To support women’s long-term financial security, superannuation cannot be overlooked
A generous parental leave policy and equal pay is a cost of entry in competing for and retaining talent. The real problem is in reducing the longer term financial disadvantages women having families face, writes Eithne McSwiney, managing director, GHO Sydney.
In 2006 I was interviewing for a senior role at a global agency. Before I walked into the office I took my engagement ring off. Why? The assumption at the time was that if you were about to be married, the odds were pretty high that pregnancy and children would follow swiftly after. The fear for many women was the loaded question: Who would want to hire someone that was going to take two years off work over the next four?
Actually I would, and do. Senior women with children are an untapped resource, and as most mums already know, we can be incredibly efficient. And whilst our industry is starting to see an increase in the number of women in leadership roles, as well as more female business owners, we still have to fix the inequality in which women are dealt with when it comes to their long-term financial security.
Of all the issues raised and the new policies announced through International Women’s Day, I didn’t see a lot of progress in fixing the gap in financial security that women experience throughout their career. The biggest problem we face in the creative industry is not just a pay gap but a gap in workforce participation and the consequential inequality women are dealt with regarding their savings. When women return to work after starting a family, we also often lose them to go ‘client side’ which is perceived to be a better option financially.
