GILLIAN
Meet
For years, we’ve been told to believe that career progression in the modern workforce coincides with saying “yes” to extra work, taking on high-stakes projects, and staying present in senior rooms, even when the value isn’t clear.
Yet… more than ever, women are still earning 21% less, promoted less often, and more likely to be overlooked for stretch roles - even when they’re outperforming their peers.
Here’s my belief:
The model is flawed.
To create careers that feel sustainable, recognised, and worth it, we don’t need more advice about working harder.
We need to redirect our focus to what genuinely drives progress in the workplace.
It’s not about working harder or being more confident. It’s about a more intelligent understanding of what creates real progress and the shifts that matter in the environments we’re operating in.
What if we’ve had it all wrong
about what it takes to
succeed?
Here’s what I’ve come to know from years of coaching senior women and helping organisations move the dial on female leadership:
Most women have far more in them than they’re recognised for.
And most organisations aren’t doing enough to bring that to the surface - not out of resistance, but because they genuinely don’t know how.
What gets women into senior roles isn’t always what helps them thrive once they’re there.
The real levers are often unspoken. And no one’s handing out the rulebook.
Context makes or breaks development.
I’ve seen brilliant programs fail because they ignore the business reality - commercial priorities, internal politics, and cultural nuance. You cannot lead in a vacuum.
No woman wants to be promoted to meet a target.
She wants to be respected, listened to, and chosen because she’s the best person for the job.
Sponsorship is alive and well in most organisations
but rarely in ways that work for women. Men still have three times as many sponsors, mostly because people back people who feel familiar.
The truth is, when women are set up to succeed, it doesn’t just change their careers - it lifts teams, sharpens strategy, and shifts how leadership shows up across the business.
My mission is to help organisations grow the kind of leadership that works in the real world, where female talent is recognised, trusted, and set up to lead with real influence.
This work is grounded in experience. I spent more than 15 years leading national commercial teams and holding senior roles across strategy, commercial growth, and people at News Corp and Pacific Magazines. I know what it means to lead in fast-moving, complex environments. Since founding my coaching practice, I’ve worked with many of Australia’s top ASX-listed companies and coached thousands of women to build leadership capability that is practical, strategic, and gets noticed.
ABOUT GILLIAN FOX
With over three decades at the helm of executive leadership, business strategy, and women’s advancement, Gillian Fox is one of Australia’s most respected voices in the movement to reshape how women rise through the ranks, without burning out to prove their worth.
A former senior executive at News Corp and Pacific Magazines, she’s led national commercial teams, steered iconic brands, and built multiple consulting businesses from the ground up.
Today, she partners with clients such as Allianz, LVMH, NAB and NSW Government, and Beiersdorf to deliver leadership programs that elevate women into roles of real authority.
Known for her signature concept of gracious authority, Gillian challenges outdated ideas of what progress looks like. Her work empowers women to rise, not by doing more, but by leading smarter.
Featured on Qantas Radio, Business Insider, The Australian, Mamamia, and Women’s Agenda, she’s a keynote speaker, author of Woman of Influence, and a sought-after expert on gender equity and leadership.
And her message is clear. When women lead with a strong sense of self and a clear understanding of business context, they elevate not only their own impact but the culture around them.
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