EEO Trust Newsletter - February 2013

Viewpoint: Unsporting leadership

The Equal Employment Opportunities Trust would like to see a culture shift across all organisations for women to succeed in governing roles. The chief executive of the EEO Trust, Bev Cassidy-Mackenzie says it’s a shame to witness in today’s business world – be it sports businesses or corporate – ongoing discrimination against a highly skilled and capable talent pool. She says local and international evidence shows that having a diverse group of directors and senior managers’ increases morale and profits, hence questions why many organisations continue to appoint the status quo.

A recent newspaper series spoke about women facing a ‘grass ceiling’ and confirmed there’s a huge gender imbalance in sports governance and management apart from a couple of sporting codes – swimming and league. (See link below) “The EEO Trust applauds these bodies and hopes the Rugby Union’s alleged aim of also having a more diverse board of directors succeeds. Sport NZ (formerly SPARC) is quite open about knowing that sport, especially rugby, has that old boys’ club mentality and that boards need to be educated. The EEO Trust agrees and suggests Sport NZ encourage the sporting organisations it helps fund to adopt a culture change and appoint more female directors.” Mrs Cassidy-Mackenzie says she would even like to see Sport NZ follow in the footsteps of the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges by asking sport organisations to list the composition of their boards and senior managers on an annual basis.

Mrs Cassidy Mackenzie says the clichés of a glass or a grass ceiling should be a thing of the past and is urging businesses to step up to the plate. “For many businesses it is not something that needs to be addressed as they are working responsibly and benefitting from doing so. Well done. For those that are not promoting and recruiting a diverse range of people in all roles - on merit – I am asking why. Is it unconscious or conscious bias? I believe it is a combination.” By taking a look at the research included in this month’s newsletter you will see that discrimination in recruitment continues while at the same time employing a diverse group of people increases satisfaction and rewards.

Sally Wenley

Red Card for female sports leaders

NEWS: The NZ Herald’s feature series about who has the sporting governance and managerial roles makes grim reading for women. Basically females are side-lined from having a say in sporting bodies and codes across the board – from provincial bodies to national sporting organisations. The article reports it’s not due to a shortage of suitably qualified women putting their hands up for these positions and it’s no surprise to have confirmed the ‘bastion of chauvinism’ continues to be rugby.

To read more about who controls local sports finances, strategic direction and culture visit our EEO & Diversity Research page.

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Women business leaders reduce volatility

RESEARCH: A global investment bank has reviewed over two thousand companies to find out the performance difference of those with women on their boards. Credit Suisse Research describes the outcome as ‘striking’ and says it would have been better to have invested in corporates with women on their management boards than in those without. It also found that companies with one or more women on the board have delivered higher returns on equity and better growth. There’s also less volatility and more balance between board members.

To read this research report, visit our EEO & Diversity Research page.

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Discrimination at job interviews

RESEARCH: A report shows that discrimination against different ethnic groups is the reason why twice as many women from countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh who are living in the UK are likely to be without work. This is despite some job seekers making their names sound different, and not wearing their traditional clothes or head scarves during the recruitment process. The research was commissioned by an all-party parliamentary group. It looked at all ages and showed that nothing has changed over the last 30 years. The results are described as ‘dashing hopes that the issues of racism and discrimination is reducing for younger women.’

To learn more about diversity business cases, visit our EEO & Diversity Research page.

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A proven recipe for business success

RESEARCH: Across the Tasman the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission along with Deloitte Australia have launched new research into the business benefits of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Titled ‘Waiter, is that inclusion in my soup - A new recipe to improve business performance’ it shows that inclusion improves performance, innovation, customer service and engagement. The results come from looking at a trio of large businesses that together employ more than 1,500 people.

To read this research report, visit our EEO & Diversity Research page.

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International Women’s Day

TELL US: The 8th of March is International Women’s Day and the EEO Trust team would like to hear what you are doing at work to acknowledge the women and men who ensure there’s gender equity in your workforce. How about spoiling a person in your office who has ensured people are promoted and recruited on merit by taking them out for lunch, or having a guest speaker at a workplace breakfast event? A chocolate cake at morning tea may do the trick. We want to put your activities, and photos, on our website so tell us what you will be doing for International Women’s Day, and afterwards let us know how it went with photographic evidence by emailing: info@eeotrust.org.nz

Meanwhile Sunday the 3rd of March is National Children’s day and we encourage parents to think about your work/life balance as well as giving your youngsters a big hug.

