Researchers are calling for a “cultural shift” in the way females are represented across all levels of management, saying there was still “unconscious bias” within some organisations.
An Otago University study into gender diversity in the workplace found that women need to be present across the top level of management, rather than simply appointed to board roles, to create a pipeline of women’s representation.
New Zealand had previously made strides forward in gender equality, as one of just two countries in the OECD that has had equality in Parliament with women making up 50% of its members last year. That figure has since dropped to roughly 44%.
Unequal pay has also been tackled, with the pay gap reduced steadily from 16.3% in 1998 to now sitting at 8.6%.
University of Otago associate professor and study co-author Helen Roberts told Breakfast that women being appointed to an executive board was “a start”, but that there needed to be representation of women across all levels of management.
“Our research shows that below the executive level of your management hierarchy, it’s not really having an effect on the impact on representation of gender below that level,” she said.
“So if I’m a general manager being able to see that there is someone directly above me that I can use as a role model, that I can aspire to in terms of where my next career progression could be is really, really valuable.”
Roberts said it was about more than visibility: It was about “setting a standard and setting an example”.
“Saying that our organisation is going to have representation at all ranks, and that gives voice to everyone whether that is people coming through the pipeline or people at the top setting the standard and creating opportunities for everyone.”
She said there was the risk of tokenism where women were being put in roles simply to “meet an expectation”.
“I think it’s fair to say there is still an element of unconscious bias within some organisations around who is appointed once an opportunity becomes available and even just encouraging people to apply for those roles and then seeing that whole process as completely valid in terms of the representation and opportunities that everyone has within that organisation.”
Roberts called for a “cultural shift” in order for an organisations to achieve better equity.
“For a long time there’s been this homosocial reproduction, [which] is the academic term, where you replace the vacancy with someone similar to who held the position before.
“We have to move away from that thinking and become more diversified in the way we go about our promotion and our application process.”
The study results were particularly important when viewed in the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, with recent data showing its 2030 gender equity goals are unlikely to be met.
United Nations 2023 statistics showed that at the current rate of advancement, women’s managerial representation would not reach parity with men for 140 years.
“The UN has noted the persistent gender inequality in women’s managerial and leadership representation and highlighted it as a central global sustainability concern,” Roberts said.
“Firms need to promote women at all managerial levels by setting transparent diversity goals, monitoring progress through data-driven analysis and regularly overseeing progress on diversity goals through an assigned responsibility.”