Bianca Hartge-Hazelman

Key results

• The timeframe to economic equality is unchanged at a revised 32 years in September quarter.
• Women’s financial progress improved in the September quarter despite early setback of female job cuts in response to COVID-19 impacts.
• Progress was helped by a rebound in female employment relative to male, more women on boards and a further narrowing of the gender gap in the underemployment rate.
• The Financy Women’s Index rose by 2.2% to 74.1 points in the September quarter from a revised 73.3 points in June.

Australian women are recovering from the early financial impacts of COVID-19 at a faster rate than men, the latest Financy Women’s Index shows.  This is despite women facing numerous gender financial inequalities and an early setback in job cuts relative to men at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak. 

The Financy Women’s Index rose by 2.2% to 74.1 points in the September quarter from a revised 73.3 points in June – this is about half the pace of progress recorded in the June quarter at by 4.2%.

Improved female jobs growth, which was harder hit compared to male by the onset of the pandemic and government shutdowns in March of this year, coupled with a fresh high in female ASX 200 board appointments and a narrowing of the gender gap in the underemployment rate, helped to push women’s progress higher in the September quarter.

“Whilst this result gives us more reason to feel optimistic as we approach the end of 2020, the situation remains volatile and time will tell if COVID-19 has short or long-term impacts on women’s progress and economic equality,” says Bianca Hartge-Hazelman, author of the Financy Women’s Index report.

“Despite the progress Australian women remain in a more financially insecure position relative to men and continue to face gender gaps across all but one of the financial indicators measured by the Financy Women’s Index.”

Ms Nicki Hutley, Partner at Deloitte Access Economics, says there can be no doubt that COVID-19 has placed greater burdens on women in myriad ways.

“The silver lining, if it can be called that, was the brief period of free childcare.

“It was a massively missed opportunity for the Federal Government not to introduce this support on a permanent basis and generate significant long-term increases in female participation and economic growth.

“However things play out from here, COVID-19 will leave two legacies for women. The first lies in the direct impact on women as workers, often casual, in the most vulnerable sectors, and as primary carers.

 “The second, and more important legacy will be the policies implemented to address those imbalances to ensure when the next shock occurs – be it another virus, extreme weather disruptions or financial sector driven – women do not again bear a disproportionate burden,” says Ms Hutley.

The timeframe to Australia achieving economic equality is unchanged at a revised 32 years because of the significant gender gap in the worst performing indicator which is unpaid work.

The number of women with ASX 200 board positions has increased in 2020 with women now occupying 32.1% of board positions as of the end of October , which is up from 31.2% in the June quarter. The result is nearly triple the rate of progress (2.6 percentage points or ppt) in the 12 months to September 2019 (1ppt).

The improvement comes despite a drop in the number of women occupying key leadership positions, including as CEO of public companies.

“As long as women do not progress within the management ranks we won’t just have a gender pay gap we’ll have a salary chasm,” says Connie Mckeage, Managing Director of Strategic Advantage and founder of OneVue. 

According to Labour Force data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Arts and Recreation Services and Accommodation and Food Services
both hired 19% more women across their workforces in the quarter. 

Younger women, aged 15-24 years who, along with older women, were hardest hit by job losses at the start of the pandemic have been largely left out of the partial recovery in female employment.

The female underemployment rate declined by 4ppt to 12.46% in September, compared to 12.93% in June and a high of 15.37% in April. Prior to the COVID-19 restrictions introduced in March, the female underemployment rate had stayed in the low double-digits since April 2014 and throughout that time has been about double the male underemployment rate.

The recovery in female employment coupled with higher male early access to super withdrawals could possibly help the gender gap in superannuation to narrow from 31% in favour of men.

The gender gap in unpaid work, calculated from the latest data obtained prior to the pandemic, shows women in relationships, with or without children, were doing 60% more unpaid tasks than men. This disparity is widely considered a significant barrier to increased female work participation and therefore financial progress. 

The gender pay gap stands at 14% in the September quarter, which is slightly higher than the 13.9% reported in the March quarter of this year.

The gender gap in non-school education is undergoing a shift for the first time in decades with male enrolment growth outpacing that of female.

The number of women aged 15-64 years completing a non-school qualification at Certificate III level or above such as a University Degree, fell by 7% or 86,000 female enrolments to 1.105 million in the 12 months to May of this year – reflecting the largest decline in at least 20 years, according to ABS figures on Education and Work.

The post Women’s financial progress rebounds from COVID-19 setback appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Connie Mckeage

Following court approval of the Scheme of Arrangement for Iress to acquire 100% of OneVue Holdings (ASX:OVH) at 43c per share, OVH today, 6 November 2020, formally transitions to Iress ownership, delisting from the ASX and capping a six year journey of significant growth since listing in 2014.

