Things never to say to female CEOs

It is 2001. My boss, Julia Ross, was CEO of the ASX-listed global company Ross Human Directions. The important detail about this story is that my CEO, as you may have picked up, was a ‘she’. At this stage of my career, I had worked my way up and proudly held a senior role, reporting directly to Julia.

The story starts on a Friday morning. Twelve months earlier, Julia had listed Ross Human Directions on the ASX, through an IPO, for just over $57 million. At the time, it was the largest ever single-owner business and the only solely female-owned Business to list on the ASX. Not only that, but I believe this was also a global record.

It was 7.45 am. We were always early starters, and as Julia was sipping her tea, taking her vitamins and simultaneously applying her mascara, she casually shared her tale. The previous night, as she arrived home and walked in the door after a long and hectic day, her long-term partner called out from in front of the TV, ‘Honey, there’s no milk in the fridge.’ The unspoken message was, ‘Before you sit down, you’d better quickly run out and buy some milk because, after all, that’s your job.’ I shrank in my chair. Julia was as cool as ice and matter-of- fact. She turned to me, mascara wand in hand. With timing only professional comedians master and with her gifted, penetrating, green-eyed

stare, shrug of her shoulders and palms facing up she said, ‘Can you believe it, Rox? I mean, can you believe it?’ but mostly a resolute, deflated understanding that this was what she constantly dealt with. In today’s talk, it would be ‘WTF’, but I’ve never heard or known Julia to swear.

Somehow, despite the extent of her responsibilities —20 offices throughout Australia; seven more in London, Dublin, Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand; circa 500 employees; revenue of more than $350 million; unforgiving shareholders; a relentlessly demanding board; and being described by one analyst as ‘probably the most aggressive, determined, tough chief executive I know’ —it was also her job, that Thursday evening, to ensure there was milk in the fridge.

Back then, at the tender age of 33, I recall thinking, ‘Oh, maybe you could have picked it up on the way home.’ When I think of that today, I am embarrassed. I get it now. It wasn’t about being grounded enough to do a grocery run —it was the blind disregard of the level of responsibility and laden load she was already carrying. This was gender bias loud and clear. No doubt it was not intentional —and that’s what made it hurtful. No matter her achievements and workload, it seemed, her job was seen as a hobby, and nothing very serious: ‘You’re a female CEO —how cute’.

For more context, in 1995, 0 per cent of CEOs in Fortune 500 companies were women. As at June 2023, a sparse 10.4 per cent of Fortune 500 companies were run by women and in one-quarter of these the leaders had become CEOs during the previous year. What’s more, Women’s Agenda reported that in 2023 only about 10.5 per cent of ASX 200 leaders were women. And, in 2015, Deakin Business School found that ‘women’s representation in ASX leadership [was] at an all-time high’, with women representing 8.2 per cent of directors across all ASX companies, 4.9 per cent of senior executives, 4.2 per cent of CEOs and 13 per cent of CFOs. I hope you can see where I am going with these stats. Julia’s achievement was phenomenal, as a male or female, but it must be said, especially as a woman.

Incidentally, in terms of beliefs, I was no better. How was it that it didn’t even cross my mind that such a statement reeked of discrimination? Why wasn’t I up in arms, protective of what Julia was achieving? I felt for her, but I didn’t know any better. Because, despite my drive, ambition and belief in ‘all things female’, I had grown up cloaked in societal norms and expectations of what a woman’s role was too. I had yet to experience my own exposure to some of the ‘fight’ Julia had already gone through. At this stage in my career, I was cocooned safely, working with Julia and other supportive high-achieving women. My time was coming.

Surprising facts: not-so-cool facts about gender discrimination

• Women are 47 per cent more likely to suffer severe injuries in car crashes because vehicle safety features are designed with men in mind. This bias in design has serious consequences, especially considering that women’s smaller frames, neck strength and seating preferences make them more vulnerable during accidents.
• In the workplace, women are twice as likely to be mistaken for junior employees compared to men.
• Only six countries give women legal work rights equal to men’s.
• A 2017 study by The Rockefeller Foundation reported that 25 per cent of Americans think we will colonise Mars before half of the Fortune 500 company CEOs are women (go figure!).
• The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Facebook page observed that

‘Women spend more than 2.5 times as much time on unpaid care and domestic work than men’.

Written by Roxanne Calder, author of ‘Earning Power: Breaking Barriers and Building Wealth for Women’ (Wiley).
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