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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
Discover how to boost your earnings so you can close the million-dollar pay gap
Did you know that over a lifetime, the gender pay gap can cost women over one million dollars? In Earning Power, you'll find the knowledge, strategies and confidence you need to make work and life decisions that maximise your personal earning potential. Most of us assume the pay gap is not an issue in our industry or workplace—or we think it only matters when it comes to negotiating salary. But from your super contributions to maternity leave, what you do with your pay can have a compounding and lifelong effect on your finances. Everyday workplace decisions like simply putting up your hand in a meeting can have a crucial impact on your long-term financial goals.
Earning Power reveals the mindset and the tools that will help you bridge the gap and take control of your financial future. It features interviews with real women on the career challenges and choices they've faced, with stories and advice from Nagi Maehashi of RecipeTin Eats, kikki.K founder Kristina Karlsson, journalist and presenter Leila McKinnon, pioneering burns surgeon Professor Fiona Woods, and more.
Uncover the data and insights that show where and how women fall behind in their earnings—and learn to identify opportunities for boosting your worth.
- Discover the million-dollar formula that will guide your decision-making.
- Read powerful, inspirational stories from women who have struggled with stereotypes, bias, setbacks, anxiety and imposter syndrome.
- Get crucial tips and immediate, actionable advice for the critical crossroads in your career.
- Foster your growth and purpose—and cultivate the confidence and resilience you need for success.
- Align your earnings goals with life's milestones and its curveballs.
It's time to find financial equity and close the gap. With Earning Power, you'll discover the simple, small steps and key decisions that can make a million dollars' worth of difference.
"Roxanne is a true leader in helping women be the very best they can be. This is an essential guide to the everyday actions critical for boosting your worth professionally and financially."
—Helen McCabe, Founder, Future Women
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Seitenzahl: 306
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025
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Table of Contents
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
WHO WEARS THE PANTS?
CONTRIBUTORS
Chapter 1:
GENDER BIAS IN DAYS GONE BY
The power of ‘I can’
Bias and discrimination
Honey, there's no milk in the fridge
So what's changed?
‘I'm a fraud’
‘You've got balls’
Chapter 2:
GENDER BIAS TODAY: STILL ALIVE AND WELL
How far have we really come?
So what's the verdict?
Notes
Chapter 3:
FEMALE WORTH: THE REALITY OF THE GENDER PAY GAP
Surely women in leadership roles are immune?
The omnipresent gender pay gap
Social ramifications
Notes
Chapter 4:
WHAT COULD YOU DO WITH $1 MILLION?
Other profound benefits with generational impact
So why aren't we more actively pursuing the million dollars?
I tested it! The million dollars is legitimate
Discrimination: doubling down — that's what affects your earnings!
Subtle judgements and their effects
Internal forces and decisions we make
Carrying the burden of bias to the workforce
Hard work and resilience
What is resilience, really?
Making small, incremental, yet brave and meaningful decisions to close the pay gap
The inconvenience of having to work
When we put more thought into ‘what’s for lunch’ than workplace decisions
Paying off the mortgage
Notes
Chapter 5:
THE MILLION‐DOLLAR FORMULA
How to earn or lose your million dollars
Silvia's story: what would you do?
Lifetime earnings: don't miss out on $1 million
Financial security in retirement
The naysayers
Take charge of your million‐dollar future
Notes
Chapter 6:
FALSE BELIEFS AND TRAPS
‘All Aussies have blue eyes’
What's wrong with false beliefs?
Avoiding the traps
Self‐doubt
What happens when it all gets too much?
Notes
Chapter 7:
WHAT HE SAID: INSIGHTS AND ADVICE FOR MEN
Men, you own the joint
Fathers: raising confident daughters and empathic sons
Challenge all stereotypes: men supporting men
Be a man about it
Parental leave for fathers
Be our ally … and more
Men as culture shapers
Sexual harassment: it's still happening
Mentoring … and then there is sponsoring
Walk with us
Notes
Chapter 8:
HARNESSING YOUR SUPPORT NETWORK
Who cheers for you?
Ongoing support
Are you supporting or sabotaging yourself?
