Glass Ceiling v Sticky Floor
There is much debate in the media backing up the infamous glass ceiling as being the primary barrier to women’s advancement in the corporate world. That invisible yet ever present checkpoint which, statistically, is definitely present; but of course, as we all know, glass is made to be broken – or more satisfyingly, shattered.
But what about the sticky floor?
Is there something to be said in the statement that women do in fact hold themselves – or ourselves – back? For women in leadership roles in Australia the constant battle to unglue our feet from that sticky floor of workplace inequality can get incredibly tiring – we hold commissions, think tanks, inquiries and productivity studies – we talk a lot, we argue bitterly and yet that ceiling is still firmly in place.
There continues to be a disconnect between what leaders are saying and the reality of corporate life and culture; the unconscious bias continues to exist creating ongoing challenges to diversity and of course the cultural conundrums of the pay gap, child care opportunities and flexible working conditions don’t help to solve the problem.
In this thought provoking and, at times, hard hitting keynote Janine uses personal story, case studies and references as she shares:
- her thoughts around why we, as women, are sabotaging change
- why we can’t let the influence – and the incredible intelligence and skills that women bring to the workplace – go down that talent drain and be wasted
- how change is possible, ownership is key and why the foundation stone of the future is what we all individually do now.