Scrolling through Diane Smith-Gander’s personal Twitter account, one is offered a glimpse into what one of the world’s most powerful business woman thinks – women are smashing goals across all industries today – but in conversation, Gander openly reflects on the career obstacles she had to overcome.
“There have been times when I felt the hurdles and challenges were gender based and unfair,” the non-executive director of AGL Energy and Wesfarmers Limited shares, when looking back on a commendably long and fruitful career.
“On a few memorable occasions I decided the effort required to break through those obstacles was greater than the return I was going to get, so I took a path of lesser resistance,” Gander says. “And I don’t regret those decisions at all. I think it’s just rational and sensible to make decisions like this.”
The former president of Chief Executive Women urges women to “do their homework” rather than impulsively tend to that back of the throat burn. “I understand the double bind and know that a strident “it’s not fair” won’t get the response I’m seeking,” Gander says. “I’ve thought out a reasoned argument and asked for some transparency of the thought process behind, say, my smaller bonus, or not being considered for a role I thought I was qualified for.”
After wrapping up over ten years at Westpac as general manager, then group executive, and having set up her own advisory company DSG Advisory, Gander takes a moment to hone in on the gender divide: “Men and women haven’t had equal opportunities in business, so they have had different workforce experiences.” In remedying the institutionalised gap, she calls upon women to be more confident and articulate in discussing their strengths.
“You know yourself better than anyone else, so you are by far the best person to explain what you can do,” she advises. “Synthesise those experiences, your skills and attitudes to explain your real value to the business.”
Throughout her career Gander has mastered the art of nurturing a number of leadership roles at once, a skill she attributes to a focus that comes from “strong stores of resilience". “If you’re an introvert like me, it’s having enough quite time,” she recommends.
A final piece of advice, out of the office: “You also need to be quite careful in your choice of partner,” Gander says. “Someone at home who doesn’t lean in, and expects their partner to do all the unpaid work isn’t much help in promoting their partner’s career – man or woman.”