The non‐supporters
Partner support
Self‐love: you support you
External support: networking and mentoring
Notes
Chapter 9:
TOOLS AND TIPS FROM DREAM ACHIEVERS
Follow your dreams
SWOT analysis: making your dream a reality
You need passion
Continuous learning
Notes
Conclusion
I FOUGHT A BOY AND WON
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 5
Table 5.1: no salary increase for 10 years
Table 5.2: salary increases of 5 per cent every 3 years and 2.4 per cent in...
Table 5.3: accepting a 2.5 per cent salary increase when expecting it to be...
Table 5.4: being brave — asking for a 7 per cent salary increase
Table 5.5: saying no to a $10 000 salary increase
List of Illustrations
Chapter 5
Figure 5.1: accumulated earnings by year up to age 65
Figure 5.2: total accumulated salary earnings from 38 years to age 65
Figure 5.3: total accumulated superannuation from 38 years to age 65
Chapter 6
Figure 6.1: life's boundless opportunities
Chapter 8
Figure 8.1: Silvia's lifetime salary earnings projection based on the three ...
Figures 8.2: Silvia's accumulated superannuation earnings projection based o...
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction WHO WEARS THE PANTS?
CONTRIBUTORS
Begin Reading
Conclusion I FOUGHT A BOY AND WON
End User License Agreement
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Every day, the news highlights challenges in workplace culture and gender pay gaps. Roxanne's book confronts these issues with courage and clarity. Drawing from her own experiences and those of other experts, Roxanne offers invaluable insights and practical tips through powerful storytelling. This compelling book reminds readers that they are not alone on their journey. It provides a toolkit for building resilience, reassuring us that we can achieve success without changing who we are.
—Dr Sue Slowikowski, Charles Sturt University
You’re holding in your hand a promise. A promise of inspiration and insight, and Roxanne Calder keeps her promises. She is passionate about furthering women’s careers, a gifted recruiter and a dedicated professional who looks past the CV to the person and their dreams.
—Heather Swan, World Record Holding Wingsuit Pilot
Roxanne doesn’t just have her finger on the pulse of Aussie workplaces! She knows what’s actually happening in them and how work is changing. Her insights are razor sharp, informative and important.
—Mary Madigan, writer and journalist
I have worked with Roxanne Calder for over a decade and it has always been a pleasure. She is across both the big picture and the little details that make a difference and her advice is always insightful. Rox’s books are a testament to her knowledge and her generosity, designed to enrich opportunities for others. I always come away from our meetings refreshed and feeling inspired.
—Dijanna Mulhearn, author, presenter and doctoral researcher
First published 2025 by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd
© John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 2025
All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial intelligence technologies or similar technologies. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review) no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise. Advice on how to obtain permission to reuse material from this title is available at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
The right of Roxanne Calder to be identified as the author of Earning Power has been asserted in accordance with law.
ISBN: 978‐1‐394‐31343‐3
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Cover design by Wiley
Photo of Nagi Maehashi (p.xvii): Rob Palmer
Photo of Professor Fiona Wood AO (p.xviii): Marnie Richardson Photography
Figure 6.1 (tree): © great_kit / Adobe Stock; © mithun1990 / Adobe Stock
I dedicate this book to my family, my patient and caring partner, Richard, my dad, mum, sister and brother, BFF Daisy and beautiful Lily.
IntroductionWHO WEARS THE PANTS?
In 1995, gender equality was a distant dream. For starters, where I worked, the company policy for women was ‘skirts only’. Matching suit jackets were, of course, also the norm. Trousers were not allowed, and stockings or pantyhose were a must. No bare legs, no open‐toed or flat shoes and categorically no trainers. The word used in the policy manual was ‘polished’. As for ‘casual Fridays’, we didn't have them. There was no negotiation, compromise or pandering. If you didn't like it, you didn't join the company
The economic conditions were also vastly different. When I entered the workforce — with youth unemployment at 28.1 per cent and the overall unemployment rate at 10 per cent — I was grateful to have any job. With the surplus of job seekers, there was always someone ready and available to take your position. Being so easily replaceable was part of the psychological carry‐all you took with you to work.