“The completion of this strategic acquisition of OneVue by Iress marks an historic moment and welcomes in a new era of further growth and the acceleration of the strategy. The strength of OneVue’s execution and service model paired with the distribution and technology leadership of Iress, dramatically hastens the execution of the strategy beyond what the two organisations could accomplish independently.

Most importantly we are very pleased that the OneVue vision will continue to unfold under Iress’ stewardship and that they are looking forward to working alongside our staff and clients. I want to thank all of our staff for their incredible contributions over the years, and our board for their support and guidance throughout our journey, particularly over recent months.” said Managing Director and Founder, Connie Mckeage.

Following the Implementation Date for the Scheme, Friday 6 November 2020, Connie Mckeage will step back from running of the business, however Connie will be retained by the Iress business in a consultancy capacity.

CFO, Ashley Fenton, and Head of People and Culture, George Ribar, who have been instrumental in the strategic growth of OneVue and the acquisition process, have elected to accept redundancies as part of the transition.

Chairman of OVH, Ron Dewhurst said “Today marks an historic moment for OneVue and the realisation of the core strategy of the group. I want to acknowledge the enormous contributions of the leadership team, in particular Ash and George who have chosen not to move across as part of the acquisition – your contributions under the most trying of circumstances have been unparalleled.

Most importantly, I want to recognise the tireless efforts, incredible vision and foresight of OneVue’s founder, Connie – it has been deeply rewarding to work alongside you. Throughout what would have been the perfect storm for any other business, it is your resilience and sheer determination that have made the difference in realising what we have achieved. I wish you and all of the OneVue team the utmost of joy and future success.”

CEO Fund and Platform Services, Richard Harris-Smith said “It has been an incredible journey to this point, and the acquisition by Iress places us in a much stronger position than ever to realise the strategy we set out to achieve.

The journey to get here hasn’t been without its challenges. We have all learnt so much from Connie and her ability to develop and drive strategy forward and her care for clients is embedded in all of us. Whilst she may no longer be our Managing Director, she will no doubt remain a part of our lives.”

The OneVue team will formally become a part of the Iress business effective from close of business Friday 6th November.

The post OneVue formally transitions to Iress ownership appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Bianca Hartge-Hazelman

The Coronavirus pandemic has prolonged the timeframe for achieving economic gender equality in Australia to 36 years due to a decline in female workforce participation in the June quarter.

The Financy Women’s Index shows that in just four months of the COVID-19 health crisis, four years had been added to the estimated time it will take to achieve economic equality. During the period, the gap between the number of men and women in full-time employment has widened.

“As the Financy Women’s Index shows, COVID-19 has only exacerbated the divide between men and women in paid and unpaid work,” says Nicki Hutley, Partner at Deloitte Access Economics. “Even if we return to the path of improvement seen before the pandemic, we remain a full generation away from achieving equality.”

The Financy Women’s Index improved in the June quarter (up 2.4 points, or 3.3%, to 73.7 points) but this was largely as result of male employment conditions worsening at a faster rate than female.

The June quarter result provides an indication of what’s happened to women’s financial progress in light of COVID-19 by looking at the performance of women compared to men across education, employment, participation, underemployment, wages, unpaid work, ASX 200 boards and superannuation.

“Unfortunately, the June quarter’s Financy Women’s Index isn’t one to celebrate because, while there was some good news in terms of the number of women on ASX 200 boards, overall we have seen female progress get dragged down in paid work,” says Bianca Hartge-Hazelman, Founder of The Financy Women’s Index.

“The one area where positive progress has occurred is in the number of women in ASX 200 board positions, which increased to 31.3% in the June period, up from 30.7% in March, according to data company OpenDirector.com.au.”

The biggest change to the Index during the June quarter was in the underemployment rate, with the gender gap narrowing by 17.2 points as male underemployment rose more sharply than female.

The Index was also affected by a 1 point widening of the gender gap in the participation rate and a 0.8 point increase in the gender gap in full-time employment.

In terms of job cuts in the June quarter, the most significant were in female dominated sectors such as Accommodation and Food Services and Arts and Recreation.

“The volume of cuts to full-time female job in 2020 has reversed two years of female employment growth and has derailed a multi-decade trend which saw female workforce participation steadily expand,” says Ms Hartge-Hazelman.

The gender pay gap^[1], measured by average full-time weekly wages, widened slightly to 14% in May as reported in August, up from 13.9% at the start of the year.

The industries where the gender pay gap widened the most were Mining, Professional, Scientific and Technical Services and Accommodation and Food Services.

Financial and Insurance services, Health and Professional, Scientific and Technical Services still have the biggest gender pay differences of any sectors with gaps around 22%.

Connie Mckeage, CEO of OneVue, says given the impact of the pandemic on Australians, business leaders need to be mindful that it’s not just financial progress that is suffering.

“We need to ensure that inputs such as mental health get as much focus as financial outcomes,” she said. “Any man or woman suffering from mental health issues hurts productivity so let’s make sure that we are not turning a blind eye to the uncomfortable so we can give every man and woman to ability to perform at their best regardless of the circumstances.”

