The Glass Elevator
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    • The Glass Elevator End of Year Lunch with special guest, Julia Gillard
    • The Glass Elevator Lunch Series with guest speaker, Elizabeth Broderick
    • The Glass Elevator Conference 2014
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What's On

The Glass Elevator has developed a range of events and initiatives that aim to connect, inspire and engage women.

Get Involved now
Although there are an increasing number of initiatives run by organisations to attract, develop and retain women in employment it is very important that women do not forget or lose sight of the responsibility that they have to each other and indeed the power that already exists for women to connect women. We hope that everyone that participates in the initiative will find some time to help connect, engage or inspire other women.

2016 Private Lunch Series
Senior corporate figures generously giving their time to support the lunch series in 2016 include:


  • Dr Martin Parkinson, Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
  • Maxine Brenner, Non Executive Director
  • Yasmin Allen, Non Executive Director

Walk the Talk
We know that senior women are often approached by aspiring leaders seeking advice in relation to their careers and development. Senior women often have a limited amount of time to devote to mentoring. To this end, Glass Elevator launched ‘Walk the Talk’ – a mentoring walks programme designed to provide the opportunity for young emerging leaders to connect with senior women in an informal setting and in a format that best capitalises on the limited time of senior leaders. Walks are being held in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne throughout the year.  If you are interested in offering your time as a senior mentor or you are a more junior aspiring leader looking to participate, please contact contact@theglasselevator.com.

Executive Circle
Similar to the CEO Circle, the Executive Circle is designed to provide senior women with the opportunity to meet with a small group of women five times per year to share ideas, ask questions and to mentor each other.  This is done in a confidential environment and each session will be led by a well regarded Chairperson. In previous years the programme has been run in Melbourne and in Sydney. We have been delighted that senior Non Executive Directors, Jane Harvey and Rebecca McGrath, have chaired these sessions in previous years. Jane Harvey 
has more than 30 years' experience in the financial and advisory services industry, with previous positions in both business advisory and risk management areas. Jane was a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers until 2002. She is currently a Director of UGL Limited and DUET Finance Limited. Other previous Board positions include Medibank and David Jones.  Rebecca McGrath has held very senior roles in the corporate world, including previously as the CFO of BP Australasia, and is now a highly regarded Non Executive Director on the Boards of CSR, Incitec Pivot, Goodman and OZ Minerals.

Pottinger Index
Pottinger is proud to continue to support the Glass Elevator through the development of Pottinger Index.  Pottinger Index creates indices to quantify and measures progress towards achieving goals related to diversity, social impact and sustainability. Pottinger Index offers highly sophisticated, statistically robust, independently calculated measures of progress towards achieving the most important of society’s goals.  In 2014 Pottinger Analytics launched the ASX200 Board Diversity Index as part of its Equality Day Series:  www.pottingerindex.com

Professional development
In July 2013 the Glass Elevator held its first professional development webinar.  The webinar was moderated by leading author, journalist and commentator, Catherine Fox, and focused on strategies for attracting and retaining female talent. Three panelists from the Glass Elevator network led the discussion followed by a Q&A session with the broader group.

Our second webinar was held in October 2013 focused on M&A, its impact on organisations and how senior execs need to prepare themselves to manage this important stage in a company’s development.  We look forward to providing new opportunities to share knowledge through this platform going forward. We continue to seek out opportunities to support the development of the Glass Elevator women through this forum. 

Guest speaker series
In December 2012 we were honoured to host then Prime Minister, the Honorable Julia Gillard PM at a lunch for the participants, contributors and supporters of the Glass Elevator in Sydney.  The then Prime Minister spoke of the challenges and opportunities she has faced in her life and career.  In February 2013 we were delighted to host the then Australian Human Rights Commission’s, Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick at a lunch in Sydney.  Elizabeth spoke about her various responsibilities including her work with the Australian Defence Force -  a powerful occasion for women of the Glass Elevator network to hear from someone so motivated to make the world a better place for women.  In September 2013 we hosted a lunch in Melbourne and heard from Brooke Miller, CFO of BP Australia on her career journey.  An inspiring story highlighting the importance of taking charge of one’s own career.

In December 2014 we welcomed Marianne Cooper, lead researcher for Sheryl Sandberg's "Lean In" to speak with the Glass Elevator cohort. In February 2015 we were be delighted to host Dr Megan Clark, former CEO, CSIRO.  Dr Clark is one of the leaders in Australian scientific and business circles and recently join the Rio Tinto Board. 

Mentoring Across Borders
A mentoring programme assigning senior accomplished women with mentors in international markets, broadening experiences and sharing insight.  The programme also invites Australian women to volunteer to mentor younger women throughout Asia.

Initiatives aimed at rural and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women
Initiatives currently under consideration and development by women of the Glass Elevator network.

Motherhood and the workforce
Facilitated by the senior Glass Elevator women, a mentoring programme for women who are considering having children.  The programme is designed to provide advice and support to women so they may make the most of this important period. 
If you believe you have the relevant experience and are interested in offering your time as a mentor or you are yourself either currently on maternity leave and considering returning to work or will soon go on leave, please contact contact@theglasselevator.com.

Global Summit of Women
The Glass Elevator has been invited to participate in the Global Summit of Women over a number of years.  In 2014 we were delighted to host a number of Glass Elevator women, and the largest ever Australian delegation, at the Global Summit of Women held in Paris, France.  Over 1,100 women from 80 countries participated in this land mark conference.  This annual summit brings together women from politics and business from all over the world to drive progress towards greater female empowerment.  A delegation of Glass Elevator women attended the Summit in Poland in 2016. For more information, please visit: http://globewomen.org/globalsummit/

Glass Elevator Conference
A conference bringing together senior Glass Elevator women to be engaged and inspired by thought leaders in business, philanthropy and Government.  The Glass Elevator has previously hosted Kerry Schott, the Hon. Anna Bligh, Nigel Lake, Amanda Rasmussen, Krystal Barter and Robyn Neasmith as presenters.
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