Does your business have a Facebook page?
August 9, 2010
How important will hiring be to your business in the next 6 months?
July 6, 2010
This poll is part of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network commitment to advocate on behalf of its community. The ABN’s herVoice initiative was established by the ABN in 2008 to give our community a voice about issues that impact on its members’ business, lifestyle, interests and wellbeing.
Learn more about our advocacy program here.
Do you think social media is overrated as a small-business marketing tool?
June 21, 2010
This poll is part of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network commitment to advocate on behalf of its community. The ABN’s herVoice initiative was established by the ABN in 2008 to give our community a voice about issues that impact on its members’ business, lifestyle, interests and wellbeing.
Learn more about our advocacy program here.
Paid Parental Leave Scheme Gets the Go-Ahead
June 18, 2010
by Amy Lyden
Australia’s first ever paid parental leave (PPL) scheme was passed by Parliament yesterday. Australia was one of only two OECD countries (USA was the other) which did not have a comprehensive PPL scheme.
What the PPL covers:
The PPL will commence 1 January 2011 and will include 18 weeks paid leave at the federal minimum wage ($569.90 per week or about $15 per hour). This will be taxable. The PPL will be funded 100% by the federal government, with an estimated net cost of $731m over five years.
Eligibility
- Expectant mums must earn no more than $150,000 per year to qualify and work at least 330 hours in 10 of the 13 months before their due date (around one day of paid work a week).
- Families electing to participate in the scheme will not receive the Baby Bonus (except in multiple birth cases) or Family Tax Benefit Part B during the 18 week PPL period.
- Families will have the option of signing the benefit over to stay-at-home dads if mothers want to return to work.
- About 148,000 Australians will be able to claim the benefit every year.
Points of Contention:
Burden on Small Business
Businesses will need to act as paymaster for the PPL scheme, not the government. Many believe that administering the scheme will place yet another burden on small business and may even result in an additional potential discrimination against women.
Where’s my Super?
The PPL scheme does not include superannuation payments. Women are already disadvantaged greatly compared to men in this area because of their broken work patterns mainly due to having families. Businesses must pay super to all employees – why shouldn’t the government? It is time the government recognises the gap in retirement saving between men and women and not add to the problem.
Summary:
The PPL scheme is certainly a great start to helping support working families. Is it enough to make a significant impact to working families in the long term? I don’t know yet but at least the government has taken the first step.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Take part in a nation poll on this issue.
Amy Lyden - Advocacy Advisor – Australian Businesswomen’s Network
An entrepreneur and specialist in ecommerce and online strategy, Amy has had over 13 years of practical experience in these areas. Launching her first website in 1998 Amy was at the forefront of an online revolution without even realizing it. Within a year this site became and remains today a #1 ranking site and global community of pet lovers that attracts over 4 million visitors a year.
This Australia-based business, Bow Wow Meow, now sells product online to over 100 countries worldwide. Amy sold this business in 2007 and turned her energy to the nonprofit sector.
Amy is the recipient of numerous business awards including the 2006 NSW Telstra Business Women’s Awards for Innovation, the 2002 National Telstra Business Award and the Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World Grant.
Amy is an Ambassador and former Chairperson for the Australian Businesswomen’s Network, an organisation that supports female entrepreneurs. Amy was also invited to serve on the Commonwealth Small Business Council, an initiative by the Federal minister for Small Business.
Amy is currently the CEO of Australian Scholarships Foundation, an organisation that facilitates scholarships for education and training for people who work in the nonprofit sector. Amy is passionate about using technology to connect people globally for positive change.
| Email: | amy.lyden@gmail.com |
| Twitter: | www.twitter.com/amylyden |
| LinkedIn: | www.linkedin.com/in/amylyden |
| Member Profile: | See Amy’s Member Profile |
How many hours a week do you work?
May 25, 2010
A recent US survey showed that business owners work an average of 59 hours per week. How many hours a week do you work?
