In Australia’s 2013 workforce women compile 46% of the available positions. But despite filling almost half of the jobs, only 3.5% of CEO placements in the ASX are female and overall women continue to earn 17.5% less than men in the same position. So, what tools should women utilise to achieve career path success in modern Australia? This was the question ABN CEO and Community Director Suzi Dafnis answered on Sky News Your Career in an interview aired 17 November.
How does the pay and position divide impact career paths?
In addressing the pay and position divide Suzi first noted that the above figures do not include women who own their own business, but was rather a corporate figure. However, Suzi said steps still need to be taken:
“The earning pay gap continues to puzzle me, especially when women are coming out of University and earning less in the same position as men. So we need to ask employers to take a look at this, because it doesn’t make any, any sense. But if that’s the situation we as women need to empower ourselves to go and ask for more money and make a case for why we are equally eligible for the pay the person sitting next to us of a different gender is receiving.”
“There’s a couple of things to keep in mind when approaching a pay negotiation: being confident, being prepared, having a case and also being willing to walk away.” “Progress is slow, so we need to take it into our own hands, this might mean improving our negotiation skills, getting more savvy with online numbers and what it is that your boss sees as adding value to the business.”
Should there be enforced quotas on boards?
The topic of workplace gender equality is making national headlines after the release of a checklist by the Business Council Australia. This list identifies the need for better recruitment, selection and retention practices. The list included ‘how to envisage and feel comfortable with women as CEO, or CEO successor, when assessing female candidates for CEO or senior team roles’. When asked on the subject of enforced quotas for women on boards however, Suzi replied she sits more on the against:
“I think that no one wants to be the token woman on the board. But sometimes, as we have seen in other countries, by forcing a company take on a female leader it creates a role model. So sitting at the table you will have an equal balance of gender, which makes it normal – where as now if you look at most of the boards there are zero to very few women. I’m not a fan of the enforced quota but something has to be done.”
So many successful women own their own business
The ABN Hall of Fame boasts a list of successful businesswomen who have made the most of their entrepreneurial spirit by going out on their own. When speaking to Sky News Your Career Suzi pointed out that the choice to go alone may lead to a better work/life balance: “No matter what our job is it has to be something that we love and it has to fulfil the lifestyle that we want. So if you can find that great, if not now is a great time to go ahead and start your own business. And again there are lots of role models for successful female entrepreneurs.” “It’s really about setting your career goals and then looking to find a mentor. Some of the most successful women in business I know mentor other women, so it’s just about asking.”
“Today, young women have the opportunity to get into positions with technology that will pay as good if not better than some of the previous roles we may have considered – so sometimes it is our career choices.”
How do you manage coming back to the workforce after childbirth?
Also addressed were the challenges presented to returning to work mums. If you have been out of work for a long time, more training may be required. But on achieving your desired results Suzi said:
“Women will leave the corporate world and still want to work – you could work from home on one or two days or whatever suits you – because you are still the same person, you still have the brain capacity – it’s no longer work or not work. You can find a structure that works for both you and your employer.”
