Westpac Case Study: Gender Disparity and Leadership in Australia

This report examines gender disparity in the Australian business sector, focusing on the case of Gail Kelly, former CEO of Westpac. It identifies gender inequality as a significant management issue, analyzing the impact of this issue on the workforce. The report critically discusses the application of transformational and transactional leadership styles, as observed in Kelly's leadership, and how these styles can be used to address gender inequality. It also provides recommendations, including the adoption of situational leadership, to promote female leadership and improve organizational performance. The report concludes that a combination of leadership styles can encourage women's empowerment and contribute to business growth, as demonstrated during Kelly's tenure at Westpac. The report uses Henri Fayol’s theory of management and the Equity principle for its analysis.

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Management
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
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Executive summary
The business sector of Australia has been facing a challenging issue for quite a long time.
Although the country has seen economic development for a long time, there are some issues
which are still persisting even in the 21st century. Gender disparity is one of such issues. In the
given case study about the former CEO of Westpac, Gail Kelly, the management issue about the
gender disparity in the Australian business sector has been highlighted. The following report
focuses on the gender inequality in the business sector of Australia, the leadership styles of Gail
Kelly and how the application of transformational and transactional leadership style can help in
addressing the management issue identified in the case study.

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Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................3
2.0 Issue Identification.....................................................................................................................3
3.0 Critical discussion......................................................................................................................4
4.0 Recommendations......................................................................................................................7
5.0 Conclusion.................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................11

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1.0 Introduction
Women empowerment is not always happening in the business world even in the 21st
century. Gail Kelly, one of the most famous female bosses in Australia, retired from her position
of CEO of Westpac and this threw a light on the big issue of gender inequality at the top
positions of the companies in Australia. In the country, it is observed that after Kelly’s departure,
there are only six female CEOs in more than 200 big companies (Fox, 2014). Through this
report, the issue of gender discrimination in the business sector of Australia will be highlighted
to find out the extent of impact. The report will contain introduction, issue identification, critical
analysis, recommendations and concluding remarks. The models of leadership that is going to be
critically analyzed in the report are transactional and transformational leadership.
2.0 Issue Identification
In the given case study, the issue of gender discrimination in the Australian business
sector is highlighted. The departure of Gail Kelly has thrown an in-sight about this major issue in
Australia. It is found that, majority of the women in Australia climb the ladder of growth by
tolerating the discriminating issues in the male dominated work culture (Piterman, 2014). The
management function that can be linked with this case study is the Staffing function. Staffing is
one of the major functions of the management. This function deals with the human resource
planning, recruitment, training and development, performance appraisal, promotions and
transfers of the manpower (Williams, Mavin, Stead & Elliott, 2016). Henri Fayol’s Theory of
Management can be applied in this case. Under the 14 principles of this theory, the Equity
Principle focuses on fairness of the managers to the staff during all times along with maintaining
disciple coupled with kindness (Fayol, 2016). In this case, through the application of the Equity

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principle, the managers in Australia can be fair with the promotions of the female employees.
For any organization in the business, like, Westpac in the case study, gender discrimination
affects the work culture by demotivating the female employees. Even if many women employees
are at par or more qualified and efficient than the male employees, due to discriminatory actions,
they cannot make progress in the organization (Barak, 2016). Hence, it is important to make
further research work on this issue to solve the gender discrimination in the workplace of
Australia. There are two other similar cases in the workplace of Australia, Alison Watkins
heading the Coca-Cola Amatil and Kerrie Mather heading the Sydney Airport Corporation (Fox,
2014). Very few corporations in Australia have female bosses and when they leave, the position
is again captured by a male employee.
3.0 Critical discussion
Gender inequality is a big issue in the work culture of Australia. It is found that, in more
than 200 big companies, there are only six female CEOs after Gail Kelly retires from her
position the CEO of Westpac. It is a rare scenario in Australia where a female employee is
heading the corporation (Margolis & Ziegert, 2016). Kelly as set an example of the women
empowerment in the business sector by upholding the position and value of Westpac, especially
during the global financial crisis. However, this throws a light on the problem of gender
discrimination in the business sector of Australia.
The main drivers of motivation in any organization are the leaders who encourage the
people to strive towards the collective goal of the company. Some of the basic function of a
leader: upholding and bringing about a positive organizational culture, providing inspiration
among the workers and the staff, offering support and guidance. Along with this a leader is also

