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At graduate level, women in Australia and New Zealand make up over 50% of the financial services industry. However they only make up 34% of managers and 8% of CEOs, according to the Financial Service Institute of Australasia (Finsia).

The most common explanations are family commitments, gender discrimination, and lack of opportunities for women, and the issues are viewed quite differently by men and women.

An industry survey carried out by Finsia in conjunction with BNZ revealed that:

• 48% of women did not believe females were well-represented in senior management roles, versus just 29% of men
• 70% of women did not believe there was transparency about pay between the genders, versus 32% of men.
• Women rated flexible work options as the most beneficial way to increase female participation, while men rated mentoring and professional development as priorities.

Women within the industry argue that senior management positions require people to be available any time and this is conflicting for women with family responsibilities. It is also important for employers to create opportunities for women coming back from parental leave and to create networking opportunities that are not just based around either watching or participating in sport.

In May 2012, BNZ and Finsia launched the Women in Financial Services Forum which aims to not only encourage more women into the financial services sector but also the promotion of women into senior roles. One initiative is the "Bring Our Daughters to Work Day" whereby industry professionals can share their work day with their daughters (up to the age of 22) and promote careers in banking and finance.

It has been widely documented that businesses with senior female representation succeed. In the interest of New Zealand's financial services industry we need to facilitate the path of women from academia to management and from management to the boardroom.

Sources:

http://www.finsia.com/indepth/industry/diversity-in-financial-services http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10808003