Empowering women in the workplace

AUSTRALIAN workplaces are heading in the right direction toward gender equality, with more than half of employees saying they work in an environment that helps to empower women.

A recent survey by SEEK also revealed two-thirds of Australians believe there is equal representation of women and men in leadership and decision-making in their workplace.

SEEK group human resources director Kathleen McCudden says there are a lot of positives in these findings, however there is also a gap between the perceptions of men and women.

For example, 58 per cent of women agree they are equally represented in leadership, compared to 74 per cent of men; and 67 per cent of women agree they are equally represented in decisionmaking compared to 77 per cent of men.

“There is a different view between women and men,” McCudden says.

“I think it’s probably because we still have more men represented at senior levels for the most part – some industries are exceptions – and if you are not one of the underrepresented people, you don’t see (the issue) as much and it doesn’t feel as real.”

The research reveals one in three workers actively seek out companies that support gender-based equal opportunity.

McCudden says there are lots of ways to work out where a company stands on this issue, starting with the company website.

“Read about its policies around diversity,” she says.

“You can often look at who is represented at a leadership level and, if it’s a listed company, you can see the representation of men and women on the board.

“In the hiring process, look around, what do you see? How does the culture manifest?

Who is on the interview panel? Is there a gender balance in the hiring process?

“The challenges are different in different industries. There is under-representation of women in, say, technology and under-representation of men in, say, healthcare.”

She says progressive companies understand the value of diversity in thought and the “best and brightest” candidates want to join companies that recognise that.

DIVERSITY: A SEEK survey finds one in three workers look for employers that support gender-based equal opportunity.