Ann Sherry, AO, has been driving positive social change for decades through her leadership roles across multiple sectors including banking, government, tourism and higher education.

But while proud of the immense progress Australia has made towards gender equality in this time, the NAB Board member and Queensland University of Technology Chancellor says the task is far from finished, with leaders needing to remain vigilant to ensure ongoing success.

“We still need to be talking about this because we’re not quite there yet,” Sherry said as part of her keynote speech for NAB’s Women in Funds and Real Assets event in Melbourne. “You don’t need to look very far to see there’s still plenty to do.

“We want our kids and grandkids to be able to be the best they can be and not to be locked out of things because of – in this case – gender. Change requires everyone to be engaged.”

The event is one of NAB Corporate and Institutional Banking’s annual networking opportunities in the diary for industry peers to share their career experiences and stories while promoting greater diversity and inclusion in business.

Building for performance

Sherry told the room of professionals across the funds, infrastructure and property sectors that talking about gender is also a shorthand for broader diversity and a springboard to achieving the social change needed to drive business success.

“My own experience of running complex businesses is the better the breadth of capability, insight and experience of your team, the better you lean into really hard problems,” she says.

“The whole question of diversity on boards and management teams is ultimately about your ability to read what’s happening the world around you and to bring that to the table in a more nuanced way than maybe was once necessary.”

NAB’s ambition on gender and wider diversity is clear, with an overall Inclusion and Diversity Strategy Framework, including measurable objectives set for gender equality. There is a target to achieve 40-60% female representation at every level of the business, and to reduce the gender pay gap to below 10%, both by 2025[i].

Notable progress this year, Sherry says, is NAB’s elevation of women to executive roles – including Corporate and Institutional Banking’s Group Executive Cathryn Carver, who also hosted the recent networking events.

Sponsorship counts

Among her tips, Sherry says building an effective and diverse talent pipeline needs leaders to actively sponsor candidates into roles rather than simply offering mentoring programs and leaving them to it.

She also highlights the integral role of having male allies within organisations to drive change by actively finding out what’s going on with female colleagues. It’s also on leaders to be disciplined in setting expectations and holding people to account.

“The components that make culture are the things that happen every day,” she says. “The things that you walk past are the things that define culture. You don’t ignore those small things because they add up. The little things matter, and we can all do our bit.”

Mastery at work

Building culture and careers was also on the agenda in Sydney, with NAB’s third annual Women in Property Finance networking lunch for professionals across the property finance value chain. Guests included valuers, lawyers, fund managers, regulators and development managers.

Charter Hall Chief Financial Officer Anastasia Clarke shared her experiences and tips from more than 30 years in the industry she loves, with a focus on working hard to master a diverse skillset through constant and purposeful career-building.

For her, it’s been a story of proactively stretching to seize the next opportunity for learning and growth in a career which started in the graduate program at Lendlease where she then held multiple roles across different divisions.

“Every time you’re in a new role, spend six months learning about whatever it is you are in, from the role and the business and the environment, and then spend the next 12 months absolutely mastering it,” Clarke says.

“Deliberately set yourself goals and check in on those goals each quarter. There’s no point in having raw ambition if you haven’t built the foundation stones and the capability set.”

One way to do this, she says, is to unpick and learn by examining the details of real-life examples and then bringing clarity to the analysis and communication.

“Work out what the drivers are and then use that hindsight to give yourself foresight on opportunities you see coming through. I’d encourage you to have a view, because having a view really worked for me.”

Connecting for resilience

Brookfield Managing Partner and Head of Asia Pacific for the Global Client Group Sophie Fallman agreed it is important to proactively find opportunities in areas you love – something she has done since moving into property finance after initially training and working as an architect.

“I have always aspired to do more, to be stretched, to be exposed to things I found fundamentally interesting,” Fallman says. “Through that, I have been lucky enough to do things that have been really exciting and diverse.”

In a discussion with NAB Head of Real Estate Bill Halmarick on building resilience, she stressed the importance of proactively managing energy levels to bounce back, with effective prioritisation a key tool to achieving this both professionally and personally.

“Focus on the big things that really matter, that move the needle, and that you’ll get the most out of doing,” she says. “Take a moment to rebalance and recharge, and ultimately move on. You’re drawing on the adversity, in a way, in order to get stronger and energised and thrive.”

Fallman says industry events like those on the NAB calendar are important to help find and foster the sorts of supportive connections that build careers and resilience, especially in what is a challenging period for the sector.

“Having events like this is so important, so powerful, and so good,” she says. “It’s a huge opportunity to connect with each other and gain the collective strength that comes with sharing different perspectives and experiences.”

Many thanks to all our speakers and guests for their valuable contributions and expertise which helps to make these events such an enjoyable success in building lasting networks.

[i] 2023 Annual Report (nab.com.au)