Photo: © 2008 AP via AAP/Kirsty Wigglesworth

Getting to the top is about more than "being competent, committed and loyal", says the chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, Heather Ridout.

"It's not going to the pub on Friday night and talking about football … it is going to the pub and having a talk and getting on with your workmates and being generally interested in what everyone does," she told news.com.au.

The comments follow a pledge by some of our most powerful male executives – including the heads of Woolworths, Telstra and Westpac - to lift the profile of women in the corporate sectors.

Equal pay, work flexibility and increasing the number of women in management roles are among their priorities.