The Australian has today published its fourth annual edition of The Deal focused on emerging female leaders, in association with Chief Executive Women (CEW).

The issue showcases successful women while asking some challenging questions.

The Deal editor Helen Trinca said: “Women have achieved so much, even if there is more to do, and there is a great appetite among young women to hear the stories of the trail blazers and to really understand their journeys.

“The emerging women leaders we aim to reach with this issue would be astonished to know how workplaces operated decades ago.

“Earlier generations of women faced a level of unconscious bias that often frustrated their hopes early in their lives.

“The challenges for women continue even as the #MeToo exercise calls out harassment and other poor behaviour.

“Sometimes those challenges have nothing to do with the boss and everything to do with a system that simply does not support both parents working full-time.

“Our cover story, So You’ve Got to the Top. Now What?, by Caroline Overington asks just how much women at the top are obliged to promote the careers of other women, while Sarah-Jane Tasker looks at the recruitment of women to the top of Australia Post.

“These are questions women debate as they carve out their space. But how telling that we don’t need to ask them of a male boss.

“Our emerging leaders issue is one of The Deal’s signature issues and we are delighted by the support of the CEW again this year.

“The CEW run a terrific scholarship program for emerging leaders and we are very pleased to contribute a share of the revenue from each annual issue, so far we have contributed more than $80,000.”

The Deal women’s special issue is supported by leading corporations who are driving fundamental changes that encourage and support current and emerging female leaders including Harvey Norman, Australia Post, Coca-Cola Amatil, Commonwealth Bank, AGL, BHP, King & Wood Mallesons and Wenona School.

The issue features articles from leading women in business on:

• How the #MeToo movement is panning out in the office.
• Not every woman wants to be an activist or a mentor, some just want to get on with their careers.
• When women get to the top, they are often expected to promote other women – but is that fair?
• When Christine Holgate took over at Australia Post, she decided that there were not enough women in senior roles. This is what she did about it.
• Vogue Australia’s Edwina McCann writes for The Deal about work wear and how women can now choose their clothing from a much broader range.
• Why are women so keen on exclamation marks? We look at the email phenomenon that sees women bosses using punctuation to prove they are kind and collegial.