How Xref achieved a 0% gender gap with more female leaders

At Xref, we’re proud to announce our gender pay gap is currently 0%. About 45% of our workforce is female, and 50% of our leadership team is comprised of women.

Having an equal representation of women on our leadership team has been a key strategy used for achieving our 0% gap. 

Specialist agencies like Australia’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) have noted that getting more women into leadership roles helps reduce the gender gap. 

When women are in leadership positions, it opens the door for other women to advance, creating a cycle of empowerment and representation. Their presence provides invaluable opportunities for mentorship and role modelling, encouraging more women to pursue leadership roles and fostering an environment where diverse perspectives are valued.

Currently, data reveals there are insufficient numbers of female leaders in organisations worldwide. 

LinkedIn data analysed in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2024 reveals only 31.7% of senior leaders worldwide are women. The report shows that while women are close to occupying nearly half of entry-level positions, they fall short of representing just one-quarter of C-suite roles.

So, how did we at Xref achieve a leadership gap of 0%? As a global organisation, we seek to champion and nurture every single team member. We value equality, and we hope to inspire other organisations to do the same.

In the spirit of championing female perspectives, we asked female leaders from around our business for their personal advice on how to get more women into leadership positions. The advice shared is based on our female leaders' personal life and career experiences. 

The female leaders interviewed come from diverse backgrounds and are at various stages in their leadership careers. Each is committed to improving gender equality and ensuring equal representation. Here are their insights. 

Question 1: What does Xref do to support women in leadership

Two key ways we support women in leadership at Xref are by offering flexible work policies and using inclusive recruitment procedures. 

Flexible work policies 

According to Cecelia Coleman, our People and Culture Lead, when it comes to supporting women in leadership, it’s important to offer flexible work arrangements for women and men. “Offer flexible work arrangements, not just for women but also for men who need to support women. For example, we gave one of our sales managers the green light to work from another country so he could support his wife’s career,” says Cecelia.  

When it comes to offering flexible work for women specifically, Cecelia says, “Offer flexible working hours and give women on maternity leave the ability to choose return to work dates and times. It’s also important to remember that family is important, but some women have different priorities, and it’s not always kids. We should support that, too!” 

When women feel supported at work, they are more likely to stay and ascend to leadership positions. According to Deloitte’s 2024 Women at Work report, women who plan to stay with their organisation for five or more years say the ability to manage work/life balance and the weight of personal responsibilities alongside their career is one of the top reasons for staying. 

Inclusive recruitment 

Getting more women in management positions starts at the beginning. 

“At Xref, we create inclusive recruitment processes where we remove as much unconscious bias as possible. This involves training managers in identifying unconscious bias and having a diverse selection panel including equal male and female representation,” says Cecelia. 

By focusing on removing bias in the recruitment process, we create a more even playing field for candidates. 

For more tips on diversity hiring see our blog, The Five Top Tips Helping Companies Achieve Diversity. 

Question 2: How can we develop and support emerging female leaders?

Closing the gender gap isn’t just about getting women into leadership positions. It’s about preparing a new generation of emerging leaders to uphold these positions. 

According to McKinsey’s 2023 Women in the Workplace report, the ‘broken rung’ is the greatest obstacle women face on the path to senior leadership. 

The broken rung refers to the difficulties women face getting their first promotion to a manager-level role.  According to the report, for every 100 men promoted from entry-level roles to managers, 87 women were promoted. 

At Xref, we train emerging leaders with ongoing learning initiatives and mentorship programs that pair new leaders with experienced leaders who can provide guidance and ongoing support. 

Melanie Seymour our Remuneration and Benefits Manager said, “Developing leaders who are new to the workplace requires a multifaceted approach that focuses on both practical skills and personal development.” 

Melanie also noted the importance of female role models and recognising achievements, “We have female role models on our leadership teams and provide recognition of achievements and training to further develop skills and help employees step outside their comfort zones.” 

Our leaders also emphasised that while it’s important to nurture future female leaders, it’s equally important to learn from them. New talent brings a diversity of perspectives and skillsets that can be tapped into to help organisations reach new heights. 

As Karina Guerra, GM of Customer Intelligence and Marketing notes, “People and organisations have so much to learn from emerging leaders. It’s crucial for established leaders to allocate time to discuss possible new angles and fresh perspectives.”

Question 3:  What mental barriers must women overcome to become leaders? 