Just before starting my new job, I was to learn the gravity of the ‘no pants’ policy. I nervously but oh so carefully selected an outfit to wear when returning my signed contract. It was a cool August day and I remember wearing navy woollen tailored Country Road pants, a fitted, grey, long‐sleeved cotton top, also from Country Road, and brown Timberland loafers. It was the quintessential 1990s preppy look and I had it down pat!
My boss, however, was not impressed. She took my contract, shook my hand and with an assertive, throaty laugh, said, ‘You won't be wearing that outfit on Monday.’ It was the pants. I'm tough‐skinned, but I was taken aback. I had always been, and remain, a tiny bit rebellious — not to mention an enormous and sometimes annoying supporter of female ‘anything’. I loved being a ‘girl’ but pushed the boundaries on how that was defined, especially when it came to competing with males.
As a child, I was described as ‘complex’, and I'm certain my parents were frequently confounded. I was the tomboy building rafts, but I had a Barbie, a doll's house and every other doll imaginable. I wore surfer‐style boys' board shorts but, at the same time, insisted on the fashionable 1970s maxi dresses, long boots and Farrah Fawcett (Charlie's Angels) hairstyle. I challenged the boys at school, never tolerated their nonsense and aspired to have a ‘man's job’ when I grew up. I wanted to be an engineer, like my dad — that is, until I realised it involved physics.
So, the ‘no pants’ policy was confronting and a tough pill to swallow. But I am a huge pragmatist and a bit vain. Frankly, I don't look great in trousers. My legs aren't long enough to carry the look. The Country Road ones were pretty much my limit and only on ‘skinny days’. I tackled the dilemma in the practical way I usually do: I preferred skirts anyway, so I got on with it.
I should mention I was also conditioned. In a world where conformity often disguised itself as tradition, I was conditioned to accept a ‘no trouser policy’ as perfectly acceptable. I mean, my own school, which I had left not that long before, had a skirts‐only rule. I was also conditioned to accept and not question authority (another sign of the times). Despite my innate rebellious disposition, I accept authority when I respect it, and I respected and trusted my new bosses. I was hungry to embark on my career and to learn all I could.
It might seem disappointing to contemporary readers that my boss — being a woman — enforced a ‘skirts only’ policy. Don't be too quick to judge though. It was a necessary and clever approach to navigating the bias and discrimination of the 1990s, which was rife. The aim of the policy was for women to ‘fit in’. My boss was a feminist, and her goal was to empower other women. She also innately and intuitively understood that women needed to fit in by stealth back then.
By ‘fitting in’ when we went to a meeting — which was typically run by a male 20 years older than us — we lessoned the likelihood of judgement and rejection. I assure you, if I went to a meeting back then in jeans or looking remotely masculine in trousers — or didn't wear a jacket or heels, for that matter — it is safe to say the client would have chosen another consultant to work with. Someone ‘more professional’.
I am grateful to have worked in such a culture in my formative years. Being a pragmatist, the emphasis on presentation and business polish at that age helped me to overcome feelings of self doubt and instead instilled in me confidence and pride. I felt empowered despite, or maybe because of, the mandated skirt culture. My strong value set and ardent belief in supporting all things female remain, and have developed into a job with purpose in a profession I love.
I have the fondest memories of my first ‘proper’ job due to the amazing and powerful women I worked with. They were innovative, entrepreneurial and pushed all boundaries. I was given every opportunity to shine and advance, and I took it. When I interview women today, they often tell me they don't want to work for a female boss or in a predominantly female environment. I am perplexed and saddened when I hear this and think, ‘Oh, shame, you don't know what you are missing out on!’
Today I run my own recruitment business, EST10. I have managed corporate recruitment firms throughout Australia, the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong. I have completed my MBA, and Earning Power is my second book. I know the workplace back to front: I have placed thousands of women in jobs and assisted thousands more with career advice.
The attitudes of 1995 are thankfully in the past. The ‘skirts only’ policies are long gone. But don't be fooled: the sayonara is superficial. I consider it a token gesture by society and corporations. I am sure it's only intended to keep us quiet for a bit. A stall tactic even. But not if, like me, you stand up for those who can't, and choke loudly on injustice.
