In a week in which Australia's only female big four bank chief retired, the nation may be best to look to Canberra for inspiration for female private sector leaders.
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The other big four – consulting giants EY, PwC, Deloitte and KPMG – will each soon be led in the nation's capital by a woman.
For EY Canberra managing partner Lucille Halloran, the first appointment of the four, it's a reminder of what she told her old boss before returning to the city in 2009.
"I miss the topics, the policy, the intellectual challenge of this place," she said.
"You have an opportunity when you work here to do things that have an impact on all Australia – women tend to want to make a difference."
The resignation announcement by Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly is set to leave just five of the ASX 200 led by women.
Ms Halloran, who arrived in Canberra from Canada as a single mother in 1996, said that in several fields the ACT was a beacon for leading women.
"I don't think we can generalise across the private sector, but if you look at sectors within that - the universities and then professional services - there's a real positive trend," she said.
Canberra Business Chamber chief executive Chris Faulks said there was no data on the city's CEO gender split, but prominent industry leaders such as the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Kate Carnell and the Property Council of Australia's Catherine Carter were examples for women to look to.
"I think because we have such a highly educated population, in government and the private sector, you get a much better understanding that the skill base sits equally with men and women," Ms Faulks said.
Ms Faulks said the chamber did not support quotas, but rather education and male and female advocates for women.
"At the personal level, I believe that women in particular need a champion in their life that makes them believe they can do whatever they want," he said.
Ms Halloran said the help of a few special people – including that "old boss" at Deloitte in Queensland, former premier Wayne Goss – had spurred her along.
She said unconscious bias still needed addressing, particularly promotion of women on performance, but men on potential.
Females now fill 19 per cent of board positions on ASX 200 companies.
Women make up a more sizeable portion of federal public service leadership.
