Libby Lyons
Contact Now
Libby Lyons
Director, Workplace Gender Equality Agency
Current Positions
Director, Workplace Gender Equality Agency
Previous Positions
Head of Corporate Affairs, BHP Billiton
Executive Chair, Kalparrin - Parents of Children with Special Needs Inc.
Deputy Director, Executive Office - Head of External Relations, CITIC Pacific Mining
General Manager, Atlas Iron Ltd
Manager, Government Relations and Public Policy, Alcoa of Australia
Executive Manager, Corporate Relations, Western Power
Chair and Non Executive Director, Sids and Kids WA
Libby Lyons was appointed Director of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency in October 2015. She oversees the statutory reporting process that gathers gender equality data from more than 10,000 employers, covering more than 4 million or 40% of Australian employees. Soon after starting her appointment at the Agency, Libby initiated the development of a strategic plan focused on maximising the Agency’s world-leading dataset and expanding the reach and impact of gender reporting nationally and internationally.
As part of this strategic vision, Libby has travelled to Singapore, Chile, Argentina, Vietnam, Korea and Japan to speak with government and private enterprise on the business case for gender equality and the Agency’s dataset. She also presented at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York in 2018 and 2019.
In leading the Agency, Libby is focused on working closely with employers to achieve gender equality and takes part in regular roundtable and speaking events with business leaders and their peers to share their experiences, challenges and successes in creating workplaces where the skills and ambitions of employees are equally recognised and rewarded regardless of gender.
Libby is featured in 200 women who will change the way you see the world, as well as Apolitical’s 100 Most Influential People Working in Gender Policy 2018. She is a member of Chief Executive Women and is a proud Ambassador for Honour a Women, a volunteer organisation working to achieve gender balance in the Australian Honours system.
Prior to joining the Agency, Libby had a distinguished career in corporate affairs and government relations, including heading up BHP’s Olympic Dam corporate affairs division, as well as senior executive roles at Atlas Iron, CITIC Pacific Mining, Alcoa of Australia, Western Power Corporation and Telstra.
Libby has a strong personal commitment to public service, having started her career as a primary school teacher. She also sat on the boards of non-profit organisations SIDS and Kids WA, and was Executive Chairman for Kalparrin, a charity that supports the families of children with disabilities and special needs.
As part of this strategic vision, Libby has travelled to Singapore, Chile, Argentina, Vietnam, Korea and Japan to speak with government and private enterprise on the business case for gender equality and the Agency’s dataset. She also presented at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York in 2018 and 2019.
In leading the Agency, Libby is focused on working closely with employers to achieve gender equality and takes part in regular roundtable and speaking events with business leaders and their peers to share their experiences, challenges and successes in creating workplaces where the skills and ambitions of employees are equally recognised and rewarded regardless of gender.
Libby is featured in 200 women who will change the way you see the world, as well as Apolitical’s 100 Most Influential People Working in Gender Policy 2018. She is a member of Chief Executive Women and is a proud Ambassador for Honour a Women, a volunteer organisation working to achieve gender balance in the Australian Honours system.
Prior to joining the Agency, Libby had a distinguished career in corporate affairs and government relations, including heading up BHP’s Olympic Dam corporate affairs division, as well as senior executive roles at Atlas Iron, CITIC Pacific Mining, Alcoa of Australia, Western Power Corporation and Telstra.
Libby has a strong personal commitment to public service, having started her career as a primary school teacher. She also sat on the boards of non-profit organisations SIDS and Kids WA, and was Executive Chairman for Kalparrin, a charity that supports the families of children with disabilities and special needs.
Areas of Expertise
Apparently, women are less ambitious and worse negotiators than men
Sydney Morning Herald
March 08, 2019
Women may have to wait another 80 years until they
ABC News
March 01, 2019
Workplace Gender Equality Agency head calls for more flexible working arrangements
The Mercury
January 23, 2019
Gender pay-gap is solvable if employers act
ABC Radio
November 13, 2018
The gender pay gap is narrowing, but women are still earning $25k less per year
ABC News
November 13, 2018
End the fear and set targets on men working flexibly
Women
July 24, 2018
Reducing the gender pay gap will transform our work and family lives
Women
May 23, 2018
WA slammed for lack of diversity in top jobs
The West Australian
May 13, 2018
Set targets for men working part-time to help promote women, gender equality body says
ABC News
April 15, 2018
To be better dads, men need parental leave and flexible working. And a culture change
The Guardian
September 02, 2017
Workplace equality depends on men embracing flexible hours
Guardian Australia
May 30, 2016
The new WGEA head, Libby Lyons, has famous relatives
AFR
March 24, 2016
Contact Libby Lyons
For Journalists and Media
Enter your details below to send a contact request to Libby.
Contact details sent to
Thanks for submitting your contact request
Libby has been notified and will get back to you once she is available.
If your interview is published we'd love to promote it. Please send us a link and any related feedback to [email protected]
Media comment requested, for mobile
SMS requests are currently unavailable for this person.