Forget beer with the boss - just be yourself

Schmoozing in the pub belongs to the 1980s, says one Kiwi manager. Photo / Herald on Sunday

Australian women should have a beer with their boss if they want promotion, but New Zealand women should just be themselves.

That is the contrasting advice from businesswomen on either side of the ditch as both countries strive to put more women in boardrooms.

High-profile Australian businesswoman Heather Ridout has suggested that an after-work drink with workmates could be crucial to a woman's promotion in her workplace.

Engaging with bosses and colleagues was a vital undertaking if women wanted to make it to the top, said Ms Ridout, the chief executive of the Australian Industry Group.

"It's not going to the pub on Friday night and talking about football, necessarily, but it is going to the pub and having a talk and getting on with your workmates and being generally interested in what everyone does," she said.

"The way people get on in workplaces is by being competent, committed and loyal. But it's also joining in and being engaged."

Ms Ridout's comments followed a group of Australia's most powerful male bosses - The Male Champions of Change - making a pledge to promote women into top jobs and fight for higher wages.

But New Zealand employment agencies and businesswomen disagreed with her advice.

Seek New Zealand general manager Annemarie Duff said women shouldn't have to schmooze with colleagues outside normal hours - an attitude which she felt belonged in the 1980s.

"Women here are good at standing up for themselves, and affirming what they can offer a business.

"I would say if you put your own case forward you'd get more respect from your peers."

She said in a restless New Zealand job market - seven out of 10 New Zealanders were considering a new job - employers should be focused on how they were going to keep talented women at their company.

Professional director Joanne Perry, who is deputy chair at Genesis Energy, said a woman's ability to rise through the ranks depended on far more than her ability to socialise.

She said that after going to a school where one in five were girls, she learned to climb to her high-profile position through sheer hard work.

"I've got there by absolutely being myself. If you're a feminine person, be a feminine person. If you're not a dirty joke-teller, don't feel you need to be one.

"There are occasions when you need to attend functions or network, but the assertion that you need to socialise outside work hours to be successful is wrong."

She said Ms Ridout's comments could be more relevant to Australian business, which she felt was more dominated by "maledom" and a mateship culture.