Working for nothing? No thanks.

Did you know that Australian women have been working with no pay from 1 July to 8 September? Our pay metrics have recently been released, and Equal Pay Day on 8 September has been set to acknowledge Australia’s pay inequity. I write more about this in a blog post.

At Xplore, we continually seek to drive the conversation about gender equality and inclusive leadership. I speak at forums about the challenges that Australia faces in building leaders for the future, reducing gender inequality and ensuring women are paid fairly. In our last newsletter, we spoke about the Melbourne event where David Morrison and I shared views on inclusion in the workplace. For those who were unable to make the event, we have uploaded a series of short videos to the Xplore YouTube channel. For a dose of inspiration, start with Inclusive leaders in the world today.

Xplore recently hosted a cross-cultural leadership program in Tonga in partnership with Good Return. Good Return provides micro-finance, micro-savings, and financial training in conjunction with country-based partners. Our guests experienced first hand how Good Return, with its partner South Pacific Business Development (SPBD), works with women who live in poverty to move their dreams to reality. In Leadership learnings from Tonga, Amanda Webb captures highlights from the group’s experience, and what they learned through this deeply immersive cross-cultural program.

Finally, I want to reinforce the message that comes through in Julie’s courageous story of returning to work for the first time after 14 years, and her experience of Dress for Success, another organisation that’s very close to me: It doesn’t matter who you are, you must never be afraid to ask for help as you move your own dreams to reality.