On International Women’s Day 2011, Westpac Bank’s silver-haired, power-suited Westpac boss rubs shoulders with the likes of Lady Gaga and Beyonce. Australian-South African Gail Kelly is part of an eclectic and exclusive group of unusual and starkly different females who make up the Forbes' magazine 10 Most Powerful Women in the World.
Kelly ranks eight with Forbes
Ms Kelly is ranked the eighth most powerful woman in the world by Forbes, moving up the ranks from 18 in 2009. She is flanked by the flamboyant and much more scantily clad duo of Beyonce, ranked nine, and Lady Gaga, who owns the seventh spot. US First Lady Michelle Obama is number one.
Ms Kelly has laughed off her standing as one of Forbes magazine’s 10 most Powerful Women in the world, noting that she was “sandwiched between Lady Gaga and Beyonce”. “I absolutely hate it when people introduce me in that way. It's one of those sort-of, lovely, causes-a-laugh kind of conversations,” she said.
As of 2005, Ms Kelly became the highest paid woman at an Australian corporation. She assumed the position of CEO at Westpac in 2008.
Forbes’ 10 most powerful women:
1. Michelle Obama, US first lady
2. Irene Rosenfeld, chief executive, Kraft Foods
3. Oprah Winfrey, media mogul
4. Angela Merkel, German chancellor
5. Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state
6. Indra Nooyi, chief executive, Pepsi
7. Lady Gaga, singer
8. Gail Kelly, chief executive, Westpac
9. Beyonce Knowles, singer and fashion designer
10. Ellen DeGeneres, talk show host
Women in society
“On this 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, we can look back and see that women have played an amazing role in all disciplines in our society,” she said during an interview on Australian national television this morning (March 7, 2011).
Asked how she – a mother of triplets – managed to reach the top of her profession so seamlessly, she smiled and replied: “It may have looked that way on the surface, but there was plenty of treading water going on underneath.”
Ms Kelly said it was very important to have support at home – as she did from her husband Alan. She said support in the workplace was “crucial”. “My employer in South Africa gave me a lot of room to move,” she said.
Still a boys’ club?
While Ms Kelly may be slightly flattered that she rates higher on the Power List than Hollywood’s hottest celebrities of the moment, her role in the male-dominated banking industry is worlds away from the likes of Beyonce and Lady Gaga.
In-between running the bank and bringing up the kids, Ms Kelly has just published a book entitled The Power of 100. She says women have come a long way in the equality stakes since the 60s and 70s. But, while much more could still be done, she was not in favour of legislated quotas:
“I am a big believer in self-regulation, however. I do hope we don’t have to take a legislative approach.”
Women make up about 25 per cent of board appointments in Australia at present, but it slips to 11 per cent for the top 200 companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
High achieving Aussie women
So this is how it looks for power-women in Australia in 2011:
- There’s a woman (Julia Gillard) in the Prime Minister’s office.
- A woman (Gina Rinehart) has become Australia’s richest person.
- Two women (Kristina Keneally and Lara Giddings) have become State Premiers,
- A female chief executive (Westpac’s Gail Kelly) was named the eighth most powerful woman in the world and
- The number of woman on ASX 200 boards is finally ticking up, to 10.6 per cent at last count
- It seems one doesn’t necessarily have to travel around in a giant egg to find the golden goose these days.
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