Brennan commits to 40% female representation on advisory board

Brennan has announced its commitment to having women make up 40 percent of its advisory board.

The company disclosed the commitment in its latest report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), which reveals gender equity data about more than 7800 private sector employers.

Women make up 19 percent of Brennan’s workforce, compared to 14 per cent in the 2020/21 reporting period.

The company’s average base and total remuneration gender pay gap of 4.6 per cent and 3.9 per cent is “better than the accepted WGEA benchmark of 5 per cent”, the company reported.

It is looking to reduce its median remuneration gap, which is “better than the industry”, to below to the benchmark.

Brennan’s commitment to improve gender diversity on its advisory board is part the company’s “broader undertaking” to promote gender diversity and expand opportunities for females in the information and communications technology sector.

In the past three years it has introduced “enhanced recruitment strategies”, refined talent review and assessment processes, and invested in such programs as Women Rising, Male Allies and Brennan’s internally developed Emerging Leaders Program.

“There has been a 26 per cent increase in the number of women employed at Brennan over the past three years, but we know there is more to do to create a truly gender-diverse workplace,” said Brennan managing director Dave Stevens.

Stevens acknowledged that representation of women at Brennan was below industry average, but said there had been some “positive steps forward, particularly when considering recent acquisitions, negatively impacted the gender representation”.

“It is also encouraging that a third of our female workforce in Australia are in technology role and that our ongoing review of pay parity has found that on a like for like basis, pay is fair and equitable,” Mr Stevens said.

“While the percentage of females being promoted is roughly proportional to representation, we are seeing a slight drop-off in senior and executive level roles.

“To address this, we are actively supporting the progression of female talent into leadership positions through programs such as Women Rising, which has already benefitted almost a third of our female employees.

“We acknowledge that we need to close the gap in participation and median pay and will continue to invest in our broader gender strategy to put sustainable and real measures in place that will have a true impact.”