Other Services, which includes personal and professional services, religious, civic, maintenance and private household employment, has become the only sector where the gender pay gap has been reversed and women are paid more than men on average.

Ms Hartge-Hazelman said equality has also been achieved in formal higher education and vocational studies.

“Despite this, gender stereotypes persist in traditionally female dominated areas such as Health and Education. Women also continue to dominate fields of study which have lower pay outcomes to many male dominated areas.

“That said, the second highest paying sector for women – Information and Technology – is the fastest growing of any field of study, followed by Natural and Physical Sciences and Architecture and Building. This would suggest that gender norms are starting to shift and it could have an impact on pay outcomes in younger generations of women.”

While the official gender gap in superannuation remains unchanged at this point, data provided by Australia’s largest superannuation fund, AustralianSuper, shows that the average gender gap in the retirement savings of its members widened to 26% in June compared to 25% at the start of this year.

Ms Hartge-Hazelman said that figures highlighted by the June Index also suggest that the gender gap in unpaid work is likely to widen further.

“The gender gap in unpaid work shows that in normal times, women in relationships are doing 60% more than men. This disparity is widely considered a significant barrier to increased female work participation and therefore financial progress.”

Key results

• The timeframe to economic equality in Australia has blown out to 36 years, up from 32 years.
• The Financy Women’s Index rose by 2.4 points in the June quarter to a revised 73.7 points but largely as a result of male underemployment conditions deteriorating faster than female.
• The Index was helped by an increase in the number of women on ASX 200 boards which rose to 31.3%.
• The Index was held back by gender gaps widening in the participation rate, full-time employment numbers and the gender pay gap.

———

[1] All gender pay gap data has been revised to take into account a recent change by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in reporting Seasonally Adjusted numbers instead of the usual Trend because of the pandemic.

The post COVID-19 pushes out timeframe to gender economic equality by 4 years appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Connie Mckeage

Overview

Iress (IRE.ASX) has announced that it has entered into a Scheme Implementation Agreement with OneVue Holdings Limited (OVH.ASX), (“OneVue“) under which Iress will acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of OneVue (the “Scheme”).

Under the terms of the Scheme, OneVue shareholders will be entitled to receive consideration of $0.40 per share for their OneVue shares (the “Consideration”).

The Consideration represents a 67% premium to OneVue’s closing share price on 28 May 2020 and a 19% premium to OneVue’s 12-month VWAP.^[3]

Entry into the Scheme Implementation Agreement follows a period of exclusive due diligence. Implementation of the Scheme remains subject to a number of conditions but is not subject to financing.

Strategic acquisition

Iress chief executive, Andrew Walsh, said: “With structural shifts and changing market dynamics, our strategy is to continue to generate long-term growth opportunities, leveraging technology and automation, while helping clients achieve efficiency, compliance and growth.

“The combination of OneVue’s strength and position in administration of managed funds, superannuation, and investments, with Iress’ strength in software and data will drive innovation through technology. This includes the development of software and services that brings advice and investments closer together, resulting in greater efficiency and productivity for professional advisers and businesses in Australia.

“OneVue has scale in managed funds administration as the largest single third-party fund registry in Australia^[4] and there is opportunity to build on OneVue’s business.

“I am pleased that OneVue’s managing director, Connie Mckeage, will continue to play an important role during the transition period and will consult to us on growth, strategy and clients after completion.”

Recommendation of the OneVue Board

The full OneVue Board of Directors unanimously recommends that OneVue shareholders vote in favour of the Scheme in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to an Independent Expert concluding (and continuing to conclude) that the Scheme is in the best interests of OneVue shareholders. OneVue Managing Director, Connie Mckeage, said: “We are pleased to have entered into an agreement with Iress to acquire OneVue. The offer represents a premium to our current share price and a full cash offer provides compelling certainty for our shareholders.

Iress is a company we have significant respect for and we know they are committed to continuing to deliver high levels of service and excellence to our clients and are looking forward to working more closely alongside our clients and partners.”

Matters relating to Sargon

Iress has conducted extensive due diligence on OneVue and its business and has considered the implications of OneVue’s claims to the Sargon receivables and the surrounding arrangements. As previously announced by OneVue, it has significantly written down the value of those receivables in OneVue’s accounts to $3.86m. The Consideration has been arrived at taking these matters into account and Iress considers that they have been appropriately addressed in the context of this transaction.

OneVue is overseeing the sale of Madison Group as a result of security arrangements associated with the Sargon receivable. The Madison Group is not owned by OneVue and that will not change as a result of the Scheme or those security arrangements.

About OneVue

OneVue provides a range of funds management, superannuation, and investment solutions. OneVue supports financial services by providing efficient and effective technology and service solutions to its clients.

