By Kelley Reynard.

When Julia Gillard was elected as Australia’s first female Prime Minister in 2010, women across the country rejoiced. It was a rare occasion, and many wondered if this was the start of a politics revolution. Women holding leadership positions is a prominent topic of discussion throughout organisations today; and although the number of women represented in the workforce has increased from around 30 percent to 47 percent in the United States, men are still much more likely to hold senior positions in large organisations across the globe. This is an issue Richard Branson highlights as important to recognise.

When it comes to women represented on Boards, Branson articulates that less than 14 percent of these positions at the largest companies are filled by women. Across Europe, the representation of women on boards in large organisations is poor. Only 6 percent of board members are women in Italy, 11 percent in Spain and Belgium, 16 percent in Germany, and 22 percent in France. These low numbers led the European Country, Norway, to impose legislative law on large companies requiring that at least 40 percent of board members need to be women. Since these sanctions, the number of women in Norway who reside on boards has risen to 44 percent; a number Branson attributes should be mechanically occurring without the need for Government involvement.

Branson draws attention to the fact that women are the primary decision makers in a household. They decide on the grocery list, dinner, food for the kids’ lunchboxes; to deciding upon where to head on holiday and the type of family car to buy. Sound familiar? Most household and beauty products are marketed to women for the majority of their sales are driven by the consumer female voice. Thus, if these important decisions are being driven by women around the world, Branson asks what possible rationale does Senior Management have for leaving women out of the boardroom?

Although a number of women have held senior positions at Virgin over the years, Branson says they still have a long way to go as an organisation to ensure these numbers continue to rise. He believes many organisations need to take the stance to see more women holding senior leadership positions and making the key decisions for the company. He makes the point that gender equity is not only good for the team: it’s good for business.

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