Women in Leadership Roles Brings Economic Advantages, with Jane Diplock | Big Think.
Women in Leadership Roles Brings Economic Advantages, with Jane Diplock
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The former chair of the New Zealand SEC discusses the correlation between profitability and having an equal number of men and women on corporate boards. Not only is the promotion of gender diversity in leadership positions the right thing to do, says Diplock, but it’s also the smart and efficient thing to do.
This is the fifth video in a series on developing women leaders presented in partnership with PwC. Watch Claire Shipman and “The Confidence Code” co-author Katty Kay in a live webcast presented by PwC on February 27th. Register here for the webcast, and follow the conversation on Twitter: #PwCAspire. Big Think has partnered with PwC to promote this event, and will feature videos and other content related to it throughout the month.
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JANE DIPLOCK:
Jane Diplock AO is a professional international company director. She currently holds non executive directorship positions on the International Integrated Reporting Council Board, SGX Limited and Australian Financial Services Group Pty Limited. She is a member on a number of other Boards and Committees internationally. She has previously been Chairman of IOSCO, International Organisation of Securities Commissions for 7 years and Chairman of New Zealand Securities Commission for 9 years.
Before being appointed Chairman of New Zealand Securities Commission Jane was the National Director, Infrastructure and Strategic Planning, and New South Wales Regional Commissioner with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. She previously held senior executive positions with Westpac Banking Corporation, and was Managing Director of the New South Wales Technical and Further Education Commission. She has chaired and been a member of a number of boards and committees in the public, private and not for profit sectors.
Professional qualifications: Barrister and solicitor of ACT Supreme Court and High Court of Australia; barrister of New South Wales Supreme Court; fellow of Institute of Public Administration Australia; Chevening fellow at London School of Economics.
Work history: Elected chairman of executive committee of International Organisation of Securities Committees May, 2004. Appointed chairman of NZ Securities Commission 2001 for five-year term. National director Infrastructure and Strategic Planning and New South Wales regional commissioner with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Director-general of the Department of Training and Education Coordination. Managing director of NSW Technical and Further Education Commission. With Westpac for six years, starting 1988.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Jane Diplock: Men don’t necessarily visualize women as being at the top. Their mental image of the leadership of their organization is often a clone of themselves. One example is the first board that I was actually appointed to, which was The Board of the Snowy Mountains Engineering Authority in Australia. This was a group of engineers who had been instrumental in building the Great Snowy Mountain scheme in Australia and they had then become a company owned by the Commonwealth of Australia, and I was the first woman that was appointed to the board. And at my first board meeting, a senior member of the staff — perhaps reflecting some of my fellow board members’ anxieties — came up to me and said, “Look, girlie, what would you know about engineering anyway? How come the Commonwealth has appointed you to be a member of this board?” Which was incredibly rude, but it was also a reflection, I felt, of what a lot of the senior management were thinking. What on Earth could she bring? And I felt then that I had to, in a sense, work much harder to justify my contribution, whereas I suspect a man in the same position wouldn’t have had those sorts of challenges.
We used to talk about it being the right thing to do to have equal number of women on boards. Then after a series of research efforts by people like the Conference Board of Canada and others, it was not only the right thing to do; it was the bright thing to do because what we’re seeing is that the bottom line is improving. So you’ve got it’s the right thing to do; it’s the bright thing to do — and then interesting research that was done in Australia has proven that if we actually had full female participation, we would improve the country’s performance by 12 percent, the productivity of the country.
To read the transcript, please go to https://bigthink.com/videos/encourage-women-leaders-for-efficiencys-sake-with-jane-diplock
@DavidWhoHasBeenSaved
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
And let me just add, I'm pretty sure in the field of entrepreneurship and business, we see women mimic what men have been doing for decades, or should i say, since around the 80s .
@DavidWhoHasBeenSaved
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
Ofc there are gonna be some advantages, but choosing a less efficient option is never the way to go. Now let continue with the video…
@Podponny
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
15 seconds in and she's already projecting. Hard. Just because she thinks that all men are the same, men must think of other men as THEIR clones, right? Jesus Christ.
@OmniphonProductions
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
1:54 – Research doesn't PROVE things. Scientific Method demonstrates correlations and CAN extrapolate likely predictions, but it does NOT prove that, "If we do (A), then the result will absolutely be (B)." This is where a little science is used to manufacture a lot of propaganda. That said, I have no problem with full/equal participation in the economy. Every capable person SHOULD BE doing all he/she can to contribute to their own survival and that of society as a whole.
@Pivitrix
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
Well guess what, you don't live in the 1950's anymore, so shut up and move on already.
@Canukles
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
And now Big Think is taking a page from the book of Anita, blocking comments and ratings on new videos. It's all downhill from here, folks.
@kulgan18
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
So you are supposed to promote on gender instead of merits?. No longer the more qualified and skilled gets the job?.
Thats promoting mediocrity. I bet that will turn out great in the end. NOT.
@NiteSaiya
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
Now Big Think is disabling votes and comments on other videos on these topics? Censorship of free discourse is the very opposite of intellectual or rational. They leave only one option to people interested in discourse: Unsubscribing.
@Draftgon
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
Turning off comments and votes in your PwC videos now? No criticism allowed? OK, I'm outta here. Big Fuck you.
