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On the eve of International Women’s Day 2013, working women in Australia want more flexibility in the workplace and greater representation of women in senior management. The majority of Australian Women would choose work-life balance over wealth and think ‘having an interesting job’ is one of the key indicators of success.
According to the What Women Want @ Work study* released today by LinkedIn, professional woman identified the gender pay gap, the lack of a career path and the lack of investment in professional development, as the major challenges facing working women in 2013.
The survey also found that while the importance placed on salary by women has decreased from 64 per cent to 43 per cent, forty-nine percent of those questioned identified the gender pay gap as a major challenge for working women in Australia.
Overall, women in Australia feel confident about their careers and upbeat about their ability to have a fulfilling work and family life. An overwhelming majority of women (82 per cent) of the 400 Australian respondents consider their careers ‘successful’, while 70 per cent of those with children believe they can ‘have it all’.
The Flexibility Factor
A flexible work environment emerged as the most important factor in determining the ‘success of the next generation of professional women’ and flexibility was deemed more important than having a ‘greater representation of women at senior levels’.
Founder of online experience retailer RedBalloon, Naomi Simson, said she found this concerning because she feels businesses will struggle to create truly flexible workplaces without more female representation at the senior level.
“Women in senior management positions need to play a more active role in advocating the benefits of flexible work policies,” said Naomi Simson.
“To grow the next generation of leaders, we must not only listen to what women want in the workplace, but deliver equal access to these benefits for all. Leaders must work collaboratively to drive change and provide their people with the tools to advance their career.”
Women are split on the issue of how children will affect career ambitions, with 48 per cent of those without children believing having children will not slow down their careers, while the remaining 52 per cent feel they will.
Career Challenges
Australian women still face significant career barriers in the workplace. In addition, the lack of a career path and the lack of investment in professional development were identified as major inhibitors of professional success.
Issues such as the persistence of the ‘glass ceiling’ and sexism in the workplace were relatively minor concerns for working women in 2013.
Only a small group of professional women in Australia felt their appearance played a major part in their careers today, with 74 per cent saying it is irrelevant or has no major impact on their career. However, women in several countries including Germany, Singapore and the United States felt physical appearance still has a major impact on their careers.
*In February 2013 LinkedIn partnered with Cross-Tab to survey more than 5,000 working women across 13 countries in celebration and support of International Women’s Day on March 8th. Over 400 respondents between the ages of 18-65 were surveyed in each market to better understand the challenges that women face in their careers, how women have viewed success in the past and what success means now, if professional women worldwide believe they can balance work and family and how online networks can help them with their careers.