With around 250 employees based in Australia, largely in Sydney and Melbourne, OneVue operates the largest single third-party fund registry in Australia with approximately $490 billion in assets across^[1],383 funds.

Consideration

Under the terms of the Scheme, OneVue shareholders will be entitled to receive Consideration of $0.40 per share in cash.

The Consideration represents approximately:

• a 67% premium to OneVue’s closing price of 24 cents per share on 28 May 2020, being the last trading day before the announcement of the Scheme;
• an 84% premium to the VWAP of OneVue shares over the month ending 28 May 2020, of 22 cents per share, being the last trading day before the announcement of the Scheme;
• a 61% premium to the VWAP of OneVue shares over the 6 months ending 28 May 2020, of 25 cents per share, being the last trading day before the announcement of the Scheme; and
• a 19% premium to the VWAP of OneVue shares over the 12 months ending 28 May 2020, of 34 cents per share, being the last trading day before the announcement of the Scheme.

The Consideration represents an implied equity value of approximately $107m.^[6]

Scheme Implementation Agreement

The Scheme is subject to the Conditions Precedents set out in Schedule 2 of the Scheme Implementation Agreement, which include:

• receipt of ACCC and other regulatory approvals;
• approval by OneVue shareholders and the Court; and
• customary commercial conditions, including:
  • the Independent Expert concluding, and continuing to conclude, that the Scheme is in the best interests of OneVue shareholders; and
  • no “material adverse change” or “prescribed events” occurring.

Other key details

The Scheme Implementation Agreement also contains customary exclusivity provisions including “no shop” and “no talk restrictions”, and matching rights in favour of Iress in respect of any competing proposals. A break fee is payable to Iress in certain circumstances.

Full details of the Scheme are set out in the Scheme Implementation Agreement attached as Annexure A.

Funding

The Scheme will be funded through a portion of the funds Iress receives from an equity raising which it is currently conducting and which is comprised of a fully underwritten placement to raise $150 million, and a non-underwritten Share Purchase Plan to eligible shareholders, targeting to raise approximately $20 million.

Indicative Timetable

Subject to Court approval, OneVue intends to send a Scheme Booklet to OneVue shareholders in early August 2020. The Scheme Booklet will contain information relating to the Scheme, including the reasons for the Directors’ recommendation and details of the Scheme meeting. The Scheme Booklet will also contain an Independent Expert’s Report providing an assessment as to whether the Scheme is in the best interests of OneVue shareholders.

———

[1] Assuming 40 cents per share and fully diluted shares outstanding of 267.9m.
[2] In the absence of a superior proposal and subject to an independent expert concluding (and continuing to conclude) that the transaction is in the best interests of the OneVue shareholders.
[3] Ending on 28 May 2020, being OneVue’s last trading day prior to this announcement.
[4] Based on funds under administration.
[5] OneVue Quarterly business measures as disclosed to ASX by OneVue on 29 April 2020, H1 FY20 Results Presentation as disclosed to ASX by OneVue on 26 February 2020.
[6] Assuming 40 cents per share and fully diluted shares outstanding of 267.9m.

The post Iress enters Scheme Implementation Agreement to acquire OneVue appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Bianca Hartge-Hazelman

Australian women are bearing the brunt of the initial economic impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as job cuts start to mount.

The scorecard of women’s financial progress, the Financy Women’s Index, recorded its weakest start to a calendar year since 2015 and rose by just 0.4 percentage points to a revised 71.3 points in the March quarter up from 71 points in the December period.

The Index result for the March quarter means that based on the rate of progress, economic equality in Australia is at least 32 years away.

“For women, the risk is that some of the recent economic progress slides backwards,” said Joanna Masters Chief Economist Ernst & Young Oceania. “This is not because we care less about gender equality but reflects economic consequences and perhaps diverted focus,” she said.

The Index was most affected by a slowdown in female employment growth with full-time job numbers up only 0.1% to 3.35 million over the March quarter while male full-time employment rose by 0.9% to 5.49 million.

“If the initial impact of COVID-19 continues to hit female employment harder than male in an economic sense, it could exacerbate gender gaps in wages, superannuation and in unpaid work,” said Bianca Hartge-Hazelman, Founder, Financy Women’s Index.

Prior to COVID-19, full-time employment growth for females was stronger than males. Today it is not only the opposite but men’s full-time employment growth is close to ten times that of women’s employment growth.

Connie Mckeage, CEO of OneVue, said while the entire world has been affected by COVID-19, there are clear effects that occur along gendered lines.

“This is not the time to become complacent, nor to create excuses as to why women continue to suffer financially more than men during difficult economic periods. We must look at how COVID-19 will have a material and lasting effect on women’s retirement outcomes.”

The female unemployment rate also rose by 5 percentage points to 5.2% in March from February while the male unemployment rate remained steady at 5.3%.