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responsible in developing and initiating actions for the organization with the help of policies and
decisions. Behaving responsibly is also the role of a leader (Azanza, Moriano & Molero, 2013).
According to Antonakis & House (2014), there is a number of leadership styles, but the
model that we are going to discuss are the transactional and transformational leadership. The
style of leadership that has been observed in Gail Kelly is transformational and transactional in
nature. She is a far-sighted woman who has set high benchmarks for the following leaders of
Westpac. One of her many abilities that she used in her leadership as well are being positive in
every aspect of life.
The concept of leadership was introduced by James McGregor Burns in his 1978 book
called “Leadership”. In transformational leadership style the leaders encourage and invite
changes in the process of operation to keep up with the dynamics of the business environment.
The changes that are brought about in the circumstances are such that they help in improving the
productivity, solving the issues and internal conflict as well as maintaining a fair work
environment in the organization (Azanza, Moriano & Molero, 2013). Transformational leaders
recognize the importance of change in the company because evolution with time is the only way
to move ahead. Two most important factors that are associated with transformational leadership
are motivation and morality. Gail Kelly is known to have brought about a number of changes in
the organization and she has surely motivated and inspired a lot of women not only in Australia
but around the world to achieve the dream without giving up. She is a person who believed in
capabilities of a human being and not their gender. She said that it is important to ensure that
with a motivated employee there must be an equally motivated leader so that the energy can be
channelized in productivity and achievement (Dinh et al., 2014).

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On the other hand a transactional leader is a person who is focused on the managerial
aspect of the business operation by planning, strategizing, organizing as this person has respect
for values and principles as well as structure (Azanza, Moriano & Molero, 2013). This kind of
leadership is perfect for a self motivated group of people who understand the gain of their
production and the relation in between the leader and the subordinates are transactional in nature.
This poses a direct contrast with the theory that has been discussed previously where inspiration
and motivation is an integral part of the role the leader has to play (Dinh et al., 2014).
The leadership of Gail Kelly is a combination of the two above concept. The style has a
good balance of both the good aspect of transactional and transformational leader (Chen & Chen,
2013). In case of the gender discrimination issue that has been identified it is important to have a
leader like Gail Kelly to set benchmarks, she has over the years ensured that there is a fair
chance for all the employees in the organization.
The other theories of leadership include the situational theories, which focus on the
visionary and moral leadership styles. Situational leadership style is that, in which the leader of a
company adjusts his capability of fitting into the development of the followers (M. Taylor, J.
Cornelius & Colvin, 2014). Those theories are not used in this case because Kelly displayed the
features of transformational and transactional style in her leadership by inspiring not only the
employees but also the women of Australia to aspire for high dreams and also motivated the
enthusiastic employees to perform better for the organization’s as well as their own gain. But
Kelly did not show any evidence of adjusting her capabilities for fitting into the development of
the teams. She rather set the rules on her own.

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4.0 Recommendations
A study on the other organizations, for example, ANZ Australia, shows that they have
achieved a great position in the Australian market by applying situational leadership. In this
organization, the leaders have adopted the visionary model of the situational leadership and in
many aspects they have performed better than Westpac. They take up a 3-day Business
Leadership Program that helps in the development and improvement of the leadership behavior
and in the business outcomes (Haygroup.com, 2016).
This process of ANZ is focused on improving the skills of the potential leaders in the
organizations. Hence, they take the visionary and moral approach to identify the potential leaders
within the organization, because they believe that the people who are already working in ANZ
will have a better understanding of the system and they can take necessary steps to improve the
organizational performance. They can mould themselves as per the need of the organization.
This is a different approach than the transformational leadership style and ANZ has performed
better by applying the situational leadership, where individuals come with great personal
understanding and use some practical tools to lead.
Similarly, another major bank, NAB, has applied this situational leadership style as the
leaders have taken charge when the situation demanded. Rather than transactional leadership, as
followed by Kelly in Westpac, the CEO and other leaders of NAB focused mainly on the market
demand and condition and changed strategies accordingly. They wanted to help the customers by
applying fair charges and fair policies, which is a reflection of morality in the situational
leadership theory. Thus, they have adopted the policy of changing their strategies according to
the needs of the situation rather than focusing only on the organizational gains.

