Insolvency was known for an aggressive approach of “kicking down doors, banging tables”. That’s changed, and now there’s a push to boost women’s role in the sector. By Jessica Yun (Sydney Morning Herald, 23 September 2024)

In some small circles of Australian insolvency practitioners – the corporate undertakers tasked with advising or taking control of businesses on the brink of collapse – there is a saying.

“There are more liquidators with the middle name John than there are women,” says KPMG head of restructuring Gayle Dickerson.

What some might dismiss as a trite statement is backed by the numbers: of 642 registered liquidators in the country, only 65, or 10 per cent, are women.

In the world of corporate Australia where conversations about gender equality have been had and women represent 40 per cent of ASX company boards, the figure has been decried by one of the leading industry bodies as unacceptable.

“It’s just a shocking, shocking statistic,” says Maria O’Brien, chair of Turnaround Management Association (TMA) and head of restructuring and insolvency partner at Clayton Utz.

Even just getting it to double digits has been considered progress. “[While] that dial hasn’t moved significantly, it has shifted from about probably 5 per cent 10 years ago,” says Dickerson, who also sits on the TMA’s board.