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28 May, 2021

Webjet pledges senior leadership will be 40 per cent female by 2030

Webjet has committed to increasing the number of women on its senior leadership team as part of an initiative to achieve gender balance across Australia’s largest listed companies.

The online travel player has joined other ASX200 companies and investor by pledging to increase the number of women in its senior leadership team by 40 per cent by 2030.

The pledge is part of industry super fund HESTA’s 40:40 Vision program which seeks to upend the gender disparity across ASX200 companies.

According to Chief Executive Women’s latest census on ASX200 senior executives, the number of women in leadership has flatlined, and only 30 ASX200 companies have at least 40 per cent women in executive leadership in 2020.

Shelley Beasley (pictured above), Webjet’s global chief operating officer and CEO of its B2C division, said: “The work of this forward-thinking group has the full support of the Webjet Limited board and company leadership, and we are delighted to make the public pledge to achieving gender balance and diversity in our executive leadership by 2030.

“The value that gender diversity – and diversity in all aspects – brings to a company, its shareholders, its culture and its employees has long been recognised by Webjet, and the representation of women within Webjet Limited continues to grow across all aspects of the business, especially in executive and senior management – up nine per cent and seven per cent respectively between FY19 and FY21.”

Workplace Gender Equality Agency and the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre research shows an increase in the share of female ‘top-tier’ managers by 10 percentage points or more led to a 6.6 per cent increase in the market value of Australian ASX-listed companies, worth the equivalent of A$104.7 million.

The commitments scoped in 40:40 Vision include pledging to achieve gender balance (40 per cent women, 40 per cent men, 20 per cent any gender) in executive leadership by 2030, declaring public gender composition targets for 2023 and 2027, making plans public to employees, shareholders, investors, and the wider business community and reporting annually on how the company is tracking against targets.

“Our signing of the 40:40 Vision Initiative is testament of our dedication to continuing the progression of gender diversity in the workplace,” Beasley said.

“We look forward to helping drive this change within the broader corporate landscape.”

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40:40 Vision gender equality HESTA senior leadership Shelley Beasley webjet workplace diversity