Mind the Gap - Sally Kirkright, CEO, AccessEAP
Many organisations and indeed countries are doing just that: minding the gender pay gap. Iceland is well on the way while New Zealand has just announced that no gender pay gaps exist in starting salaries for the same roles in government by 2020. Energy Australia and Salesforce are two organisations that have made a stand to eliminate the gap. Despite these advances there are still some alarming, hard facts surrounding the real limitations on a woman’s financial situation.
Across all workers, from those new to paid employment to those nearing retirement, the mean superannuation account balance for men is $112,000 and just $68,000 for women1. We are told one of the reasons for this is that women tend to be primary care-givers and are therefore likely to work casually or part-time, and take extended absences from paid work. Another major reason is the gender pay gap, such that across Australia on average women are paid 15.3% less than men each week2.
Annual surveys conducted since 20133 inform us that the top issue consistently impacting on the wellbeing of Australians is financial stress. Women are far more likely than men to be experiencing financial stress. With 55% of women under 35 finding dealing with money stressful and overwhelming4.
It makes smart business sense to implement initiatives which address these challenges, particularly as 46.9% of employees in Australia are women5. If for no other reason, the bottom line of your organisation is very likely to be impacted by the financial circumstances of your employees. When workers, both male and female, are experiencing chronic financial stress, this will have a significant effect on productivity.
More and more unconscious bias is being recognised and women are actively encouraged to participate in jobs, and at levels, that have previously been male dominated. Further examples of incentives taken by organisations to allow women to participate in the workforce on an equal footing include; transparent and consistent recruitment and remuneration; flexible work arrangements; paid parental leave and access to educational seminars on financial topics.
At age 15 girls are more financially literate than boys6 and 40% of women aged 25-29 hold a bachelors degree (compared to 30% of men)7 however 85% of women under 35 don't understand fundamental investment concepts4. For women looking to learn more and be proactive in terms of planning for life events and retirement there are resources available. At AccessEAP specialist financial coaching is part of the annual EAP allocation and can be requested long before the situation becomes overwhelming for employees struggling financially. There are also several excellent resources offered by the Federal government to help educate and assist in relation to the particular financial challenges women face.
[1] Association of Superannuation Funds Australia.
[2] Workplace Gender Equality Agency.
[3] Australian Psychological Society Stress and Wellbeing in Australia Survey.
[4] 46.9% according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.
[5] EY Sweeney, Australian Financial Attitudes and Behaviour Tracker (Wave 5) March 2017.
[6] OECD Report PISA 2015.Financial literacy in Australia.
[7] ABS Gender Indicators; Education, February 2016.
