For most of us, achieving work/life balance involves juggling a career and kids.

For Rosie Hooper, athlete and articled clerk with law firm Allens Arthur Robinson, it means juggling a career and a javelin.

Ms Hooper, a finalist in the 2006 Commonwealth Games, is one of a large number of AAR employees taking advantage of the firm's flexible work practices to squeeze different life experiences into their days.

And, like her, not all of them are working mums.

"We would always rather not see talent walk out the door. If it's possible to accommodate them, we would rather work something out than lose them," says Maryjane Crabtree, an AAR executive partner and chair of its Women@AAR steering committee ... read more.

Management Today, March 2008 What Women Want By Jocelyn Biddle Rather than any single cause, it is becoming clearer that the reasons why women continue to be poorly represented at high levels is the sum of many obstacles. It is no secret that when it comes to the upper echelons of senior management within Australia, women remain few and far between. Statistics show that at each rung moving up the corporate ladder, the proportion of women diminishes. By the time you reach board level, there are slim pickings available for chairpersons who understand the benefits that women bring to the boardroom table and who are seeking to balance the ratio within a typically male domain. The reasons for this are numerous. And it certainly doesn't have anything to do with aptitude. read more

The Australian, 18 March 2008 Why top jobs elude women By Jennifer Hewett Why are there so few women at senior levels in Australian corporate life? How is it that women, who are at least as well educated as men these days, represent only 12 per cent of ASX 200 executive managers? Why have women been appointed as CEOs of just five ASX 200 companies since 2004? There's no simple answer for this imbalance but a new study attempts to explore the reasons, including interviewing senior male and female managers in a range of companies. The study, done with the co-operation of 13 large Australian companies among others, targets many of the issues that make rising to the top either less attractive or less possible for women. The results won't make comfortable reading for many boards and challenge the concept of just what it means to be the right "cultural fit" in organisations. One of the most powerful aspects of the study by Hannah Piterman launched yesterday is the many direct quotes by various individuals ... read more

The National Diversity on Boards conference series is being inaugurated by leading advocate for boardroom change, Women on Boards. It aims to progress discussion and action on the important issue of improving the diversity on Australian boards.

Diversity is a core business issue for Australian companies. Accountability, performance and credibility are linked to company performance and opening up opportunities in our boardrooms to a wider range of talented men and women.

The aim of the conference series is to provide thought leadership as well as commercial and practical outcomes for attendees.

For full details, including downloadable program and how to register, click here.

Brad Orgill is Chairman and CEO of UBS Investment Bank, Australia & New Zealand and Country Head for all UBS activities in Australia. Globally, he is also a Member of the UBS Group Managing Board. Brad has been with UBS and its predecessor companies for 21 years of which half have been spent in Australia and half (1994-2005) in Asia. He has a Bachelor of Economics and M.A. in Asian Studies.

Sophie McCarthy spoke to Brad Orgill about the mentoring program at UBS, how it is helping his staff to take more risks in their careers and who he would chose today if he could have any mentor across the globe.

Brad, the UBS mentoring program with McCarthy Mentoring has been operating for almost a decade, what was the initial motivation for establishing this external mentoring program?

The original motivation was to give support to the development of women in our business. We felt that we didn't have enough women in the senior ranks and that by having external mentoring we could assist that process. Subsequent to my arriving we decided to add more people and to open it also to men.

I think that as well as the general development of senior executives it does plug them into people outside our industry and outside the firm which is tremendously beneficial for an understanding of broader business. It can become very insular working for an investment bank or a law firm if you just mix principally with people from the bank or the law firm.

Have the aims of the program changed in this time?

No I think the genesis has remained at the core.

How do you select people for that program?

Those who are performing well, those who are seen as potential leaders of the firm and there is still a bias towards women in that we still feel we don't have enough senior women in our ranks. When I say bias, it's a priority to use this program to try and rectify this position.

How many senior women do you have or what percentage?

Not enough. The percentage is too low. It's not just us, it's the industry. There are various issues that we can undertake to try and correct this but it's a long, slow process.

When I say issues, things like childcare which we introduced in the last couple of years, subsidised childcare just across the road. That made a difference at the margin. Making sure that we had a message out on campus that some of the perceptions of working in an investment bank perhaps were off the mark and there are lots of different options.

We now look across all of our particular functions and roles and decide which ones can be done more flexibly and which ones cannot ... read more

The growth of one to one mentoring relationships as a professional development tool raises questions about proper conduct by mentor and mentee. Wendy's new books One 2 One discuss the issue of mentoring manners and a code of ethics for mentoring - why they are useful and how they can enhance the mentoring relationship.

