Case Study: Driving business success through diversity
At Barwon Water, Victoria’s largest regional water corporation, diversity and inclusion are not side projects – they are central to how the organisation operates and performs. Under the leadership of Managing Director Shaun Cumming, diversity has become a strategic advantage.
Lead with purpose and inclusion
Shaun Cumming believes great performance starts with purpose:
“A really strong sense of purpose that aligns and inspires the business, and then a set of values that support that purpose.”
One of those core values is inclusion. For Shaun, inclusion means “everyone feeling safe to advocate for what they need to bring their full best selves to the work and work environment.”
Strong leadership builds inclusive culture
Shaun is clear that leadership is the foundation for meaningful diversity:
“Leadership that’s curious to learn from all dimensions of diversity, but also courageous to call out behaviours that are not in line with an inclusive environment.”
Barwon Water supports this through programs like Leading Through a Cultural Lens, which integrates First Nations values into leadership development.
“In terms of the complex challenges that we face today, we don’t have all the answers, the answers lie within our community and the diversity of our community.”
Diverse thinking drives business performance
According to Shaun, embracing diversity isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s a necessity:
“The challenges we face in terms of climate change, population growth, rapid technology development and equity divides – they’re unprecedented. And to solve those challenges, we need new and different thinking. That thinking comes from diversity.”
Balanced leadership delivers real results
Barwon Water’s investment in diverse leadership is paying off.
“As we’ve gone through our journey of achieving 50-50 in our leadership teams, the performance of our business has improved significantly,” says Shaun.
In just seven years, the organisation rose from middle-of-the-pack in customer satisfaction to “consistently number one in the state,” and is now considered a global leader in its industry across digital services, circular economy and new energy initiatives.
Create career pathways for more women
Shaun and his team are expanding gender diversity through tailored pathways:
Traineeships, apprenticeships and scholarships have proven to be great ways of building the talent pool and providing opportunities to women in non-traditional roles and industries.
Recruitment focuses on qualities and potential—not just qualifications. “It’s not so much about qualifications past experience. It’s more about the quality of the person that you’re looking for… and their potential,” says Shaun.
Use real stories to shift perceptions
Barwon Water listens to women already in the roles to better attract others.
Barwon Water asks women already working in those areas what they enjoy about their roles, what are the great things about the roles, which then becomes critical to how they recruit and position the employee value proposition.
This simple storytelling approach helps break down misconceptions and opens new pathways.
Make inclusion part of everyday leadership
Shaun’s advice to other leaders about leading inclusion?
“It is a continuous journey of learning, improvement and refinement.”
“Inclusion means different things to each and every one of us. And your job as a leader is to understand that, engage that and learn from that.”
“It probably isn’t about your policies or your targets. It’s more about your behaviours and your commitment that you demonstrate as a leader.”
Case Study: At AKD, culture-led leadership drives greater diversity
At AKD, one of Australia’s leading forestry and sawmilling companies, leadership is proving that long-term gender diversity doesn’t come from mandates – it comes from culture. Through values-based leadership, AKD is reshaping perceptions, opening pathways for women, and building a more resilient business.
Start with culture, not quotas
Clark Rodger, General Manager of Human Resources, believes real inclusion starts from within.
“One of the strongest elements of a good culture is the sense of belonging… Inclusion is the key for culture,” he explains.
At AKD, diversity is not treated as a compliance exercise. Instead, it’s woven into the company’s DNA through a commitment to creating a workplace where everyone feels safe, valued, and supported.
Inclusion is a business imperative
Rodger is clear: diversity isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s a smart business move.
“There’s proven statistics around improved performance of diversity—not just gender, but across all fronts,” he says.
In regional areas where AKD operates, expanding the talent pool is essential. “Recruiting from a whole population and not a portion of the population… is really important.” Diversity boosts innovation, strengthens teams, and makes the business more competitive.
Changing perceptions of traditional industry stereotypes
One of AKD’s biggest hurdles is overcoming outdated views of sawmilling as a physically demanding, male-only trade.
“There’s still a lot of misconception that sawmilling is lumberjacks out there with a log on your shoulder… which is just not the case,” Rodger says.
With automation and digital tools now central to operations, AKD is actively challenging these stereotypes, though Rodger admits, “It’s like trying to turn a ship” – progress takes time and persistence.
Building from the ground up, not top down
Instead of enforcing quotas, AKD focuses on growing female participation organically – especially in operations and STEM-related roles.
“We’re trying to encourage more women into leadership roles through a ground-up approach,” Rodger explains.
Development programs play a key role, with women making up 30% of leadership program participants – nearly double their overall workforce representation of 16%. It’s a sign that cultural change is creating new opportunities from within.
Commit to the long game
Rodger acknowledges that transformational change doesn’t happen overnight.
“It’s difficult to get short wins… But you’ve got to keep the eye on that long-term change.”
To ensure diversity efforts continue beyond current leadership, AKD implemented a formal gender diversity strategy aligned with broader business goals – ensuring continuity and accountability.
Top-down support enables bottom-up feedback
Leadership support has been critical. “It’s very much supported from the top in our organisation, which I think is one of the drivers of why we have made progress.”
That support enabled the creation of AKD’s Gender Diversity Working Group – a platform for direct feedback from women in the business.
“We realised that we weren’t getting information directly back from the cohort we were trying to improve,” says Rodger. Listening became a key part of the strategy.
Diverse teams improve behaviour and innovation
The shift toward a more balanced workforce is already making a difference.
“There’s no doubt that our greater diversity creates better behaviours… The joke that’s acceptable in a room of blokes changes when there’s a mix.”
More importantly, the business benefits from broader perspectives: “You’re getting different ideas… and more new thinking.”
Advice to leaders: Just start
Rodger’s message to other business leaders is simple:
“Just start. You don’t need the bells and whistles… You’re better off making some change than none.”
By embedding diversity into values and everyday leadership – not just policies – AKD is proving that culture-driven change creates stronger teams, smarter thinking, and is better for the business.