It is often said that small business is the engine room of the economy. We want to make sure that small and family business can fire on all cylinders – not have a cylinder taken out, explains Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson. We need to get the risk and reward balance… Read more »
International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Kerry Kingham, founder of the Chooze Shop shares her thoughts on why we should be following this call to action every day. Despite my… Read more »
We will never know what women thought of their lot in life 200 years ago, as the history books didn’t record their achievements, contributions, and footprints in their communities. On the eve of International Women’s Day, Annette Densham shares her thoughts on tall poppies, imposter syndrome and the myth of sisterhood. If you studied history,… Read more »
For Australia to truly accelerate progress to economic equality, it needs to look closely at the unpaid work forces that are holding women back, writes Bianca Hartge-Hazelman, founder of Financy. The latest Financy Women’s Index (FWX), which helps us contextualise the state of economic equality in Australia, tells us that progress went backwards in 2023… Read more »
It’s no secret that the gender pay gap is a persistent issue plaguing not just Australia but women all over the globe. So, today’s inaugural release of the gender pay gap data from nearly 5,000 Australian private sector employers by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has come as a source of celebration and… Read more »
Many small and family businesses say their biggest and most pressing cost pressure is not wages, energy or even landlords putting up the rent; it’s insurance, writes Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson. Finding adequate insurance cover at commercially viable terms is fast becoming a wicked challenge that is, sadly, in too many… Read more »
When a bank leaves town, often all that’s left is a boarded-up building. But it can have a shocking effect on businesses, jobs, liveability and prosperity explains Australian Small Business and Family enterprise Ombudsman, Bruce Billson. The Australian Banking Association is updating its bank closure protocol, but I find it laughable in that it implies… Read more »
Telecommunications companies talk a big game about how their services are so important for the vitality of small businesses when they’re trying to sign them up as customers, but what happens when things go wrong? Where is the accountability? asks Bruce Billson, Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman. So when things go wrong, as… Read more »
What if the biggest problem with “greenwashing” isn’t just that it exists, but that it has led to a new problem that could be even more harmful to the climate crisis? Tom Ferrier from Greener for Business explains. Greenwash, like a COVID virus, has somehow morphed into a whole new variant that is breeding… Read more »
Small and family business owners are increasingly shouldering more risk for less reward as compounding regulations and economic challenges hit businesses and profitability, writes Bruce Billson, Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman. Data recently released by my office showed that 43 per cent of small businesses didn’t make a profit in the last full… Read more »
Loyalty is the fly-under-the-radar virtue and is frequently usurped for its more glamourous comrades like generosity, fairness, or the new kid on the block – resilience. Whilst all great qualities with deserved standing, they don’t come close to the laurels of loyalty, explains employment expert Roxanne Calder. Loyalty is your best buddy from school… Read more »
RUOK day in Australia falls on Thursday 14 September this year. And so I would like to pose another question. Are RUOK with being ageist? asks Sue Parker. It will be a hard question for many in small businesses (and the larger ones also). And that is a good thing, as ageism impacts men… Read more »
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