A workplace built for men
In 2015, Goulburn Valley Water (GVW) looked very different. Its executive team was all men, and only two of its 25 middle managers were women. Many women felt it was not a place where they could see themselves in leadership.
This reflected a bigger issue across many workplaces. Women are often missing from senior roles and overrepresented in lower-level jobs. This contributes to the gender pay gap. Organisations lose out on the skills and experience women bring to decision-making.
The Victorian Minister for Water set a target for 50:50 gender balance on boards. GVW saw it as an opportunity to do things differently.
Starting new conversations
The Let’s Talk About Gender (LTAG) program was adapted from a leadership course delivered to senior executives. It was created to support the wider senior leadership group to have honest conversations about gender.
Each month, 10 women and 10 men came together to talk about readings, videos and real-life examples. Participants were paired in a buddy system so they could keep talking outside the sessions. Men and women met separately with supportive facilitators, before coming back together. This helped people feel safe to share openly and learn from each other.
The program started with topics like race and privilege. These showed how bias and defensiveness can stop change. Once participants understood those patterns, they were ready to look at gender.
Small shifts, big impact
Over time, LTAG helped people see the workplace differently. Some noticed that confidence was often rewarded more than competence in leadership. Others saw how recruitment ads or enterprise agreements reflected old ideas about gender.
One female participant described LTAG as a deeply personal experience. After the program, they began questioning co-workers’ behaviours and actions towards women.
A male manager said the program gave him the courage to step in when he saw a colleague taking photos of women without their consent.
Leaders shared these lessons with their teams. This resulted in a change to recruitment practices, language usage and enterprise bargaining negotiations.
The program also created better outcomes for fathers. Conversations about care showed that parental responsibilities are not only a woman’s job. This gave more support and flexibility to male parents of young children.
For some, the lessons carried into home life. A male participant said it helped him support his teenage daughter to keep playing sport. He understood that sport participation matters for confidence and leadership later in life.
Changing the face of leadership
By 2025, GVW’s executive team had shifted from all men to an even mix of men and women. Middle management is now also 50:50. Enterprise agreements have been updated with more family-friendly terms. And staff are more confident to call out inequality when they see it.
Collecting and reviewing data on gender composition showed where progress was needed. It allowed GVW to measure the impact of programs like LTAG. This focus on data and action helped build and maintain gender balance in leadership.
Lessons for other organisations
• Create safe spaces
People need supportive environments to talk honestly about their experiences.
• Use real-world examples
Analogies like race and privilege can make hidden inequities easier to see.
• Work with leaders first
Senior and emerging leaders can model change and spread it across the organisation.
• Start with curiosity
Focus on people who are open and willing to learn, rather than the most resistant.
• Help staff remove the blinkers
Show how culture shapes everyday behaviour so people can recognise inequality around them.
• Link discussions to action
Connect conversations to recruitment, agreements and workplace practices to embed change.
• Keep building
Start with the basics if needed but keep moving towards intersectionality.
Next step
Look at the gender composition of your workforce at every level, not just overall numbers. Are women and people from diverse groups missing from leadership roles in your organisation?
Collecting and reporting this data will help you see where greater diversity is needed.
Read more about gender composition at all levels of the workforce.
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