If you doubt the existence of unconscious bias in the workplace, just take a look at this research.
According to the new study of accounting firms, women often outperform men at university in finance-related degrees, but end up in relatively junior roles with poor pay once they’re in the workforce.
The problem? Well some of the comments given to researchers and quoted in the Fairfax papers today provide a pretty good indication.
One male leader of an accounting firm said he feels women “lack the talent of multi-tasking as they are confronted with family and/or career conflicts and pressures”.
A lack of multi-tasking skills is not something you’d usually associate with a working parent, but moving on.
Another male leader suggested women can’t progress in accounting due to part-time work and career breaks.
Others justified a gender pay gap due to women being unable to network with clients because of family commitments.
I don’t think women are the problem.
The University of New England study was based on the owners or managers of regional and metropolitan based accounting firms.
One researcher Dr Sujana Adapa told the Sydney Morning Herald that many of the views they encountered sounded like something out of the 1950s. We can only agree.
According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, the finance and insurance sector carries one of the highest gender pay gaps, at a massive 30%.
Dr Adapa believes much of the problem comes down to women being left out of networking events, with men often compensated attractively for the networking related activities that many women don’t have the opportunity to attend due to family commitments.
Unconscious bias is absolutely entrenched in this industry. It’s costing women pay, it’s costing organisations great talent, and it’s perpetuating stereotypes regarding who gets to work and lead in the sector.
No doubt it’s also costing customers the opportunity to actually work with the best possible people. No doubt again some of those customers may prefer not to attend male-dominated networking activities and might actually enjoy some more innovative options for getting to know their advisors.
Unsurprisingly the researchers found many women have left employment to start their own accounting firms.
Thus those very women who’re lacking talent and have too many family commitments are now fierce competitiors — and are probably doing business the 2016 way, rather than the 1956 way.