A few weeks ago, I attended the launch of the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer where we were informed that Australia’s leading institutions -- government, media, NGOs, and business -- are among the least-trusted in the world. This is the second year in a row that trust fell across these sectors. Our institutions are now just four points above Russia, the world’s least-trusting nation. But while trust in business broadly has declined –- particularly in certain industries -- Australians’ trust in CEOs has increased by 50% (from 26 to 39 points). This is largely due to chief executives taking a public stance on societal issues, such as modern slavery, same sex marriage, and battery-driven energy storage. The public wants to know, beyond returning value to shareholders, what a company stands for. From speaking with many of you, I know that there are societal issues – which may or may not be integral to your business – about which you care deeply. That is why I am introducing a new feature in my monthly message to highlight how AmCham member companies are making a difference -- I want to share the stories that help us understand corporate priorities beyond profit. Please send me your ideas and stories, and take a look at our first story from 3M below.
As a starting point, I know that many of you are interested in and committed to diversity and inclusion. There is enough data now to understand clearly how diversity improves the bottom line. One area that has received a lot of attention this month, around International Women’s Day (IWD), is gender balance in the workplace. The theme of women’s rights is broad and multi-faceted, but in the context of commerce, there are clear reasons for equal pay and representation: Deloitte recently concluded that achieving gender parity on boards would deliver $87 million in productivity gains for the state of QLD. Goldman Sachs JBWere showed that a 6% increase in the female participation rate would boost GDP by 11%. One AmCham member CEOs, in fact, told me that he sees his company’s commitment to gender balance in their management team as a key competitive advantage they have over their rivals. Nevertheless, an ASX 200 CEO is more likely to be named Andrew than to be a woman. More chairs are named Peter or John than are women. More needs to be done, but there has been progress: female representation on ASX 200 boards is at its highest rate ever: 27%. The Chief Executive Women group has recently exceeded 500 members, a record high. And next month, the Global Summit of Women -- which the Sydney Morning Herald called “The ‘Davos’ of women” -- will land Down Under to showcase Australia as a nation striving for gender equality. Right here at home, I’m pleased to point out that the AmCham Board is 44% female and at our Premium member breakfast with Chargé d’Affaires ai Carouso and Consul General Fowler this week, we had an even balance of male and female CEOs around the table.
AmCham celebrated IWD with 450 of our closest friends at our annual Melbourne High Tea. We also regularly schedule events focusing on female leadership, including a panel on The Modern Workplace, Advancing Women in Leadership, Defining Appropriate Behaviour in the Workplace, Successful Entrepreneurs: Igniting Lasting Change and many other events. In addition, AmCham has Women in Leadership committees across the country. How did your company mark International Women’s Day? What are your diversity and inclusion goals? Share your company’s stories on our social media.
Another topic that received a lot of attention in Australia this month was free trade. On the same day last week when Minister Ciobo signed the TPP-11 agreement, President Trump signed the final plan on steel and aluminium tariffs. Through intensive lobbying by the government, along with support from the opposition and the private sector, Australia has secured an exemption from these tariffs on national security grounds. According to PM Turnbull and Ambassador Hockey, this shows the importance of the “100 years of mateship” the US and Australia have shared.
AmCham Australia has always been a supporter of the free movement of goods, services, and ideas across borders, but we are also very focused on what happens inside our borders. And signs are good for business at home as well as abroad. The most recent NAB survey shows that business conditions are at record levels, indicating that Australian business activity is robust. Moreover, the strength spans industry groups. Leading indicators in the survey showed a significant rise in forward orders. This is a long-term trend over the past several years, according to the report, signalling an improved outlook for the non-mining economy. Similarly, capacity utilisation is trending higher, an encouraging sign for both employment and future investment. These business conditions are facilitating ground-breaking R&D and entrepreneurship in many industries in Australia, including those that are 2018 AmCham priority areas.
Finally, I’m excited to announce that AmCham, in conjunction with Executive Media, will be producing the AmCham Trade and Investment Guide for 2018. Please contact us if you would like to suggest content or purchase advertising space. We welcome your contributions and hope that you will find this important publication useful to your business.
I hope that you are finding AmCham’s current programs and priorities aligning with your interests, but if there is something we are not currently covering that you think is important, please let me know. We are here to be of service to you, and I truly believe your success is our success. I have already had over 250 individual meetings with Directors, Governors, Members, and others in the business community. I am enjoying tremendously getting to know all of your businesses, your challenges, your teams, and your priorities. If we haven’t had an opportunity to meet yet and there are things you’d like to discuss, please drop me an email. The experience and knowledge of our members is a huge source of learning for me and my team, and we very much value the information you share with us.
Thank you for your continued support,
April Palmerlee, Chief Executive Officer
American Chamber of Commerce in Australia
P 02 8031 9000 | E [email protected]
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