“A key concern is through the labour market, with where and how women work likely leaving them more exposed to job and income loss today, but also in years to come as economic scarring impacts opportunity,” said Ms Masters.

COVID-19 job statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Tax Office also show that in 14 of the 19 sectors of the economy, women took the biggest percentage hit on job losses compared to five sectors which affected men the most.

“The initial impact of Coronavirus related shutdowns is likely to fall harder on women than men because the industries that will bear the brunt of the initial impact – Accommodation and Food Services, Arts and Recreation and Retail in particular – have a higher representation of female employees,” said Dr Shane Oliver Chief Economist and Head of Investment Strategy at AMP Capital.

“This is all very different to past economic downturns which have tended to disproportionately impact males – particularly older men – harder because the economic hit was primarily to cyclical sectors like construction and manufacturing with the services sector holding up much better,” said Mr Oliver.

The post Women’s financial progress hit by early impact of COVID-19 appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Bianca Hartge-Hazelman

Australian women are well over a generation away from achieving financial equality with the latest Financy Women’s Index* showing that progress has slowed over the past financial year despite a record narrowing of the superannuation gender gap.

The Women’s Index rose 0.5 points to 123.9 points in the June quarter, from a revised 123.4 points in the March quarter of 2019.

While women’s economic progress has improved 5 points over the 2018-19 financial year, it’s less than the 7.5 point gain recorded in the 2017-18 financial year when the score rose to 118.9 points from 111.4 points.

“It’s disappointing to see that despite greater awareness around gender equality, progress slowed over the past financial year, reflecting the weakest start to a calendar year since 2017, when the Index was first launched,” said Financy Women’s Index founder Bianca Hartge-Hazelman.

Key results Financy Women’s Index June Quarter

• The Financy Women’s Index rose 0.5 points to 123.9 points in the June quarter, from a revised 123.4 points in the March quarter of 2019.
• A moderation in female full-time employment and little improvement in female board appointments affected the score.
• Record improvements in the superannuation gender gap helped progress.
• Australian women are 45 years from achieving economic equality.

Overall, when the annual pace of progress recorded by the Financy Women’s Index is compounded and compared to the revised (FWX) Progress Target of 172 points, it shows that on the basis of current trends, Australian women are 45 years from achieving economic equality.

The FWX Progress Target is an aspirational guide on economic equality and is calculated by benchmarking women against men from data collected in 2012,
which is the baseline for this Report.

“It is pleasing to see progress being made on the Financy Women’s Index in the June quarter, albeit slowly,” said Deloitte Partner Nicki Hutley.

“However, as the mother of three girls, the thought that genuine economic equality is well over a generation away is disheartening. I would like to see further efforts on the part of policy makers and organisations to see greater strides made more rapidly,” she said.

Unlike previous quarters, the biggest factors that held back women’s economic progress in the June period included a moderation in female full-time employment growth and a lack of action by Corporate Australia to improve the representation of women on the boards of the top 200 listed companies.

Women occupied 29.7% of ASX 200 board positions in June, which is exactly where it was in December 2018.

“The numbers don’t lie,” said OneVue Group CEO Connie Mckeage. “We have seen one of the slowest quarters of progress and we have to ask ourselves why, despite efforts across the board, is this happening?  More importantly, do we need to start doing something differently?” said Ms Mckeage.

The factors which supported women’s economic progress in the June quarter include improved workforce participation, a record narrowing of the superannuation gender gap, improved underemployment, a fresh low in the gender pay gap, and higher tertiary enrolments.

The number of women employed full-time in the Australian workforce held relatively steady at a seasonally adjusted 3.27 million in June, while the female underemployment rate fell by 0.8 percentage points to 10.3% in January, from 11.1% a year ago.

The latest superannuation balance data by gender from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that in the 2017-18 financial year, the gender gap has narrowed to 28%, from 34% in the 2015-16 financial year.

“It’s great news that the super gender gap has fallen to its lowest point, but this is being driven largely by women’s increased workforce participation,” said AMP Financial Planning adviser Dianne Charman.

“The super gap widens significantly by 45 years of age because of time spent out of the workforce raising children, so women still need to have a plan for making extra contributions later in their working life,” said Ms Charman.

The Financy Women’s Index for the June quarter also shows a small decline in the number of hours per week that women spend on unpaid work. However, there has been little change in level of unpaid work undertaken by women over the past decade.

In 2017, the average woman in a coupled relationship performed a total of 59.5 hours per week in paid and unpaid work, which is 4% more than the 57.2 hours of the average man.

While the difference is small, when we calculate the percentage that is unpaid, we find that women spend 62.6% of their time doing unpaid work, while men
are doing 37.8% of unpaid work.

Gender stereotypes persist in tertiary education enrolments and we continue to see subject selection in course areas such as Information Technology being male dominated and Health being female dominated.

While more women are enrolling in tertiary studies than men, many face a gender pay gap once they enter the workforce. The average gender pay gap stands at $3,000 or 4.8% based on 2018 data.

