A
report by the Diversity Council of Australia has questioned Australian businesses’
ability to capitalise on the so-called Asian Century.
The
DCA’s report, Cracking the
Cultural Ceiling: Future Proofing Your Business in the Asian Century, surveyed 300-plus leaders and emerging leaders of Asian backgrounds from over 100 Australian organisations.
The
council’s Lisa Annese told Radio Australia that “Asian capability” was lacking.
“The irony
that our research revealed was that you are more likely to get a job where
Asian capability is required if you are non-Asian, but have had some expat
experience in Asia or have studied Asian studies, such is the degree of
exclusion from the leadership model,” she told Radio Australia’s Asia Pacific program.
She
said that those of Asian identity performed outstandingly at high school and
university, were well represented as graduates in business, but then only made
up only 1.9 per cent of executives in the ASX200.
The
research included findings that 9.3 per cent of Australian workers were Asian
born, and these made up 4.9 per cent of positions at a senior executive level.
The
Australian Industry Group’s Innes Willox has also cited a lack of experience in
Asia among Australian executives as a major impediment for companies wanting to
engage with the region.
Another
problem was a lack of interest among Australian students in learning an Asian
language.
“And if that’s where our future is, to push out
into that region, then we need to develop those skills,” he told an event last year.
Image: Reuters