Variety spice of robust economy

Diversity in leadership and the workforce is key to the economic success of businesses and the country as a whole, says human resources specialist Jo Avenell.

The Westpac New Zealand manager told a Rotorua Chamber of Commerce Women in Business event at the Distinction Hotel yesterday that all forms of diversity, including gender, were important to economic growth.

"My particular interest is in growing a thriving economy in New Zealand and diversity is a key part of that," she said.

"Diversity is about creating a culture and environment, with policies and practices, to get the very best performance out of our workforce every day.

"It's about understanding, respecting, embracing and leveraging difference from the spectrum of people in the community and in our organisations."

Avenell said knowing the difference in how people communicated and what motivated them made it easier to work with people in ways that suited them, boosting productivity and improving retention.

She pointed to research showing correlations between female involvement in leadership and business performance, inclusive management and boards being more likely to experiment, innovate, collaborate and adapt.

But women were often their own worst enemies when it came to promotion, new jobs and pay rises.

"Women don't always apply for leadership roles.

"A woman will look at a job description, think she only has 60 per cent of what is required and not apply. A male will see 60 per cent, think 'I'm a shoo in' and apply."

However, Avenell said there were barriers such as inflexible work arrangements, bias due to lack of awareness, and lack of role models, mentors and advocacy.

In New Zealand, 9 per cent of board members are women, although Avenell suggested this represented a small group of women serving on a number of boards.

This compares to 10 per cent in Australia, 13 per cent in the United Kingdom and 40 per cent in Denmark.

But she stressed that diversity was about more than gender and in a large organisation such as Westpac, which has 5500 employees in New Zealand, it was important to be aware of the wide range of people in the workplace - from gender and ethnicity to a range of generations - and to carry that diversity on to management level to embrace different approaches to things.

"Why have six people at a meeting when they all look and think the same?"

Her company is working towards achieving that diversity through initiatives such as mentoring programmes and supporting potential leaders.

"Fifty per cent of our executive team are female. That hasn't come about through any targets.

"We just have a chief executive who is very gender unbiased. He is very good at spotting talent and encouraging it."

Listening to feedback from staff and inclusive recruitment policies are also contributing to the work Westpac is doing in this area, as is the Outstanding Women Series - events that bring high-achieving employees together for speakers and networking opportunities.

Master Chef New Zealand winner Nadia Lim will be the guest speaker at the next Rotorua Chamber of Commerce Women in Business event on Monday, December 5. Details are still being finalised and will soon be available at www.rotoruachamber.co.nz