Launched at an event in Sydney yesterday, Future IM/Pact is a collaboration between Mercer and project partners from across the industry, including AustralianSuper, Cbus Super, Future Fund, HESTA, Magellan, Mercer, NAB Asset Management, Pendal, QIC and Wavestone.

The centerpiece of the project is a website that aims to help university students from all backgrounds and walks of life to understand how they can impact the world as an investment manager, how to start their investing career, and provide specific opportunities to gain exposure to the industry.  Students will also gain access to mentoring projects, networking events, internships and graduate programs through the project partners.

Mercer’s Learning & Inclusion Practice Leader, Yolanda Beattie, said a growing number of industry leaders recognise their ability to build high performing teams depends on attracting and valuing diverse talent, but the majority of teams remain very Anglo-Celtic and male dominated.

“When Mercer started looking into this issue in 2016, CEOs would lament to me how hard it was to attract a diverse candidate slate for investing roles, particularly with respect to women. This initiative aims to change that status quo by taking the long view and building our future talent pipeline from the ground up,” she said

The initiative follows research conducted by Mercer in 2016 which found female finance students were almost 50% less likely than their male counterparts to consider a career in investment management. Not knowing enough about a career in investment management, and a sense they wouldn’t fit in were among the top reasons cited.

Because women are the largest underrepresented cohort in the industry, targeting efforts will initially focus on females. Diversity of thought is the ultimate endgame and so reaching students from different cultural, socioeconomic and educational backgrounds will become a priority over time.

Beattie said achieving diverse, high performing teams also required industry leaders to address the cultural issues that contribute to women feeling less valued and included.

“Through the support of our partners, we have the opportunity and the tools in place to make a real difference. We welcome the support of companies who want to be part of this movement to help shape and grow the talent pool of the future, while opening up new and exciting career opportunities for a broader range of students.

“Ultimately, we want to help organisations and industry leaders drive positive change, while ensuring their workforce thrives,” said Beattie.

Mercer’s 2016 research also found that:

• Three quarters (76%) of investment managers are male, and almost half (48%) are private school educated;
• Female investment managers are up to 30% less likely to be promoted through the ranks and are up to 50% more likely to leave than men;
• 77% of Anglo-Celtic male investment managers feel their manager supports their career ambitions compared to 59% of female investment managers;
• Flexible working is perceived as a career handbrake with 78% of women agreeing that this explains poor diversity.

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Jan Swinhoe, Chair of MSAL said, “we are thrilled to welcome Pauline to the Board. Her appointment delivers a strong message that we are committed to building our expertise in the superannuation space.”

Ben Walsh, Managing Director & CEO of Mercer Australia, is delighted about the additional diversity of experience, attributes, and skills Ms Vamos will bring to the Board.
“Pauline is a leading figure and influencer within the financial services industry and is known for driving policy, governance and regulation excellence – all attributes which mirror the Board’s values and vision. Her appointment firmly establishes our determination in ensuring we have the right firepower behind us to achieve our growth objectives and deliver value-added services to clients.”

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Pat Milligan

Women are under-represented in the workforce globally, and if organisations maintain the current rate of progress, female representation will reach only 40% globally in the professional and managerial ranks in 2025, according to Mercer’s second annual When Women Thrive global report.

Among the key trends revealed in the report is that women’s representation within organisations actually declines as career levels rise – from support staff through the executive level (see Figure 1).

“The traditional methods of advancing women aren’t moving the needle, and under-representation of women around the world has become an economic and social travesty,” said Pat Milligan, Mercer’s Global Leader of When Women Thrive. “While leaders have been focusing on women at the top, they’re largely ignoring the female talent pipelines so critical to maintaining progress.

“This is a call-to-action — every organisation has a choice to stay with the status quo or drive their growth, communities and economies through the power of women.”

Mercer’s report finds that although women are 1.5 times more likely than men to be hired at the executive level, they are also leaving organisations from the highest rank at 1.3 times the rate of men, undermining gains at the top.

According to the When Women Thrive report, women make up 40% of the average company’s workforce. Globally, they represent 33% of managers, 26% of senior managers, and 20% of executives (see Figure 2).

In terms of regional rankings, Latin America is projected to increase women’s representation from 36% in 2015 to 49% in 2025; followed by Australia and New Zealand moving from 35% to 40%; US and Canada improving by just 1% from 39% to 40%; Europe remaining flat at 37% in 2015 and 2025; and Asia ranking last at 28%, up from just 25% in 2015 (see Figure 2).

“In 10 years, organizations won’t even be close to gender equality in most regions of the world,” said Ms. Milligan. “If CEOs want to drive their growth tomorrow through diversity, they need to take action today.”

The research – the most comprehensive of its kind featuring input from nearly 600 organisations around the world, employing 3.2 million people, including 1.3 million women – identifies a host of key drivers known to improve diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts.

“It’s not enough to create a band-aid program,” said Brian Levine, Mercer’s Innovation Leader, Global Workforce Analytics. “Most companies aren’t focused on the complete talent pipeline nor are they focused on the supporting practices and cultural change critical to ensure that women will be successful in their organisations.”

Only 9% of organisations surveyed globally offer women-focused retirement and savings programs with the US/Canada ranking first (14%), despite Mercer’s research proving that such efforts lead to greater representation of women (see Figure 3).

Other key findings of the survey include:

• Only 57% of organisations claim senior leaders are engaged in diversity and inclusion initiatives with US/Canada ranking number one
• Latin America ranks number one for engagement of middle managers with 51% vs. 39% globally
• Involvement of men has actually dropped since the first report in 2014, when 49% of organizations said they are engaged in D&I efforts vs. 38% in 2015. US/Canada ranks number one for involvement of men at 43%.
• Only 29% of organizations review performance ratings by gender with Australia/New Zealand ranking first
• US/Canada lead on pay equity, with 40% of organisations offering formal pay equity remediation processes, compared to 34% globally, 25% in Asia, and 28% in Europe. But virtually no improvements have been made since 2014
• 28% of women hold P&L (profit and loss) roles with Latin America ranking first (47%), followed by Asia (27%), Australia/New Zealand (25%), US/Canada (22%), and Europe (17%)
• Women are perceived to have unique skills needed in today’s market including flexibility and adaptability (39% vs. 20% who say men have those strengths); inclusive team management (43% vs. 20%); and emotional intelligence (24% vs. 5%)
• US/Canada ranks number one in providing training to support employees through parental leave as well offering customized retirement and savings programs by gender
• About half of organisations in three key regions – Asia, US/Canada and Latin America – agree that supporting women’s health is important to attract and retain women yet only 22% conduct analyses to identify gender-specific health needs in the workforce.

The report also asked organisations about access to and usage of key benefit programs, including part-time schedules, maternity leave, paternity leave, child care, elder care, mentorship and more.

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