the Australian workforce is not just the right thing to do, in terms of skills shortages, levels of productivity and innovation it’s the smart thing to do,” said Frank.

Frank will present a session on women in leadership at the upcoming HR Summit Brisbane on 5-6 October 2011. Delegates will learn how to improve diversity measures in their workplace and create a more inclusive working environment that facilitates the involvement of women at all levels of management.

The ninth annual HR Summit Brisbane will bring together industry leaders to discuss timely issues at the forefront of people management. HR directors from organisations including Stockland, Fonterra, Perpetual and IBM are among those confirmed to participate. Register today and receive a *$100 RedBalloon voucher. Conditions apply. Visit www.hrsummit.com.au for details and to register.