AN Australian Women in Leadership survey released last month highlights what most of us already know - that women are under-represented in big business.

The 2006 EOWA Australian Census of Women in Leadership shows that while some organisations are embracing the message to develop more diverse workplaces and create equal opportunity for women, women are not adequately represented in Australia's top 200 companies.

Those companies that don't diversify risk facing a shortage of workers.

As Australia is facing a limited labour supply, employers will need to be able to attract workers from the pool of people who are under-represented in the labour market, retain them through flexible work practices and promote staff from within.

"The large numbers of women returning to the workplace are an untapped supply of labour," says Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews.

"Organisations need to see the woman returning to work after raising a family as the possible future director or CEO of their company.

"The EOWA Census shows the disparity between the pool of available talent and the number of organisations that are removing the barriers to women's advancement. This issue needs to be actively managed."

A list of companies that have two or more women board directors or executive managers has been compiled from the Census. Mr Andrews says that puts these companies ahead of the pack.

"Organisations need to identify the strategies and practices that will enable them to access a ready labour supply - providing opportunities to work part time or job share, offer work from home or flexible start and finish times and promotions based on outputs, rather than the number of hours in the office," he says.

The female labour force participation rate is currently at its highest level on record - 57.7 per cent in July 2006. The number of females in employment stood at 4,616,900 in July 2006 - a record high, up from 3,603,300 in March 1996.

"The future labour market conditions
call for a more innovative response to ensure our businesses, and therefore Australia's, prosperity continues to thrive," says Mr Andrews.