@whooterNG
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
theyll just spend all the money on shoes and candy crush if theyr in charge innit
@theravenousrabbit3671
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
Hah, Big Think is censoring comments and removing ratings for their future feminist masturbation video's it seems. Thank you for showing us that you don't actually care about free speech nor the advancement of the human race, but simply your narrative.
@spinycrayfish
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
People with actual knowledge don't appreciate 'professional managers'. Experts question the abilities of an outsider with no experience in the field and that motivates her to try harder. The moral of the story, avoid complacency and encourage change.
But the gender issue is imagined, they would have done the same if it was a male. I've seen it countless times, the criticism comes regardless of the genders of the target or those complaining. But criticise a 'girlie' and it's instant misogyny. It would be nice to enjoy such privilege.
@pengyong3553
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
what is the meaning of "big think" ?
@MythHealer
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
Bigger Think <—-that's me
I would like to give the viewer a BS detector program. This little program, if you place it somewhere in your memory (just like a computer routine) will allow you to see through BS when you are being manipulated by that BS. Here's the program routine you need to remember:
1) Is there any mention of what this person has accomplished?
2) Is there any mention of exact differences this person has brought to the table, with scientific proof that THEY made that contribution?
3) If someone is claiming to have made a positive improvement, are they claiming this within a TEAM of others? These are always suspect.
4) Are statistics vague, and without any keywords that you could use to Google, and verify?
5) Does the person represent a special interest group?
6) Does the special interest group EXPECT consideration without just compensation? This would be giving consideration for physical states that have absolutely no relevance to the talents required to do the job with exceptional skill.
7) Is the person padded with a life long resume of administration, and no hands on skill? These are indicators that extreme prejudice may be present. They are given the leadership position because they are friends with the others on the board, or related, or are in the upper income bracket.
University graduates are ALLOWED to get degrees if their work never gets to close to the truth/facts. As long as University students never figure out the scam on the public, they will be allowed to graduate with high honors. Those graduates then go on to lead middle managers… and scam the public out of whatever they can get away with. This is the present state of our global economy, and I'm not going to be party to this social abuse. Feminism is a tool of the power structure, a band of useful idiots (their words) to keep the Feminist leaders focused on the false flag of male hating. Leadership is the root of all dysfunction, and Feminism is funded in order to continue the false flag, protecting the true root of all dysfunction.
I'm calling game over, anyone else with me?
@tallestGirafffe
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
She has an interesting point, though I wish she'd go more deeply into research mentioned. If it's true, I'd be all for it, but I'd really like to check the legitmacy and/or bias behind it.
@SirAmicVarze
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
Ironically the comments in here prove her point.
@frankschrodinger1424
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
I think both men and women have something unique to bring to the table and depend on each other for society to function (beyond the physical necessity). I just despise women who try to make a point of being victimised – sure there exists a small minority of men who are still stuck in the 50s, but if you're a good leader, the majority of men don't care if you have a vagina or not. These videos only serve to create a divide between the sexes and create a problem which doesn't even exist. This is why people are thumbing these videos down – not because they're basement dwellers who hate women.
@artai0sdev968
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
I came for the comments. XD
@chestbuster1987
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
As a man, I feel offended by the presumption that I imagine leaders as men. Lots of men do that, and lots of men don't. Making assertions like 'men tend to think..' is simply ignorant.
@noidsuper
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
Men are naturally better leaders, fuck off.
@ngv001
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
I love these videos for the comments alone 😀
@ZapPhoenix
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
When her fellow board member posed her the question "what do you know about engineering?" THE WORD GIRLY IN FRONT OF IT IS IRRELIVANT. What she actually fails to answer in this entire piece is that she knows NOTHING of engineering according to her own linkdin she is a finance and management specialist, based on skills. The board, which, by her own words had been previously run just by engineers would then have a valid reason to question why someone with no ENIGINEERING knowledge would be brought in on the board.
@bioshock669
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
Should we higher blacks and Mexicans for the sole purpose of adding more color to the office as well?
@Milkhunter73
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
when women gets any sort of power they become fucking crazy. its true for 90% of paces i worked
@aarondean01
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
So Ms/Mrs Diplock you have no experience in engineering and you get appointed to a board of engineering? You're surprised when men that have been doing the job for years question the validity of your appointment? Yes, the use of "girly" is a little unprofessional. But, when faced with having to work with or for someone that is probably less qualified than many people that were, tempers can rise.
@IceCube8185
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
lol those mad in the comments are the same ones who have a fit when racial topics are uploaded… how do these conversations negatively impact your life? i'm not disagreeing or agreeing i'm just wondering why some of y'all get so worked up that these very real topics are raised.
@R00k81
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
I would've liked her to briefly tell me how full female participation would improve Australia's performance by 12% and what is meant by 'performance". The claim seems a bit far-fetched.
@PhillipHunsberger
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
I feel so sorry for you anti-feminists. What miserable existences you all must live. So filled with hate and fear and paranoia. And how you seem to think women are all around the corner coming to get you. So fucking sad…
@JBades6310
December 14, 2025 at 2:26 pm
Sometimes I really don't get Big Think – they get truly amazing, inspiring speakers like Michio Kaku, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and Bill Nye, but then they also bring on highly opinionated, useless speakers like this. I'm not trying single this one out, since there are some other empty-value videos on the channel, but she really didn't substantiate anything she asserted. It's just odd to see such a wide spectrum on one channel. Perhaps they should better filter out the speakers who provide little in the way of insight because it tarnishes the caliber of the channel
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