So what is the real litmus test for gender equality? The ultimate truth serum? It's pay equity. Progress in this area is practically prehistoric. In March 2023, the Australian federal parliament passed the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Bill 2023.
Ahem … that's nearly 30 years after our ‘skirts only’ era, and the only way to achieve pay equity is by enshrining it in law. A stark reality, difficult to comprehend and even harder to accept in our supposedly enlightened times.
As a recruitment expert who has worked with countless women over the years, I can attest to the harsh reality of the earnings discrepancies. The inequities are bold, in your face and, sadly, entrenched — and the facts back this up.
$1 million and counting …
Data and statistics show women to be consistently financially worse off than men. The average gender‐based pay discrepancy over a lifetime is $1 million … and counting. Along comes retirement, and it's too late.
I've long known about the million‐dollar disparity in earnings. I formulated my own calculations and estimates long ago, and I am not sure whether to be deeply concerned or somewhat proud that my findings are eerily similar to those of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA).
Financial independence empowers and liberates. Financial resources grant us the freedom to choose our own paths in life, fostering responsibility, innovation and creativity. What I cherish most about economic independence is the ability to help others. So yes, while women benefit from financial independence, so does society.
The workplace gender law underscores the harsh reality of wage inequality. It rightfully points the finger at companies, executives and society. The WGEA, and others, attribute the gap in earnings to social, economic and structural factors. They are accurate in their assessments and the external pressure is necessary and justified.
Still, it's not enough. Waiting for these structural changes to ‘make things better’, fair and equitable is simply too long. At this pace, even our grandchildren will be too old to benefit from the reforms.
When it comes to my future, I have a problem attributing accountability and responsibility solely to external forces. And it's not a debate on whether what they are saying is right or wrong. It's more about it being out of my control and in the hands of others.
I've never been good at handing over control, especially when it has to do with my earnings, finances, dreams and future. This might be why I am often considered pushy, ballsy or bossy. This also might be why this rebellious ‘pro‐female anything’ advocate has written this book.
The premise of Earning Power is self‐efficacy: to help women be in control of their financial future, to earn more and work towards closing the gender pay gap for themselves. It looks at the gender pay gap from a different angle — an employment and personal agency lens — and distils my experience and knowledge to help women to be a million dollars ahead in life.
My expertise is recruitment, career advice and the employment arena. It has been my playground for more than 30 years. I know the swings that give you reach, the slides too precarious to even try and the monkey bars to risk a thrill on. Mostly, I know the players, bullies, imposters, victims, tricksters, saboteurs, cheerleaders, mentors, givers, takers and more.
The data and case studies I present hone in on the impact of gender bias and discrimination on maintaining pay inequity. In case you're wondering, their contribution is hefty.
Discrimination and bias range from the obvious (such as blatant sexism) to the subtle, ingrained beliefs that hold women back. Gender bias accounts for the assumptions and decisions others make that leave women a million dollars behind in lifetime earnings. As for the subtle, ingrained beliefs? These are the ones that sneak in and become part of our self‐concept: hesitating to put our hand up, downplaying achievements, underestimating and undermining ourselves … and the list continues. They may be subtle, but they pack a big punch.
The effect of the daily burden of bias and discrimination cannot be overstated. It is chronic, takes its toll and accumulates. The worst part is most of us don't even know we are affected.
Earning Power holds to account the external structural factors that see women in a position of entrenched financial disadvantage. However, I should point out that my expertise is not in policy. I don't attempt to provide solutions to the structural barriers. I see them and know only too well they exist. Therefore, I am grateful to people who take this up as their cause: people such as Future Women's Helen McCabe and Jamila Rizvi, along with countless other brave and compassionate individuals.
There are several pivotal points in our working lives; crucial decisions that can shape how the rest of our lives may fall. In this book, I specifically explore the workplace decisions: small, incremental, yet brave and meaningful decisions women make that might seem trivial at the time but carry profound ramifications and consequences. By raising awareness of these critical junctures, we can dramatically alter life's outcomes in a big way, to the effect of $1 million.
This is not a career guidance book. Nor am I suggesting you need a career to have financial security and independence. You don't. However, I am advocating that women can do more for themselves and take the million‐dollar earnings discrepancy into their own hands to effect change.