This poll is part of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network commitment to advocate on behalf of its community. The ABN’s herVoice initiative was established by the ABN in 2008 to give our community a voice about issues that impact on its members’ business, lifestyle, interests and wellbeing.
Learn more about our advocacy program here.
Do you believe that the Federal Budget brought down in May has benefitted, or will benefit Australian female entrepreneurs and businesswomen?
May 18, 2010
Take our national poll
Do you believe that the Federal Budget brought down in May has benefitted, or will benefit Australian female entrepreneurs and businesswomen?
This poll is part of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network commitment to advocate on behalf of its community. The ABN’s herVoice initiative was established by the ABN in 2008 to give our community a voice about issues that impact on its members’ business, lifestyle, interests and wellbeing.
Learn more about our advocacy program here.
Help us name a new author series…
January 21, 2010
The Australian Businesswomen’s Network and Citrix GoTo Webinar will soon launch a new lunchtime series with prominent business authors from around the world. Designed to provide lunchtime education (the series is part of Citrix’s Lunch + Learn initiative) each webinar will feature a business thinker whose work and message is compelling and thought-provoking.
We are looking for a good name for the series, and we’d love your input.
A couple of points:
- The speakers will (in most cases) be authors. Occassionally a prominent business person may be asked to address the audience.
- The sessions will be educational more than ‘motivational’.
- The webinars will often coincide with the release of new business book titles.
- The webinars are for a business audience.
- The name of the series should be short (no more than 4 words, ideally).
Any ideas? We’d love your thoughts.
You can either add a comment below or email me direct.
My appreciation,
Suzi
P.S. I’m very excited about this series – and especially our first guest (who I’ll announce next week).
Equal Opportunity for Women – Government seeks feedback from Female Employees
October 26, 2009
Complementing this month’s Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace roundtables, the federal Office for Women is inviting employees to complete a brief online survey.
The Government is keen to have the broadest possible section of the community provide input into its examination of the effectiveness and efficiency of the Equal Opportunity for Women Act.
Both women and men are invited to complete the survey about their perceptions of equal opportunity for women in the workplace and how it may be improved.
The survey consists of five questions and is completely confidential. Respondents are not asked to reveal their identity or workplace.
The survey closes on 30 October 2009.
To complete the survey or for more information on the review, employees should visit: www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/women
Susan Wareham McGrath
Susan Wareham McGrath, National Special Projects Manager — Australian Businesswomen’s Network
Susan joined the ABN Board as National Special Projects Manager – Public Policy and Advocacy in February 2007. Tertiary qualified in psychology, business and public policy development, Susan holds Accredited Professional status with the Recruitment Services Association Ltd and is a nationally accredited trainer. She is a mentor in the ABN’s MentorNet program and a regular panelist in the Queensland Government’s Mentoring for Growth program.
Your Budget Questions
May 14, 2009
You’ve no doubt heard the highlights of the 2009 Budget brought down last Tuesday. But, what does it mean for your small business? Ask your questions here and we’ll help point you in the right direction to find answers. In the meantime here are a couple of resources: Dyamic Business and Smart Company have both covered the main issues that impact small business.
I do have a question for you though:
Is the Rudd Government doing enough to aid small business?
Take part in this national poll and tell us. We’ll share the results next week.
Tonight opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull will reply to the budget from the Liberals point of view. We’ve managed to get a copy of the response to the budget from Shadow Minister for Small Business, Steven Ciobo.
Click here to to read Shadow Minister Steven Biobo’s response to the budget.
We’d love to hear your thoughts.
Has the current economic climate had an impact on your planned business growth?
February 17, 2009
Have you felt the effects of the change in the economy? Have you made changes to your business plan?
We’d like to know how you’re dealing with changes in your business. Take our poll – at the right hand side of this page.
We’ll publish the results in the coming week.
Suzi
PS Feel free to leave a comment with more details, below!
