Women in service industry still mostly fill traditional roles
Why are so few so few women in leadership positions in professional services even though the audit, tax and advisory industry has transformed significantly with a more diverse skills pool?
Despite developing the same skills and receiving the same qualifications as their male counterparts in commerce, professional women in the industry still fill traditionally female-orientated roles.
This is arguably one of the reasons why traditionally male-dominated industries, such as the audit industry, are still slow to transform at a leadership level, says Michelle Olckers, co-chief executive of Mazars in South Africa.
While it is vital for an industry such as this to include more women in its leadership structures, the audit industry has made good strides, she says.
According to the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, about 40% of the chartered accountants currently active are women, but those numbers are not reflected at the top levels of audit firms.
“Women add a huge amount of value to leadership and we are increasingly viewed as critical to driving the future success of the industry,” says Olckers. “We need to start looking at the reasons why there is so little flowthrough of female leaders and put more plans in place to do something about that.”
Speaking from her own experience, even with corporate clients, she points out that while many companies are putting initiatives in place to increase the number of women who make it to top positions, many of the most promising candidates are still overlooked.
“I believe that more focus should be put on developing and then supporting women in leadership roles in South Africa.
“These appointments often just exist to satisfy external perception and board composition requirements.
“As a result, not enough time is spent on developing the best candidates for these roles and companies often only include the minimum number of women in their leadership structures to fill a quota.”
Olckers adds that not only does this lead to promising candidates being overlooked, it also limits the useful contribution women can make.
“If you fundamentally shift the focus to growing and supporting skilled female leaders and showing them it is not necessary to take a back seat or choose between a family and a successful career, for instance, I believe there will be a much more natural flow-through of strong female leaders who can do more than just fill a mandated spot on the board.”
The highly regulated, strongly process-driven profession needs the unique skills women have to offer. Mentorship programmes are an important tool to help companies build a leadership structure with a bigger female component.
“Looking at my own background, taking on leadership roles and eventually rising to the co-CEO level has been a journey that included many obstacles and sometimes pushed me far out of my comfort zone in an effort to be understood for my different perspective and style.
“I was fortunate to work with men who believed in my abilities, were prepared to accept these differences as an advantage and who were willing to mentor me.
“We only truly grow further by learning from the experiences of those who came before us,” says Olckers.
The ability to network is also a critical skill because women network differently from men.
“Leaders should make it a priority to identify and mentor strong candidates. At the same time, I would encourage young women in this industry to develop their networking skills, find strong mentors and define their own purpose and uniqueness.”
As more women become leaders in the industry, it will become easier for others to find and connect with those in senior positions who understand them and with whom they can relate.
Mazars prides in taking an informed approach to grow women leadership talent among its ranks.
Olckers finds it encouraging that the list of female leaders in business is growing.
“Research shows about 39% of senior management positions in Africa are now filled by women. It is up to the audit industry to not only keep pace with these numbers, but to lead the way.”
Shift the focus to supporting women