Each year we ask all mentees to complete a short evaluation. Here are some comments on a few key questions.

Does the relationship with your mentor have a clear objective?

• Yes, from my perspective it is about me working out strategies to further my career, and to work through immediate issues in the work place.
• Yes - to improve my overall business leadership skills
• There are multiple issues that I wished to cover, and probably several objectives stem from those issues.
• Yes. It was initially to assist me in focussing on my future and career options. During this time my career has changed significantly in any event but the mentoring has certainly assisted during that process.
• This arrangement is being done on a pro-bono basis and while we have discussed objectives we have agreed initially to see what the need is and discuss topics as they present. As we progress I'm sure we will set more concrete objectives.
• Yes it does - it is a new relationship but we have outlined what objectives we wish to achieve and seem to be working well towards these.
• Not yet - I have only had approximately 4 meetings with my mentor and we have talked mostly about current issues I am facing at work. While this has been helpful I would like to set objectives for the mentorship in 2008 in conjunction with my mentor and plan to discuss this at our next meeting in December.
• No
• It did when we began, now more of a general role
• High level focus areas were established at the start of the mentor relationship
• Yes - we established objectives at the start of the relationship and have reviewed these on a regular basis throughout the development process.

What has been the greatest learning experience from the mentoring relationship?

• The need to separate the business decision from the people decision. This does not mean that you simply ignore the people issues, however, you do need to clearly understand what you want to achieve.
• Alternative ways of solving/addressing issues. Be calm and not expect to achieve everything
• To have confidence in my ability to achieve.
• Viewing things from a different perspective realising my true value to the organisation and industry and that I really can be all that I want to be
• Confidence in own ability. Consolidated my belief in the value of women's networks.
• Our sessions are a great opportunity for reflection, affirmation and discussion.
being open and asking questions, not being afraid to hear the answers and learning from someone who can offer value.
• I think it's too early to say yet.
• That this organisation will probably never change and there is little I can do about that.
• The insight of another perspective
• There have been many. One is to look beyond the current point in time.
• Developing the ability to engage with my colleagues in a more collaborative way and sharing ownership of issues.

What has been the biggest challenge?

• Being comfortable in telling people my personal concerns, I still am closed about a number of matters
• Conveying the internal politics of my company to my mentor and helping them understand the idiosyncrasies of those people I report to. And how I develop myself in such a volatile professional environment
• Finding a time to meet!
• (Mentor) has encouraged me from the start to think bigger than my current position, and where I want my career to go. This has always been a challenge, especially now when I am in a position I am really enjoying.
• Learning another person's style and opening up.
• There haven't been any challenges with the mentorship as yet - apart from time challenges.
• Accepting a position on the (company) Board
• Working with someone who is very different to me
• Developing the ability to engage with my colleagues in a more collaborative way and sharing ownership of issues. I found it quite challenging to break old habits and adopt the psychological elements which my mentor taught me.

Would you feel competent and confident about being a mentor?

• Yes - I feel it is a strength of mine and I certainly get a lot out of it. I hope the mentee would also.
• I have just commenced as a Mentor in (Company) Program. It's something I have done unofficially for years and I enjoy it very much. I am a very long way from being in (mentor)'s league though!
• Yes
• I would love to be a mentor and do feel that I have sufficient experience and competency to impart value to others.
• Not at this stage
• Gradually
• Not at this point in my career - I think I have too much to learn still!
• Not at this time
• Yes, but clearly it would depend on it being a mentee I felt I could offer something to
• Yes
• Absolutely for the right person.

Is there any other feedback you would like to offer?

• I have found this mentor experience to be quite valuable.
• A valuable experience, would recommend to others
• This is a fantastic program. I gained a lot out of the relationship and I also feel that I have learnt new skills which I can now apply in giving something back to the company. I really enjoy being a mentee and I hope to be able to "give something back" in being a mentor.
• Given I have finished the program I would like to again thank Wendy and (company) for the opportunity. Wendy found a perfect match by assigning (mentor) to me and it was a tremendous learning experience. The time seemed to pass way too quickly.
• Matching people from different industries has proven very effective. I love the fact that my mentor is so well connected in the business world. I appreciate that the mentor will cover work, life outside of work and overall life goals and link them all in together.
• Great program. Thank you so much.
• Thank you to (company) and Wendy for making this possible
• I am very grateful to McCarthy Mentoring for setting up the mentorship on a pro-bono basis.
• I feel very privileged and honoured to have been assigned (mentor) as my mentor. (Mentor) has been incredibly generous to me - in terms of her time, networks and knowledge. This mentoring relationship has been invaluable to me on both a professional and personal basis.

Please send us your news, articles and feedback for the next edition