ANZ yesterday announced new measures to help women better engage with their financial futures and address the structural bias and subsequent financial disadvantage they face in the workplace and retirement.
The announcement follows ANZ’s release of new research report into gender inequality in Australia, which found that over their lifetime Australian women earn on average $700,000 less than men.
ANZ Chief Executive Officer Mike Smith said: “Promoting diversity and gender equality is a priority in our business. This includes pay equality and an equal representation of women in leadership roles.
“Much more still needs to be done though to achieve full gender equality in the workplace and while we recognise we’re not there yet, today’s announcement is about rethinking how we address the imbalances women face in the workplace and in retirement,” Mr Smith said.
ANZ’s new measures include:
- Parental leave will be paid for up to 24 months, up from 12 months, for Australian based employees on their return to work.
- Top-up superannuation payments of $500 per annum to ANZ’s permanent and fixed-term female employees in Australia to address the gap in retirement savings.
- Free superannuation advice for customers with less than $50,000 in superannuation to help them grow their knowledge and confidence to support their financial decisions.
- Specialist financial planners trained in the needs and preferences of women.
ANZ CEO Global Wealth Joyce Phillips said: “Women play a critical role in global economies – however our report shows they can still earn up to 36 per cent less than men and retire with around half the superannuation.
“Over time, we believe these new measures will help improve the financial security of women at ANZ by directly targeting the areas of advice, superannuation and financial education,” Ms Phillips said.
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