Gender-balanced work gives good benefits: Leaders

A GENDER-balanced workforce with women in senior leadership roles delivers positive and measurable benefits not only for the organisation, but for societies and the nation’s economies as well, business leaders say.
According to the business coalition for women (BCFW), the outcome ranges from improved business performance to increased income in Papua New Guinea.
BCFW executive director Evonne Kennedy said despite these benefits, levels of women’s representation in the Asia-Pacific still fall below the global average.
“While the region has seen an increase in the representation of women in National Parliament, women in PNG are still under represented at the national and decision-making levels,” she said.
Responding to questions from The National on the 14th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women last week, Kennedy said women’s empowerment was necessary to building the economy of PNG.
“We need as many of our men and women as possible to be productive, entrepreneurial and innovative in order to rebuild our nation’s economy, drive our development, and thus, help us all live in a better PNG,” she said.
“This conference is significant to the work on gender equality in PNG and the Pacific.”
Speaking at the conference this week, Australia’s minister for foreign affairs senator Marise Payne echoed Kennedy’s views, saying gender equality would support the region’s Covid-19 recovery.
She said Australia was working closely with Pacific partners, including core regional organisations, the Pacific Islands Forum and Secretariat of Pacific Community, to ensure that women and girls across the Pacific were safe and had the right to participate in social and economic opportunities.
“When women and girls participate in problem solving and decision making, it benefits everyone.”