When it comes to getting more women into leadership positions, the practical side of things is only half the challenge. It’s more common for women in the workplace to face imposter syndrome and perfectionism. For example, KPMG’s 2022 Mind the Gap survey found that 75% of women surveyed had personally experienced imposter syndrome. 

According to our team, mental barriers to leadership mean personal development should also be a priority when supporting female leaders. 

Minu Ajith, Director DevOps and Security, discussed the issue, stating, “Balancing work and personal life, fear of failure, social gender bias, and fear of not being accepted are some of the significant mental barriers some women, myself included, may need to overcome to step into leadership roles.” 

How to help women overcome mental barriers?

As mentioned above, training and development are important. Development programs that focus on personal development can help emerging leaders overcome mental barriers and develop more confidence. 

Question 4:  What actions do you believe organisations can take to get more women into leadership positions and reduce the gender gap? 

There are plenty of ways organisations can help get more women into leadership roles, some strategies have already been mentioned in this blog. 

When it comes to making organisational changes to increase the number of women in leadership positions, the most important thing to remember is that reducing the gender gap is a process. Organisations should view championing equality for all people in the workplace as an ongoing initiative. 

Similarly, cultivating a culture of equality is crucial and ongoing process. At Xref, equality is one of our key values and we work hard to ensure we respect each other and do not judge each other based on gender, race, age or any other differentiating factor.  

According to our leaders, strategies organisations can specifically use to promote women at work include: 

• Inclusive policies that allow for more equal recruiting, flexible work arrangements and pay parity. 
• Mentorship and career development opportunities for women including initiatives that focus on mental barriers to leadership like imposter syndrome.
• Learning and development initiatives for all employees to ensure everyone gets an opportunity to upskill and develop new skills like technical product knowledge and emerging technologies such as AI. 
• Utilising engagement surveys to understand how employees feel about workplace policies and acting on the feedback provided. 
• Create a culture of ownership by championing junior leaders and providing them with opportunities to grow into their roles by doing things such as presenting at global meetings and showcasing their work. 

Cecilia encapsulates Xref’s approach to leadership explaining, “We see every single team member as a leader as they are either managing teams or leading us as subject matter experts. Using this viewpoint allows us to empower everyone in our business to become leaders and grow with our business.” 

Question 5:  What’s something you learned from a previous leader that helped you grow in your career?

Our leadership journeys all start somewhere. As a final question, we asked our female leaders to share a key learning that helped them grow. We summarised them into key themes. 

Prioritise your time 

If we don’t prioritise our time, then significant projects will never get finished. Cecilia said, “By learning to say no to tasks or commitments that didn't align with my objectives, I gained greater control over my workload and could dedicate more time and energy to important projects. This helped me advance in my career by focusing on the things that truly mattered.” 

Focus on what you can control 

As well as getting priorities straight, it’s important to maintain a focus on what can be controlled. 

Rachel Davidson our Head of Product Knowledge & Customer Enablement said,  “One of the most valuable lessons I've learned from a previous leader is the importance of focusing on what you can control. As a new leader, it's easy to become overwhelmed by the issues and challenges that arise daily. This leader taught me to concentrate on the elements within my influence, rather than getting bogged down by external factors that are beyond my control.”

Think outside the box 

A problem is only a problem if it cannot be fixed. Emerging leaders should think outside the box when solving challenges. Doing so leads to innovative solutions that can propel business growth. As Melanie learned, “I was taught to think outside of the box when trying to find a solution to a problem.” 

Final thoughts 

As our leaders have shared, flexible work policies, mentorship and assistance with personal development are all key ways new female leaders can be supported in the workplace. 

However, every organisation is unique and the women in your organisation will have their own feedback. So, if supporting more women in leadership is on your organisational radar, a great way to start is by asking female employees what they may need to best feel supported and taking steps to action feedback. 

By making a change in our organisations now, we are taking steps to create a more positive future. A future where younger generations can see diverse role models in leadership positions and, as a result, better understand their own potential.  

As Cecelia says, “It's crucial to present young girls and boys with diverse role models and expose them to stories and examples of women in leadership roles. This inclusive approach is vital for nurturing a new generation and is important to help people understand that leadership is not exclusive to one gender.”

For more strategies on supporting women in leadership positions see this report by the Business Council of Australia, McKinsey & Company and WGEA.