Women of PwC
Creating equal opportunities for women, both inside and outside of PwC.
Let’s Talk: Creating equal opportunities for women
Women are more confident and ambitious than ever before, according to our latest International Women’s Day report - Time to Talk: What has to change for women at work. Even so, employers still need to work harder to address issues of gender equality in the workplace. By empowering female career advancement we not only create gender equality, but we also create more diversified workplace communities. This means that we’re better equipped to solve society’s most significant problems because we are able to view them through the most holistic lens.
It’s why our PwC community, both locally and globally, is so committed to supporting all of our people. We do this by actively addressing the barriers to equality and continuously creating an absolutely inclusive culture. As a Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) Employer of Choice for Gender Equality, we’re proud of the work we’re doing to achieve gender equality throughout our firm and are dedicated to ensuring all of our people (regardless of whether their unique differences are visible or not) are equally supported throughout their respective careers.
Eliminating the pay and leadership gaps
We were the first Australian professional services firm to go public with both Partner and employee pay gap. And we’re proud to say that in like-for-like roles our pay gap is under 1 per cent. We’re also transparent about our current overall pay gap of 12.3 per cent, which we are actively working to reduce. We ensure all of our employees are fairly remunerated by maintaining a fair and unbiased process for all pay and promotion decisions.
In addition, we’re determined to have more women in senior leadership positions in the immediate future whilst also developing a strong pipeline for our next generation female leaders. We have set some of the most progressive gender targets with 50/50 entry to Director level roles and a 40 per cent minimum for admission to Partner level.
Equality at home
Equality needs to start in the home, but more often than not this isn’t possible to achieve without being matched with professional support. This is why we’ve designed policies that equally support all of our people, enabling women to progress in their chosen careers without any fear, concern or guilt over competing family or personal demands.
We provide you the flexibility and support (both financial and non-financial) so you don’t have to choose between work and family.
Some of the ways we’re achieving this include:
- All Roles Flex policy that enables you to create your own schedule.
- Progressive 18 week Parental Leave policy for mums, dads, foster carers, and parents of stillbirth, which includes superannuation contributions and has no minimum service requirements.
- Option to purchase up to an additional 12 weeks leave.
- Ongoing Mentoring and Coaching programs, as well as inclusive leadership training.
- A family and domestic violence policy, including unrestricted paid leave, financial assistance and support for people experiencing violence.
Find out more about our Culture & Benefits.
Diversity & Inclusion
Our chief diversity & inclusion officer is Julie McKay, who commenced in June 2017. One of Australia’s leading advocates for the social and economic empowerment of women, Julie spent 10 years as the Executive Director of UN Women Australia and was the Gender Advisor to the Chief of the Defence Force.
We have a diversity and inclusion plan which builds on the great progress we’ve already made and details how we will embed the right behaviours and build a truly diverse and inclusive culture. The aim of our diversity and inclusion plan is simple; to create a workplace where every day, all our people feel valued for what they bring, will thrive and inspire others.
Moving the dial outside of PwC
2018 International Women’s Day report
On International Women’s Day, we launched our 2018 report ‘Time to talk: What has to change for women at work.’ The study surveyed up to 4000 professional women from around the world to gauge the modern workforce’s international aspirations and experiences.
What has to change for women at work? These are the three key areas:
- Transparency and trust – Our report found the 58 per cent of women need employers to provide greater transparency to improve career opportunities. When women know where they stand they are able to make their own case successfully and trust in the feedback the receive.
- Strategic support – Women need the proactive networks of leaders and peers who will develop, promote and champion them as they pursue their career aspirations, both at home and in the workplace.
- Life, family care and work – 48 per cent of new mothers returning to work felt overlooked for promotions and special projects. Employers need to rethink their approach to helping women balance work and family care to prevent potential biases, and to provide organisational solutions that work.
Millennial Women
It’s crucial to bring female millennials to the front of mind when engaging in work-related discussions, as they are more highly educated and entering the workforce in larger numbers than any of their previous generations. This is the reason why we’ve created an environment that will truly help young women succeed, so that they are primed and ready to transition into future leadership roles.
Our own research report, which takes a deeper look at this talent group through the use of a career stage differential, depicts female millennials as more confident than any female generation before her, and as considering opportunities for career progression to be the most attractive trait a prospective employer could hold.
In addition, she considers an employer’s policy on diversity, equality and inclusion to be highly important – 71 per cent of women surveyed say that while organisations talk about diversity, they feel opportunities are not really equal for all yet.
