bornadog
06-05-2015, 11:33 PM
Link (http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/western-bulldogs-appoint-fourth-female-director-in-an-afl-first-20150506-ggvqkf.html)
http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/g/v/s/z/2/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.ggvqkf.png/1430911958364.jpg
Leadership team: Board members (clockwise from left) Kylie Watson-Wheeler, Gaye Hamilton, Susan Alberti and Fiona McGauchie. Photo: Darrian Traynor
Women are on the cusp of parity with men for representation on the Western Bulldogs' board following its unprecedented appointment of a fourth female director.
Fiona McGauchie, a consultant with global executive search company Egon Zehnder, became the club's ninth board member at a meeting last week.
McGauchie, who has a legal background, was relied on by the club during its recruitment last November of coach Luke Beveridge. She also advised the club during its search for a new chief executive – Nike executive David Stevenson – who was appointed last month.
No other AFL club has more than two female directors, with McGauchie joining Susan Alberti, Gaye Hamilton and Kylie Watson-Wheeler on the board.
A Bulldogs supporter who hopes to bring a strong "people lens" to the club, McGauchie said the club's sense of ambition appealed to her.
The mother of two young boys, one of whom has an intellectual disability, she has also been inspired by the inclusive nature of AFL football and its clubs.
"The Bulldogs have a desire to be different and a desire to look at everything that can be done around people, culture and leadership, not to mention sheer professionalism," McGauchie said.
"That attitude is very exciting to me, and everything I've learnt about the club suggests they really want to think boldly and confidently about where they can go. The way in which you manage people can be great or it can be ordinary, and we want the Bulldogs to be extraordinary and creative and to embrace diversity and new ideas.
"The people I work with spend all day every day assessing leaders, so there's great diversity to what we do, and to bring that into a club with the sort of ambition is something I'm really excited about."
Alberti, who became the first female Bulldogs director in 2004, said while the club did not seek out directors based on gender, it wanted to be seen as a leader in every possible area.
"I get really bogged down with gender imbalance. To me it's always been about, 'Who is the right person for the job?' That's it, that's the end of the story with me, but we want to be leading the way," she said.
"That's what we're always looking to do, but I'm not excited about having more women on the board, I'm excited about having women with as much talent as our women have on the board.
"They all have their areas of expertise and none of us are here for a dream ride. We're here to work, and we're expected to perform, which is how all boards should be."
McGauchie on Wednesday night attended the Australian launch of the 30% Club, which was created in the UK with the aim of encouraging greater gender balance on company boards. According to the Australian Institute of Company Directors, women currently fill 20per cent of board positions at publicly listed companies.
McGauchie said a challenge for the AFL and its clubs was to increase women's representation at executive level, something she would encourage in her new role.
"As much as I wasn't appointed because I'm a woman, I do think it's important for clubs to have women on boards, and to be an advocate of that and of greater female involvement at every level of football is really important to me," she said.
"Hopefully, the thing that's interesting about my appointment is I'm not the first appointment, I'm the fourth, and I'm the fourth out of nine people. For me, that's the difference."
http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/g/v/s/z/2/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.ggvqkf.png/1430911958364.jpg
Leadership team: Board members (clockwise from left) Kylie Watson-Wheeler, Gaye Hamilton, Susan Alberti and Fiona McGauchie. Photo: Darrian Traynor
Women are on the cusp of parity with men for representation on the Western Bulldogs' board following its unprecedented appointment of a fourth female director.
Fiona McGauchie, a consultant with global executive search company Egon Zehnder, became the club's ninth board member at a meeting last week.
McGauchie, who has a legal background, was relied on by the club during its recruitment last November of coach Luke Beveridge. She also advised the club during its search for a new chief executive – Nike executive David Stevenson – who was appointed last month.
No other AFL club has more than two female directors, with McGauchie joining Susan Alberti, Gaye Hamilton and Kylie Watson-Wheeler on the board.
A Bulldogs supporter who hopes to bring a strong "people lens" to the club, McGauchie said the club's sense of ambition appealed to her.
The mother of two young boys, one of whom has an intellectual disability, she has also been inspired by the inclusive nature of AFL football and its clubs.
"The Bulldogs have a desire to be different and a desire to look at everything that can be done around people, culture and leadership, not to mention sheer professionalism," McGauchie said.
"That attitude is very exciting to me, and everything I've learnt about the club suggests they really want to think boldly and confidently about where they can go. The way in which you manage people can be great or it can be ordinary, and we want the Bulldogs to be extraordinary and creative and to embrace diversity and new ideas.
"The people I work with spend all day every day assessing leaders, so there's great diversity to what we do, and to bring that into a club with the sort of ambition is something I'm really excited about."
Alberti, who became the first female Bulldogs director in 2004, said while the club did not seek out directors based on gender, it wanted to be seen as a leader in every possible area.
"I get really bogged down with gender imbalance. To me it's always been about, 'Who is the right person for the job?' That's it, that's the end of the story with me, but we want to be leading the way," she said.
"That's what we're always looking to do, but I'm not excited about having more women on the board, I'm excited about having women with as much talent as our women have on the board.
"They all have their areas of expertise and none of us are here for a dream ride. We're here to work, and we're expected to perform, which is how all boards should be."
McGauchie on Wednesday night attended the Australian launch of the 30% Club, which was created in the UK with the aim of encouraging greater gender balance on company boards. According to the Australian Institute of Company Directors, women currently fill 20per cent of board positions at publicly listed companies.
McGauchie said a challenge for the AFL and its clubs was to increase women's representation at executive level, something she would encourage in her new role.
"As much as I wasn't appointed because I'm a woman, I do think it's important for clubs to have women on boards, and to be an advocate of that and of greater female involvement at every level of football is really important to me," she said.
"Hopefully, the thing that's interesting about my appointment is I'm not the first appointment, I'm the fourth, and I'm the fourth out of nine people. For me, that's the difference."