“I’m delighted that we are moving in the right direction, with a 5-point financial year gain in the Financy Index’s metric on women’s economic progress,” said AFA Inspire National Chair Kate McCallum.

“I’m particularly delighted that women’s super balances are notching up.  However, I’m also seriously worried that it seems that women’s progress in one area is matched by backward steps in others, like the stalling of full time employment.

“It seems that when some people see improvements in one aspect of women’s equality, they extrapolate this to mean that women have equal opportunities in all areas. And then I’m worried because if they don’t believe that inequality persists, they don’t need to be concerned – or do anything – to bridge the gap.

“The good news is that we have metrics like the Financy Index to remind us that change is happening and to press for urgent action for the change we need,” said Ms McCallum.

The post Financial equality more than a generation away appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Bianca Hartge-Hazelman

The economic progress of Australian women marched higher over the past 12 months, helped by wages growth, more women in full-time work and occupying top company board positions.

The Financy Women’s Index, supported by Data Digger, gained 1.4 points or 1.1% to 126 points in the three months to September, from a revised 124.6 points in June 2018.

The Financy Women’s Index, supported by Data Digger, gained 1.4 points or 1.1% to 126 points in the three months to September, from a revised 124.6 points in June 2018.

But when compared to the Financy Women’s Index (FWX) Progress Target of 173.3 points, the September result falls short by 37.5%.

“The FWX Progress Target is a new aspirational guide on economic equality which could be here in the next decade if women’s progress is maintained and uninterrupted,” said Financy Women’s Index founder Bianca Hartge-Hazelman.

Nicki Hutley partner Deloitte Access Economics said that it was “both remarkable and unexpected that economic gender equality is within our grasp.”

“There are still many barriers and examples of outdated attitudes. To ensure greater equality is reached as soon as possible, we must be vigilant. And governors and organisations need to continue to develop and support programs for diversity and inclusion,” said Ms Hutley.

Key findings of the September Women’s index:

• The Financy Women’s Index edged 1.4 points or 1.1% higher to 126 points in the September quarter.
• Record full-time employment, more women on ASX 200 boards and a 20-year low in the gender pay gap assisted the progress score.
• Despite the gains, the latest result is 37.5% below the FWX Progress Target, and economic equality is still at least a decade away.

Among the key drivers of economic progress for the September quarter was an increase in female full-time employment to over 3.16 million and a 20-year low in the average wage disparity between men and women.

The expansion of the Women’s Index to include the ASX 200 with the help of the Australian Institution of Company Directors (AICD) positively affected progress. Women now occupy 28.5% of ASX 200 board positions.

OneVue Managing Director Connie McKeage said “we need to continue to discuss important issues like inclusion and gender balance around board room tables and management, however we also need to increase the activity around these matters.

“We need sustainable change and Financy’s Women’s Index is one of the levers we can rely on to provide facts to support our calls to action. Every step forward we take as organisations that care, no matter how small those steps may seem at the time, can contribute to creating a better more balanced future.”

There are also signs that the superannuation gap between men and women may be closing, although in absolute terms the gap is still very substantial.

The country’s biggest super fund, AustralianSuper reported that the gap between the life time retirement savings of men and women fell to 28% at the end of the 2018 financial year, from 30% in 2017.

AMP Financial Planning adviser Di Charman said the recent legislative change allowing people to “carry forward” their unused concessional contribution caps for up to five years was a positive measure for women.

“It will give women the opportunity to top up their super in years where they have more income and will help bridge the retirement gap,” said Ms Charman.

She added women should also remember that they can make additional after tax contributions to their super and claim them as a tax deduction.

“The key for women is to engage with their super and now is perfect timing with end of financial year statements being issued to fund members,” she said.

Education data suggests that wages and graduate salaries could be having an impact on the types of courses that women study beyond high school.

Female engineering graduates are earning more than male graduates, and are enrolling in this field at more than three-times the pace of more traditional female-dominated courses like Education.

Despite this, the average female graduate is still paid less than male graduates across all course areas.

Meanwhile Mining and Information Media and Telecommunications, which are among the highest paying sectors, stood out as having links to the fastest growing education pathways for women.

Improved wages and job outcomes helped the national gender pay gap fall to 14.6% in May, as reported in the September quarter, down from 15.2% in November 2017.

Health Care and Social Assistance recorded the biggest gender pay gap increase of any sector, up 9.6% to 25% in May compared to 22.8% in November.

Download the full report: Financy Women’s Index – September 2018

The post Women’s Index improves but falls 37.5% short of new economic progress target appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Bianca Hartge-Hazelman

Women’s economic measure finds that Australian women are progressing but it’s a one step forward, two step back march.

The latest Financy Women’s Index powered by Data Digger has revealed that the economic progression of Australian women has suffered a disappointing setback and is yet to fully recover from a drop in workforce participation and female board representation in the first half of 2018.