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EEO Trust Boardroom for Hire

The EEO Trust has an office just off Auckland’s Southern motorway that’s easily accessible from the CBD and airport. The boardroom has a large outside deck on one side and a fully functional kitchen on the other. The boardroom can seat up to 16 people and can be accessed for half or whole days. For photos, more information and to book click here.

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EEO Trust Events & Training

Work & Life Awards 2013

It’s time to start thinking about entries for this year’s awards. Pencil in your diary the awards night on the 29th of August in Auckland. The awards are open to all businesses of all sizes that have diversity programmes and everyone is welcome to enter several of the five categories:

• Work and Life Award
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• Skills Highway Award
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• Tomorrow’s Workforce Award
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• Diversity Award
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• Walk the Talk Award
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The annual Work & Life Awards are an opportunity for your organisation to highlight your workplace. The EEO Trust will have a consultant in the Auckland office to assist those who want more information about entering closer to the close off date in May. For ideas and inspiration visit last year’s awards page on our website. We will be sending you more information about the awards in weeks to come.

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Employee Wellness and Wellbeing Workshop

**** Last chance to register

DATE: Monday 25 February 2013

TIME: 9am-4pm

VENUE: Auckland Chamber of Commerce, Training Rooms Level One, 100 Mayoral Drive

COST: $395 + GST for EEO Trust members, $495 + GST for non-members

To Book: events@eeotrust.org.nz

This workshop covers implementing a wellness initiative that leads to fewer employee sick days along with more motivated staff. As other companies have already discovered this means a rise in productivity and profits.

Workshop Facilitators: Dr Clara Budd and Dr Louise Schofield are experienced in providing Best Practice for workplace wellbeing. The pair will give advice on developing a wellness budget, a communication strategy to get it up and running, and show attendees how to measure and evaluate a wellness initiative’s outcome.

A workbook, light lunch and afternoon tea will be provided

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Women Directors: Introduction to Corporate Governance

Date: Friday 8th March

Time: 10am – 4.30pm (registration with coffee/tea from 9.45am)

Venue: Auckland Chamber of Commerce, Training Room Level 1, 100 Mayoral Drive, CBD

Cost: $430 + GST for members, $530 + GST for non members

To book: events@chamber.co.nz

If you are planning your career and want to position yourself for future governance roles or are currently seeking directorships this workshop is for you. It will provide guidance on what is required from company directors, specifically for women.

The facilitator is Janine Smith whose wide-ranging knowledge and expertise is a result of her experience as a CEO, Executive Director and independent director in the commercial, arts and education sectors in New Zealand and overseas. This one-day session is jointly organised by the EEO Trust and the Auckland Chamber of Commerce.

A workbook, light lunch and afternoon tea will be provided

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Christchurch Diversity Practitioners Group Meeting

Literacy Awareness

Date: Wednesday 20th March

Time: 11-midday

Venue: Kilmore Training Room, Westpac Business Community Hub, 55 Hinton Drive, Addington

Cost: $25 + GST for EEO Trust members, $50 for non members. Morning tea is provided

To book: events@eeotrust.co.nz

City Care is a company that employs more than a thousand staff who work in parks, roading, water and facilities management. The HR manager, Adrian Watson, will outline its literacy and numeracy programme which resulted in annual savings of a million dollars. Adrian will discuss with the DPG the company’s ‘ground breaking’ return on investment and how simple it was to get all staff – from managers to labourers – involved.

New EEO Library resources

Click on the title for more details of each resource. If you are a member and would like to borrow a book, log in and make a request. If you haven't yet joined the library, email us for a library card. You can check out other recent additions to the library here.

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Hidden Bias: How Unconscious attitudes on diversity undermine organizations and what to do about it

This US publication uncovers the core issues that prevent true diversity. Developed from years of research and over a decade of professional experience in the field, Gerard Holder outlines the root cause of hidden personal bias. The book outlines how these biases prevent leaders and subsequently their organisations from implementing successful diversity management programs. Through personal research, statistics and case stories, Hidden Bias profiles the in’s and out’s of unconscious attitudes about diversity.
Rising stars: Developing millennial women as leaders

This UK publication provides an in depth examination of how workplaces can develop the next generation of female leaders. The book explores gender and generation through the lens of millennial women and takes a closer look at the motivations, attitudes, and perspectives of Generation Y and what this means for the workplace.

ENDS

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