26 February 2004

26 February 200426 February 2004

Implementation of Accelerated Development Programmes for Women

Proprietary and Confidential - 2 -47c_Research_SkillsforWomenintheFinancialServicesIndustry_17Feb04_KMkla20/04/23 19:29

The financial services industry “bears the reputation of being a difficult one for women”

• The industry is one with a low representation of women, particularly at senior levels

• The culture has been reported as inhospitable to women

• The majority of women cite several barriers to advancement within their organisations, including lack of mentoring and exclusion from informal networking within their work environments

18% of women in this industry have seen improvement in opportunities for advancement to senior leadership in the past five years.

Source: Catalyst Survey canvassing 9 focus groups involving men and women from 60 firms nationwide. The field included more than 800 financial services executives of which 57.5% were women.


It would seem that women feel the impact of workplace barriers to a greater degree than men

67%

70%

51%

65%

51%

42%

68%

25%

38%

8%

13%

47%

55%

57%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Exclusion from informalcommunication networks

Lack of mentoring createsa barrier to success

Paid less for doing similarwork

Work harder to get thesame rewards

Lack of significant generalmanagement experience

Projects and clientsassigned fairly

Promotion decisions areunfair

Females

Males

Source: Catalyst Survey canvassing 9 focus groups involving men and women from 60 firms nationwide. The field included more than 800 financial services executives of which 57.5% were women.


The demand for skills

• There has been a shift from semi-skilled to highly skilled employment within the financial sector:

– In 1995, the percentages for semi-skilled and skilled people were 77% and 17% respectively

– In 2002, the percentages for semi-skilled and skilled people were 67% and 25% respectively

• Professionals, associate professionals and managers are jobs that are in short supply:

– Professionals = 23.6% vacancies of total occupational group

– Associate professionals = 34.6 % vacancies of total occupational group

– Managers = 10% vacancies of total occupational group

• Of the above vacancies, the highest percentage – 26.7% – is found in the financial expert and related accounting occupations profession

Effective Employment Equity implementation remains a challenge, with the majority of senior management and professional posts still being held by white males.

Source: State of Skills in South Africa – Skills Development Planning Unit: Department of Labour, October 2003.


Creating a skilled workforce which focuses on women clearly has a positive impact on the company’s bottom line

• Research demonstrates that companies with a higher representation of women in senior mangement positions financially outperform companies with fewer women at the top:

– Between 1996 and 2000 these companies had a 35% higher Return on Equity (ROE)

– Within the same timeframe, they had a 34% higher Total Return to Shareholders (TRS)

• This is because women tend to work harder and more effectively, for longer, with less pay in order to prove themselves equal to their male counterparts

• High performance is valued by women, and they focus their energy on being high performers. This has a positive impact on the bottom line

• Whilst there are many variables that can contribute to outstanding financial performance, companies that understand the competitive advantage of gender diversity are smart enough to leverage that diversity

Source: Catalyst Study of 353 Fortune 500 companies connecting corporate performance and gender diversity – sponsored by BMO Financial Group. Top quartile = 88 companies with the highest gender diversity on leadership teams; bottom quartile = 89 companies with the lowest gender diversity;Catalyst Publications – Career Action Steps for Women in Corporate Management.

“ . . . it makes the best of business sense to have a diverse workforce and an equitable, supportive workplace” – Tony Cooper, Chairman and CEO of BMO Financial Group.


Skills that are in short supply

Managers • Project managers

• Financial management

• Business leadership

Professionals

Qualified / Experienced Technicians

Associated Professionals

• Chartered accountants

• Actuaries

• Analysts

• Venture Capital specialists

• Equitable Share Modelling

Generic skills

• Motivational skills

• Analytical and interpretive skills

• Understanding of financial regulations

• General management

• Leadership skills

• Customer service

• Communication and report-writing

These skills should be developed urgently within the financial services industry

Source: State of Skills in South Africa – Skills Development Planning Unit: Department of Labour, October 2003.**: Secondary Sector = ESETA, CHIETA, FIETA, FOODBEV, MERSETA, TEXTILE, CETA and MAPP; Services Sector = SETA FASSET, ISETT, BANK SETA, THETA, W&RSETA, TETA, HWSETA and INSETA.


Development of skilled women within our industry needs to be demonstrated by top executive commitment

Source: Catalyst Survey – Lack of mentoring women’s biggest barrier: published in Pittsburgh Business Times;Catalyst Research – Women in Corporate Leadership: Progress and Prospects.

Companies need to be willing to take risks on women who show high potential

The organisation needs to create a balance between work and family responsibilities and this needs to be incorporated

into all human resources policies

It is the organisation’s responsibility to create networking and mentoring opportunities through public forums or workgroups

Organisations should implement development programmes which focus specifically on women

Life skills development for all employees is essential

Performance management competencies should be grown at all levels

Documents

26 February 2004