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Thus, it can be recommended for Westpac that the new CEO can adopt the situational
leadership styles along with transformational and transactional leadership to make more
improvements in the organizational performances. Westpac also needs to change their way of
leading when situation demands by changing the style of leadership. Through morality, it can
eliminate the problem of gender inequality in the organization, which will reduce the biasness of
bringing more female power at the higher positions.
5.0 Conclusion
From the above case study, it can be seen that, the Australian business sector has
promoted the issue of gender discrimination or inequality for a long time. It is a severe
management issue in the Australian organizations. From the above discussion it can be said that,
the issue of gender discrimination can be addressed by the application of transformational and
transactional leadership styles. Firstly, the leaders of the organizations can motivate the
employees by setting examples of upliftment in the personal and professional life. The issue of
gender discrimination needs to be corrected by changing the thought process of people and that
can happen by inspiring people through transformational leadership. Secondly, the new CEO of
Westpac can set examples in eliminating the problem of gender disparity in the Australian
business sector by applying the transactional leadership styles. He can introduce some rewards
and recognition that would promote the female workforce and also helps in bringing workforce
parity in the organization. Thus, by applying the transformational and transactional leadership,
the organizations can encourage the women empowerment in the work place and this would
contribute in the growth of the organization as seen in case of Westpac during the reign of Gail
Kelly.

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References
Antonakis, J., & House, R. J. (2014). Instrumental leadership: Measurement and extension of
transformational–transactional leadership theory. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(4), 746-
771. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2014.04.005
Azanza, G., Moriano, J. A., & Molero, F. (2013). Authentic leadership and organizational culture
as drivers of employees’ job satisfaction. Revista de Psicología del Trabajo y de las
Organizaciones, 29(2), 45-50. DOI: org/10.5093/tr2013a7
Barak, M. E. M. (2016). Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace. Sage
Publications.
Chen, J., & Chen, I. (2013). Don’t worry, I’m with you: Can visionary leadership release
neurotic employees for more perceived innovative interactions? Innovation, 15(2), 215-
223. DOI:10.5172/impp.2013.15.2.215
Dinh, J. E., Lord, R. G., Gardner, W. L., Meuser, J. D., Liden, R. C., & Hu, J. (2014). Leadership
theory and research in the new millennium: Current theoretical trends and changing
perspectives. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 36-62. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.11.005
Fayol, H. (2016). General and industrial management. Ravenio Books.
Fox, C. (2014). Where are the women to replace Gail Kelly?. [online] ABC News. Available at:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-13/fox-where-are-the-female-leaders-to-replace-
gail-kelly/5888912 [Accessed 1 Jan. 2018].

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Haygroup.com. (2016). Case study: ANZ (leadership). Haygroup.com. Retrieved 8 January
2018, from http://www.haygroup.com/au/downloads/details.aspx?id=16267
M. Taylor, C., J. Cornelius, C., & Colvin, K. (2014). Visionary leadership and its relationship to
organizational effectiveness. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 35(6),
566-583. DOI:10.1108/LODJ-10-2012-0130
Margolis, J. A., & Ziegert, J. C. (2016). Vertical flow of collectivistic leadership: An
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Piterman, H. (2014). Why Australian business needs another Gail Kelly. [online] The
Conversation. Available at: http://theconversation.com/why-australian-business-needs-
another-gail-kelly-34188 [Accessed 1 Jan. 2018].
smh.com (2014). Gail Kelly's successor at Westpac is a man: has anything changed?. [online]
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Organization: Challenging Mis (s) representations of Women Leaders and Managers.
IAP.

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