The lndex recovered by 0.3 percentage points to 111 points in the three months to June, from 110.7 points in March however the June result remains 2 percentage points lower than the revised 113 point score achieved in the December quarter – when the Index hit a record high.

“While it’s pleasing to see that the Financy Women’s Index recovered a bit in the June quarter and remains in a rising trend, its disappointing that it remains down from its December high, not helped by a setback in women in board positions,” said Dr Shane Oliver Chief Economist AMP Capital.

Key findings:

• The Index edged 0.3 percentage points higher to 111 points in the June quarter from March
• The June quarter result continues to lag the December quarter and is down 2 percentage points from 113 points
• The June rebound was helped by board appointments and jobs growth
• Women are still faced with a national gender pay gap of 15.3% and a superannuation savings gap of 30% at retirement age.

“December remains a standout period for economic progress among women thanks to a jump in jobs for women, particularly retail and mining, as well as there being more women represented as a percentage on the boards of the top 20 listed companies by market capitalization,” said Financy Women’s Index Founder Bianca Hartge-Hazelman.

Despite the first half fall in economic progress, the Women’s Index is up 1.4 percentage points this financial year.

The female participation rate is 60.5%, the same as what it was in the December quarter, but up slightly on the 60.4% in the March quarter.

The country’s highest paying sector mining, shed 6,000 female employees, yet added 17,000 male employees in the six months to June, compared to the December quarter.

“Improving the positioning of women in our economy is critical from a social and ethical point of view but its also critical in terms of supporting growth in our economy,” said Dr Shane Oliver.

“Greater female participation in our economy can help soften the impact of the aging population. And perhaps even more importantly a more gender diverse economy will be a more productive economy,” he said.

The number of women represented on top ASX 20 boards increased slightly in the six months to June 2018, but still trails the December quarter.

The Index found that female board members held 30.2% of positions in the top 20 companies in the period to June, a small gain on the 30.1% in the three months to March of this year.

The June result is 1.9 percentage points less than in the December quarter, according to revisions in the Index and the use of calculations contained in the Gender Diversity Progress Report by the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

“Until we can have objective discussions and debates around the real corporate issues without turning all debates into gender specific matters, we never will make meaningful progress,” said OneVue Managing Director Connie McKeage.

To help better understand women and their economic progress, an Advisory Committee was appointed in June 2018 to review and help grow the Index, which will also undergo further developmental changes and enhancements to ensure the integrity of future reports.

This Committee includes AMP Capital’s Head of Investment Strategy and Chief Economist Shane Oliver, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group’s Senior Economist Joanne Masters, Deloitte Access Economics Partner Nicki Hutley, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research Professorial Research Fellow Roger Wilkins and Agenda Agency founder Heidi Sundin.

“I’m excited to be involved with the Financy Women’s Index,” said Jo Masters Senior Economist Australia and New Zealand Banking Group. “Measuring the economic progress of women in Australia will hopefully highlight the economic issues that women face and shape the policy debate about how these may be addressed.

The Index also shows that women continue to enrol in tertiary studies at a faster rate than men, and trends suggests that the pace of growth is highest in courses that align with higher paying careers such as information technology (IT) and engineering.

“It’s encouraging to see more women enrolling in tertiary studies than men, and strong growth in female enrolments in courses that align with higher paying careers. However, there continues to be challenges around retaining women in the workforce, with female participation rates continuing to dip in the 30-39 year old bracket,” said Ms Masters.

Women are still faced with a national gender pay gap of 15.3% and a superannuation savings gap of 30% at retirement age.

Philip Kewin, chief Executive of the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) said the latest Financy Women’s Index results indicate that progress towards creating positive and meaningful cultural change in the financial wellbeing of women in Australia is happening slowly.

“It is disappointing to see that, at 26.1 per cent, the financial and insurance services industry has the highest pay disparity of all industries.”

Data provided to the Women’s Index by the country’s biggest super fund AustralianSuper, shows that while the gender gap in super is improving, it’s not happening fast enough.

“Further work is still needed in the areas of equal pay, equality of opportunity and more equal sharing of family responsibilities to close the gap which results in too many women having insufficient savings to fund a comfortable retirement,” said Rose Kerlin Group Executive Membership AustralianSuper.

Dianne Charman chair of AFA Inspire said the fact that many women work part time is having a long term impact on their superannuation.

“The Financy Women’s Index importantly reminds us to work with women to raise awareness about how even a small contribution to superannuation will, over the long term, put women in a better position.”

Read the June 2018 report. 

By Bianca Hartge-Hazelman, Founder

The post Women’s Index shows economic progress in FY18 despite H1 setback appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Natasha Fenech

Following the recent announcement of the acquisition of KPMG’s superannuation member administration business OneVue has announced the sale of its SMSF administration business to SuperConcepts.

