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Mainstream gender equity initiatives don't typically prioritise the factors with the most potential to shift the needle on women's representation in leadership roles, a major project has found.

"If organisations want different leadership outcomes, they need to ask different questions, listen more carefully to the women most affected, and be willing to change the systems that hold inequity in place," says RISE project lead Dr Virginia Mapedzahama, who is also DCA's racial equity and intersectionality director.

Launched in 2022, the RISE Project, led by Diversity Council Australia, Settlement Services International and Chief Executive Women, involved 25 organisations and 360 culturally and racially marginalised (CARM) women, and aimed to identify systemic barriers preventing women in middle management from reaching senior leadership positions.

As the project now comes to an end, the consortium has reported its early findings, noting they indicate organisations must move beyond one-size-fits-all gender equity efforts...