Walk with me through these pages and see how small changes to your mindset and decisions can empower you to earn your worth. I hope it equates to a million dollars and more over your lifetime.
CONTRIBUTORS
In writing this book, I had the privilege of seeking counsel from six remarkable women and one distinguished man. It has been an honour to learn from their insights and hear their stories, and I am deeply grateful for the time they so generously shared with me.
Julia Ross
EX GLOBAL CEO, ROSS HUMAN DIRECTIONS
Following a successful career in the UK, culminating in Julia being a finalist for the Veuve Clicquot ‘Woman of the Year’ award at age 22, Julia moved to Australia. There she spearheaded the expansion of an international HR group, opening branches throughout Australia, New Zealand and Asia.
In Sydney, Julia's entrepreneurial spirit led her to start Julia Ross Recruitment. Using leading‐edge industry unique and pioneering service offerings, the group quickly became one of Australia's fastest‐growing companies. Listing the company on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) as Ross Human Directions, Julia continued to break barriers and became the first, and only ever, female owner of a company to do so.
Julia is well known for her philanthropy and community contributions. Notably, Julia had the honour of delivering the welcome speech for President Clinton during his Australian tour, helping to increase the profile of and secure crucial funds for the Sydney Children's Hospital.
Being an early adopter and part of the new breed of socially conscious entrepreneurs, Julia prioritised society's wellbeing ahead of pure financial gain. Today, Julia serves as an angel investor for a number of female‐led start‐ups, and gives her experience and knowledge to foster their success. Julia holds steadfast to her core ethos of ‘creating strong communities and sustainability over gain’.
Peta Credlin AO
POLITICAL ANALYST
Peta Credlin AO is a political analyst who hosts her top‐rating prime time programme Credlin on Sky News and is a national columnist with both The Australian and News Corp Sunday newspapers (The Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Herald‐Sun and Queensland’s Sunday Mail). She is a law graduate of the University of Melbourne and has post‐graduate qualifications from the ANU. For some time she has been involved with the University of Melbourne’s School of Government as an Honorary Professorial Fellow and several not‐for‐profit boards.
For 16 years, Peta was a senior ministerial adviser in the Howard Government. Between 2009 and 2015, she was Chief of Staff to the Hon Tony Abbott AC during his time as Leader of the Opposition and later as Prime Minister of Australia. She is one of the longest serving chiefs of staff to a political leader. In the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Peta Credlin was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for ‘distinguished service to parliament and politics, to policy development, and to the executive function of government’.
Peta is admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor in Victoria. In 2015, she received the Australian Women’s Leadership Award (ACT) and was named a joint winner of Harper Bazaar’s ‘Woman of the Year’ (2016). She is a joint Walkley Award winner (2016) and TV Week Logie Award winner (2017) for her role in Sky News Australia’s 2016 Federal Election coverage. In 2021, Peta won a Kennedy Award for ‘Excellence in Journalism’ and in 2021 and 2024, a News Award for ‘Achievements in Specialist Journalism’.
Nagi Maehashi
FOUNDER, RECIPETIN EATS
Nagi Maehashi is the voice, cook, photographer and videographer behind the phenomenally popular recipe site RecipeTin Eats. A former finance executive, Nagi started RecipeTin Eats in 2014 to share her passion for creating affordable everyday meals with the ‘wow’ factor and classic dishes of the world done right. She has a devoted worldwide following with billions of views of her website and an extraordinary social media following. In 2021, Nagi founded her food bank, RecipeTin Meals, which cooks and donates 130 000 meals (including desserts) annually to those in need and the vulnerable.
Nagi's first cookbook, Dinner — launched in 2022 — is the fastest‐selling cookbook in Australian publishing history. In 2023, it became the first cookbook to win the Australian Book Industry Award's Book of the Year. Following on from Dinner, Nagi has recently launched her second cookbook, Tonight, solving the perennial problem of ‘What's for dinner tonight?’
Nagi lives on the northern beaches of Sydney with her golden retriever, Dozer, Australia's favourite taste tester.
