wire (women in research) november 2013

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WIRe

Erica van Lieven

Managing Director

November 2013

Women in work, and diversity in Australia

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Diversity is an important issue for economic success in Australia The recent Business Council of Australia

report acknowledges that despite the two

waves of change we have already had

(legislation for equality in 1999 and specific

training by employers), there is a growing

acknowledgement that organisations are

inherently gendered. Gender diversity is

about having and valuing diversity in teams,

styles and thinking, different perceptions of

problems and different viewpoints.

Diversity is not comfortable, but offers superior organisational effectiveness The diversity issue cuts both ways in Australia;

young males do less well in school,

particularly in literacy and subsequently

tertiary education; then we lose the training

we have invested in women in their late 20s

to mid 30s as they fail to progress to

leadership roles in organisations.

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Education:


Australian girls are ahead of boys on Literacy

Maths Science and Reading scores on PISA, 15 Years old

Source: OECD 2004 Learning for Tomorrow’s World –

First results from PISA 2003

15 year old girls out perform boys on reading literacy in Australia. At age 15, girls outperform boys in reading

in every PISA participating country and

economy. The reading performance gender gap is equivalent, across OECD countries, to one years worth of schooling.

In mathematics, boys outperform girls in

some countries and economies but

differences are generally smaller. In

science, gender differences are small and

there is no consistent pattern across

countries.

OECD REPORT 2012

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On average year 12 males

Source: ABS 2001 Transition from Education to Work

Survey; 2002-2010 Surveys of Education and Work

are less likely to complete yr 12 than female students

Since 1984, female students have been more

likely to continue through to Year 12 than male

students.

In a pattern reflecting almost all OECD

countries, while many boys perform well, on

average boys achieve less than girls. Boys are

less likely than girls to complete high school,

and are less likely to go to university.

In 2010, this had increased to 73% of young men and 83% of young women who completed high school in Australia.

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From a slow start women in Australia have increased their participation in tertiary education

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Women out number men in enrolments for bachelor degrees

Source: ABS 2011 Survey of Education and Work

Women outnumber men graduating

from bachelor degrees and advanced

diplomas.

In 1987 more men than women were

students of higher education. In 2011

however, 57% of enrolments were

women.

42% of women are enrolled in a bachelor

degree versus 37% of men.

Similar proportions of men and women

are enrolled in postgraduate degrees.

Participation trends in higher education in Australia reveal a reversal in the gender gap.

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Yet median starting salaries for women are consistently lower than males…

Source: ABS Gender Indicators Australia, Australian

Social Trends July 2012

The transition from education to paid work is a crucial moment which

lays the foundation for many of the inequalities encountered in the

labour market throughout women’s working lives.

In 2012 the starting salary for recent female bachelor degree

graduates was 90% of a male graduates salary…$50,000 compared

with $55,000.

The salary disparity between men and women for post graduate

work is more pronounced than that of bachelor degree candidates:

2010 median full time salary for females masters by course work

graduates was $70,000 compared with $85,000 for male graduates, despite similar numbers of enrolments.

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Fields of education where men earned more than women in 2012 and 2011

2012 2011

Industry Male

($, 000)

Female

($, 000)

Male

($, 000)

Female

($, 000)

Architecture and building 52 43 50 43

Dentistry 92 77.6 80 75

Optometry 82 75 72 70

Law 55 50.7 52 50

Economics, business 50 47 50 45

Art and design 42.5 40 42 40

Accounting 50 48 48 46

Mathematics 58.1 56 55 55

Veterinary science 46 45 43 45

Paramedical studies 53 52 52 50

Social work 50.9 50 49 50

Psychology 49.5 49 50 47

Agricultural science 50.5 50 45 46

Source: Workplace Gender Equality Agency |

GradStats – starting salaries | www.wgea.gov.au

In 13 fields of education mens starting salaries were greater than womens


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We are wasting the investment in education


Source: Gender Equality in Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship: OECD, May 2012

Australia has one of

the most highly

educated female

populations in the

world, but we rank

behind countries like

Finland, Norway,

Sweden, Denmark,

Israel, Canada, France,

USA and Germany in

the gap in labour

force participation

across ages 15-64

years.

