Equal Accomplishments, Unequal Results - Building Gender Balanced Business

Two studies have pointed out how despite all the laws and other gains supposedly putting an end to discrimination, women still lag men — “it’s all a big con,” Sue Dunlevy writes. She might be talking specifically about Australia, where the number of top females in business is actually contracting and another study showed that boys get more pocket money, or allowance, than girls, but much of what she says applies worldwide.

• Women still bear the children and having a child is a career killer for most women. Two thirds of Australian women who return from maternity leave in the public service don’t get a promotion in the following five years.

• Top jobs are designed for workers without visible caring responsibilities who can work a 50-100 hour week.

• Almost half the women in the Australian workforce are part-time compared with 14% of men.

• An equal pay inquiry was told people working in female-dominated professions earn 32 per cent less than workers in male-dominated professions.

• Even when women make it to the top they’re not taken seriously. Smith Family CEO Elaine Henry says when a woman makes a contribution to board discussions it is usually ignored but when a man takes up her idea it is seized upon as a brilliant solution.

• Women need better support structures earlier in their careers, they need senior males to mentor them and advise them on their career paths, introduce them to networks and talk them up.

In conclusion, “we’re just pretending we’ve got gender equality in this country. Sure we’ve got equal rights but what we haven’t got is equal outcomes.”

The Daily Telegraph column