Professor Fiona Wood AO
FRCS, FRACS, PLASTIC RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGEON AND WORLD‐LEADING BURNS SPECIALIST
Professor Fiona Wood has been a burns surgeon and researcher for more than 30 years and is director of the Burns Service of Western Australia (BSWA). She is a consultant plastic surgeon at Fiona Stanley Hospital and the Perth Children's Hospital; co‐founder of the first skin cell laboratory in Western Australia; Winthrop Professor in the School of Surgery at The University of Western Australia; and co‐founder of the Fiona Wood Foundation (formerly The McComb Foundation). She is also the leading Australian plastic surgeon and the co‐inventor of ReCell, a spray‐on skin technique for burn victims.
Fiona's greatest contribution and enduring legacy is her work with co‐inventor Marie Stoner, pioneering the innovative ‘spray‐on skin’ technique (ReCell), which is today used worldwide.
In October 2002, Fiona was propelled into the media spotlight when most of the survivors from the Bali bombings arrived in Perth, where Fiona led the medical team at Royal Perth Hospital to save many lives.
Throughout Fiona's career, she has received prestigious accolades in recognition of her clinical excellence and burns research outputs, which have improved the quality‐of‐life outcomes of burn patients locally and worldwide.
Kristina Karlsson
FOUNDER, KIKKI.K
Swedish‐born Kristina was the founder of kikki.K and, more recently, Dream Life (an inspiring and empowering brand‐turned‐global movement). After growing up on a small farm in Sweden, at the age of 22 she found herself in Australia, half a world away from family and friends, with little money.
Kristina sold all she owned to create and build globally loved Swedish design and stationery business kikki.K from the ground up, opening 120 award‐winning retail stores in five countries with a passionate team of approximately 1500. The online store served stationery and design lovers in over 150 countries, achieving a total revenue of around $650 million.
For more than 20 years, Kristina won the hearts and minds of millions the world over as the creative force and personality behind what was a purpose‐led brand. After a tumultuous experience through the COVID pandemic forced the closure of her stores, Kristina lost control of kikki.K and parted ways with the company in heart‐breaking circumstances.
She has since bounced back and is on a mission to inspire and empower 101 million people the world over to discover and chase their dreams.
Leila McKinnon
JOURNALIST AND TELEVISION PRESENTER
Leila McKinnon is a versatile broadcaster, narrator, writer and reporter with a career that began as a cadet in Rockhampton, where she covered everything from cattle to courts. She quickly made her mark at the Nine Network, reporting and presenting for Nine Gold Coast News before moving to Brisbane to join A Current Affair.
In 2001, Leila moved to Sydney as a news reporter and subsequently became newsreader for the Today show. Her role expanded further when she became Nine's North American correspondent in Los Angeles, covering major stories across the United States and co‐hosting the network's health series What's Good For You.
Leila has interviewed seven Australian Prime Ministers (and Beyoncé — twice!) and regularly hosts A Current Affair and Today. She's also led coverage for major events such as the State of Origin, the Commonwealth Games, the London Olympics and, most recently, the Paris 2024 Olympics. Beyond television, Leila is a book reviewer and podcaster, and she serves on the board of the Ricky Stuart Foundation, which builds hospice centres for children and adults with autism.
Philip Kearns AM
EX WALLABIES RUGBY UNION CAPTAIN AND CEO OF AV JENNINGS
Phil Kearns, one of rugby's most famous and respected sons, is also a successful businessman, sports commentator, family man and charity worker. Acknowledged by many rugby commentators as having been the world's best rugby hooker, Phil debuted in 1989 and played 67 test matches for Australia, captaining 10. Phil is one of only 43 players who have won multiple Rugby World Cups, and capped his rugby career as part of the Wallabies' World Cup win in 1999, his third World Cup campaign. Since 2022 Phil has been CEO of AV Jennings, one of Australia's most recognised leading residential property development companies.
Outside of work, Phil is an avid family man with four children. He also maintains commitments with numerous charities and not‐for‐profits, including establishing the Balmoral Burn, an annual charity run up one of Sydney's steepest streets that raises funds for children's services — which he organised with the Humpty Dumpty Foundation — and as an ambassador for the Minerva Network. To top it off, Phil has raced the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race three times. Phil was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2017 for significant service to the community through support for charitable organisations, business and rugby union at the elite level. He was also inducted into the Australian Rugby Hall of Fame in 2018 and the NSW Rugby Hall of Fame in 2024.