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Representation of women in senior executive positions in ASX 200 companies has not exceeded 13% for the past decade


Source: Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency ; 2012 Australian Census of Women in Leadership

38.5% of ASX 200 companies and 56.2% of ASX 500

companies do not have a female director

The industry sectors with the highest percentage of

female directors across both ASX 200 AND 500 are

insurance and banking

“A wide gap remains between intention and

outcome, there has been no improvement in the

perceptions of a level playing field for women. In fact

there has been a decline, with only 15% of women

believing they have equal opportunity for promotion

to senior management positions.”

Bain & Co report

EMT: executive management team, the most

senior person in the organisation ( CEO,MD) and

those that report directly to that person.

Executive Key Management personnel (executive KMP) defined in the Australia accounting

standard as the person with authority, responsible

for planning, directing & controlling activities of

entity directly or indirectly

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what stops women from reaching the top?


Source: What stops women from reaching the top? Confronting the tough issues, BAIN & Co 2011

Women and men acknowledge they have different styles, but men don’t see the impact on women's opportunities for advancement. There are no gender

differences in attributes for making commercially sound decisions, managing high pressure situations or delivering significant transformative change. However

men and women agree they achieve these outcomes with significantly different styles: women collaborate more whereas men promote their points of view

more effectively.

1. Perception about challenges associated with competing work-life priorities and that women's style is different from men, and less valued 2. Women and men both recognize that they have different styles, but men don’t recognize the obstacle this presents for women’s promotability 3. The underlying view of women's style affects perceptions of their ability to lead

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“ When all the details

fit in perfectly, something is

probably wrong with the story.

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Warren Buffet is bullish on women

We’ve seen what can be accomplished when we use 50

per cent of our human capacity. If you visualise what 100 per

cent can do, you’ll join me as an unbridled optimist.

Warren Buffet ,

Fortune Magazine May 20, 2013

“ Women should never forget that

it is common for powerful and seemingly self-assured males to

have more than a bit of the Wizard of Oz in them. Pull the curtain aside, and you'll often

discover they are not supermen after all. (Just ask their wives!)

Fortune Magazine May 20, 2013

“

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References Australian Bureau of Statistics 2013, Australian Social Trends, cat. no. 4102. 0, ABS, Canberra.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2012, Australian Social Trends, cat. no. 4102. 0, ABS, Canberra.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2012, GenderIndicators, cat. no. 4125.0, ABS, Canberra



Australian Government & Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency 2012, Australian Census of Women in Leadership, Australian Government & Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency, Canberra.

Toohey, T Colosimo, D Boak, A 2009, Economics:Australia's Hidden Resource: The Economic Case For Increasing Female Participation', Goldman Sachs JBWere Investment Research, Australia.

OECD 2012, 'Gender Equality in Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship: Final Report to the MCM 2012', OECD, Paris.

Sanders, M Hrdlicka, J Hellicar, M Cottrell, D Knox, J 2011 'What stops women from reaching the top? Confronting the tough issue', Bain & Company, Sydney.

Sandberg, S 2013, 'Lean in: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead', Alfred A.Knope, New York. Fortune Magazine, May 2013 Warren Buffett is bullish ... on women; Increasing the number of Women in Senior Executive Positions, Business Council of Australia Report BY Meredith Hellicar Nov 2013 Graduate Careers Australia (2012), Postgraduate Destinations Report 2011, http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/Research/Resear

chReports/PostgraduateDestinations

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Thank You Lets Connect! Erica van Lieven Managing Director November 2013

www.directionfirst.com Linked in: au.linkedin.com/in/ericavanlieven/

Twitter: @erica_dfirst Email: [email protected]

http://www.directionfirst.com/

http://au.linkedin.com/in/ericavanlieven/

