Career advancement of women 'low priority'

BUSINESSDESK: Women across New Zealand and Australia perceive their career advancement as a low priority in the organisations they work for.

That is the finding of research conducted by the Bank of New Zealand and Financial Services Institute of Australasia.

The research, which interviewed more than 1000 financial industry professionals in both countries, found about 69% of women were not convinced about the transparency of their organisation when it came to remuneration and pay parity between genders.

Thirty six percent of women maintained they were treated differently to male co-workers.

“Women respondents overwhelmingly reported that their experience of the workforce is different to men in that they are disadvantaged in relation to promotional opportunities, treatment in meetings, training and development opportunities, pay and benefits and inclusion in social and other work-related activities," institute chief executive Russell Thomas said.

"While this may seem like a trivial point, access to senior managers often takes place in informal settings and unless women are present they miss out on opportunities their male colleagues take for granted."

The research highlighted a disparity between genders, with about 64% of males agreeing that the promotion of women into senior roles was a workplace priority, compared to 48% of females.

More one-third of males said more flexible work hours would help increase the number of women in senior roles, compared to 44% of women.

The findings have prompted the launch of Women in Financial Services Forum, a new industry partnership involving Finsia and the Bank of New Zealand, designed to increase the representation of women in the financial services industry.

"The target is having more women in senior, middle and executive roles in the banking sector," Mr Thomas said.

"Both men and women are hearing the talk, but there is uncertainty among women about whether this has translated into real action.”

He maintained the forum sought to "yield a richer understanding" of diversity policies, not to encourage the selection of employees based on diversity rather than talent.

The New Zealand stock exchange is already seeking feedback from its members on a proposal to include gender diversity are part of its annual reporting.

If accepted, members will be required to disclose the gender composition of their boards and senior management teams, and to provide information on their diversity policies.

Women hold about 9% of private sector directorships in New Zealand.

The majority of NZX 100 companies have no female directors, while women account for 21% of management positions reporting directly to chief executives.