Chapter 1GENDER BIAS IN DAYS GONE BY
Mistaking the female boss walking into the boardroom for an assistant. Saying women are too emotional or ‘soft’ to be good leaders. Overlooking a woman for a promotion because she's just back from maternity leave and you assume the extra responsibility will be ‘too much’. Saying ‘he’ when describing an accountant, doctor, pilot or any authority figure.
All the above are examples of the gender biases happening every day that impact women's careers.
Embarrassingly, I did this very thing when drafting chapter 4 of this book. I referred to the accountant as ‘he’! When I realised what I'd done, I shrank in mortified shame and slowly peered around my desk. Did anyone see? I found myself wanting to believe that my preference for a male accountant was just a coincidence. However, I have to confess, there was bias at play.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, it is good to remember that we all have some form of bias, and it doesn't mean we are bad human beings. However, we should be aware of our biases and inclinations and question the basis of our beliefs and assumptions. They form the foundation of how we act, behave and speak. If they aren't kept in check, they continue to recycle and perpetuate.
Biases can be conscious (explicit) or unconscious (implicit). An explicit bias is when you consciously hold stereotypical attitudes or beliefs about a person or group. An implicit bias is hidden and outside a person's consciousness. It is expressed automatically, without conscious awareness.
Implicit biases are subtle. They are the undercurrents of our minds, operating beneath the surface of conscious awareness. They are like shadows cast by the experiences and associations we've absorbed over time, influencing our actions without us realising it.
Imagine a hiring manager who genuinely believes in their commitment to diversity. Yet, when reviewing résumés, they unknowingly favour candidates with names that sound familiar or reflect their own cultural background. All the while, they remain blissfully unaware their decision‐making is being subtly swayed by an unseen hand. This is the insidious nature of implicit bias: working silently and persistently, and often beyond our immediate comprehension, shaping our judgements in ways that seem entirely rational to us, even as they perpetuate the very disparities we claim to oppose.
The fact is we are all biased. Biases are an inescapable part of being human. Most biases we have learned are taught to us by our environment, culture, society, parents and school, to name a few. The reason bias persists is because it serves a cognitive purpose. We use bias as an efficiency measure, a shortcut to process information. Gordon Allport's book The Nature of Prejudice refers to bias as our ‘very human tendency to classify people into categories in order to quickly process information and make sense of the world’. We have done this daily since we were children.
A research study from the University of British Columbia (UBC) showed that babies from the age of one demonstrate positive bias for speakers of their first language — that is, the language spoken by their primary caregivers.1 The babies also expected the speakers to be prosocial, and when they witnessed antisocial behaviour, the babies showed surprise. The results of this study suggest that ‘babies do not develop a negative bias towards cultures, people or sounds until later in childhood, making negative biases more likely to be learned behaviour than innate’.2
The findings of this research from UBC challenge the notion that negative biases are inherent, revealing they are shaped by the environments in which we develop. As children grow, they are influenced by the societal norms, cultural narratives and behaviours around them, which shape their perceptions and attitudes. Infants start life without these biases, highlighting the role of socialisation in their formation. Through exposure to external influences, media, education and interactions, children learn to categorise and judge. However, it’s important to acknowledge that individual personality traits and neurodevelopment factors can also influence how children internalise these influences. This underscores the importance of fostering inclusive environments early on, as these experiences shape attitudes carried into adulthood.
The power of ‘I can’
Julia Ross, Fiona Wood, Leila McKinnon, Kristina Karlsson, Peta Credlin and Nagi Maehashi all share one crucial trait: they never thought they ‘couldn't’.
All of these remarkable women from different backgrounds and industries grew up with a strong belief in their own abilities. When I interviewed Julia and Fiona — who, incidentally, both grew up in the UK before coming to Australia — they spoke of their childhood as instrumental to their belief in self. As Fiona puts it, ‘I was brought up with a solid belief you can do anything if you are prepared to work hard enough. And that is what I came to the table with: capacity.’