As previewed at this year’s half yearly presentation the sale of operations such as OneVue’s RE to Equity Trustees and OneVue’s SMSF business to SuperConcepts are all part of a plan to sharpen OneVue’s focus on a fewer number of core business activities.

Connie Mckeage, Chief Executive of OneVue, said, “We like the SMSF business and its people but it will not receive the management attention required to really grow the business from here. As the market leader in SMSF administration SuperConcepts will bring the focus and additional services this business needs to really move forward so we are excited for both for the SMSF team and for their clients of which I am one. We look forward to building an even closer relationship with the SuperConcepts team.”

Natasha Fenech, CEO of SuperConcepts said, “The acquisition is consistent with our growth strategy, building the scale, reach and capability of our market leading administration offering to SMSF trustees. SuperConcepts now has a comprehensive suite of product and service solutions for SMSF trustees, accountants and advisers.”

The post OneVue sells SMSF administration service appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Bianca Hartge-Hazelman

Female economic measure finds that Australian women are progressing on jobs, super, pay and education but not on boards.

More Australian women are taking advantage of opportunities to progress in the economy by engaging in the workforce in record numbers and making educational decisions that align with higher paying careers, the Financy Women’s Index shows.

The Financy Women’s Index powered by Data Digger improved 0.8 percentage points to 111.7 points in the three months to December 31, compared to a revised 0.2 percentage point gain in the September quarter.

But the annual pace of female economic progress slowed as the country’s biggest listed companies did not improve on the number of women on boards.

“What Financy is mapping with the Women’s Index, is a fundament change that’s happening in society with the advancement of women, and whilst it is slow we should be excited that it is happening and is happening across a variety of indicators,” said Deloitte Access Economics Partner Nicki Hutley.

“The disappointment is that having met a key 30 per cent target set by the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) the top end of corporate Australia doesn’t seem to be pushing much further.

“Most companies do have a big diversity program, and that sort of thing is just going to take time,” said Ms Hutley.

The Financy Women’s Index rose 2 percentage points in the 12 months to the December quarter 2017, compared to a 5 percentage point rise in the year to December 2016, and a 3 percentage points improvement in the year to December 2015.

The number of women represented on the boards of the top 20 companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) remains little changed at 30.9%, which has been relatively the same for the past two years.

“We should applaud companies that have a good representation of women on their boards but we should also continue to encourage more women to put themselves forward for such opportunities,” said OneVue chief executive officer Connie McKeage.

Despite this, Australian women still have reason to celebrate economic progress this International Women’s Day week, even if it’s not happening as fast as they may like.

“Its great to see the Financy Women’s Index showing that women are continuing to make further economic progress, helped lately by record female workforce participation,” said AMP Capital chief economist Dr Shane Oliver.

“Increasing female participation is good for the economy at a time when the population is aging and male participation is trending down. But there is still a long to go in areas like the pay gap and board representation.

“Rising levels of female enrolment in tertiary education relative to men is a very positive sign though that women’s progress relative to men will continue,” he said.

The December quarter result was largely driven by a record number of women in the paid workforce, and a slight narrowing of the gender gaps in wages and superannuation savings.

Superannuation balances of women are now at fresh highs, but continue to lag men by an average of 27% in retirement savings.

The national gender pay gap fell marginally to 15.27% in the December quarter with the narrowing trend suggesting it could yet to fall below the 15.2% record previously set in 2004.

“For the first time since its launch on International Women’s Day 2017, the Financy Women’s Index for the December quarter shows a strong correlation and growing trend between women choosing educational courses linked to higher paying industries,” said Financy Women’s Index founder and editor Bianca Hartge-Hazelman.

Women are enrolling at a faster pace in tertiary studies than men, and particularly so when it comes to courses like information technology (IT) and engineering.

This in turn appears to be helping to slowly narrow the wage disparity in some, but certainly not all, higher paying and mostly male dominated sectors of the economy.

Furthermore improving employment outcomes are being borne out in a narrowing of the superannuation savings gender gap.

“On the eve of International Women’s Day, the Financy Women’s Index highlights the progress of Australian women in economic terms and the path that still needs to be travelled,” said Ms Mckeage.

“We are battling economic gender inequality and our policy makers and politicians need to reconsider how best to promote a balanced participation in the workforce. Only then, will we be in a position to drive a sustainable economic future for Australia,” she said.

Key findings

• The Index rose 0.8 percentage points to 111.7 points in the Dec qtr. 2017, compared to 110.9 points in the Sept qtr. 2017
• Annual pace of progress slowed to 2 percentage points in 2017
• Record growth in women working full time and in the workforce
• ASX top 20 company actions little changed on improving gender equality
• Gender gap in superannuation and wages narrowed slightly
• More women studying courses linked to higher paying industries

The post Financy Women’s Index shows improvement as #PressforProgress campaign continues momentum for equality appeared first on AdviserVoice.