THE ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN IN THE CHINA WORKPLACE Gender diversity remains a business critical issue

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GENDER DIVERSITY THE ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN IN THE CHINA WORKPLACE

Hays supports the advancement of women in the workplace. Although progress is being made, this remains a business critical issue. Many of the companies we speak to are suffering from skill shortages, and increasing the number of senior female professionals will help to address these skills gaps. By improving access to talent, organisations will be better able to drive their performance, grow their businesses and secure future success. Our global gender diversity survey was completed by almost 6,000 respondents across 31 countries. We also surveyed 521 people here in China and compared their views to the global survey results. In this report we highlight key local results in China and provide comparisons with findings from other world regions.

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EXPLORING CHINA’S GENDER DIVERSITY DIVIDE

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EQUAL PAY Analysing female responses by age groups shows an interesting trend where younger females are much less likely to think there is discrimination in the workplace. Only 7% of females aged 25 or under think there is gender inequality of pay. By contrast, 29% of females aged 26-40 and 35% of females aged 41+ think there is gender inequality of pay.

80%

of respondents think that there is equal pay between genders; however, these results hide significant differences in opinion by females across age groups.

GENDER DIVERSITY POLICIES 60% of respondents working in the Financial Services sector said their companies had a gender diversity policy in place, followed by Construction, Property & Engineering at 53% and IT & Telecommunications at 51%. Transport & Distribution companies were least likely to have a gender diversity policy in place (31%), followed by Advertising & Media (37%) and Professional Services (41%).

77%

of respondents said that gender diversity policies were adhered to well or fairly well in their organisations.

40% 28%

of females think that equally capable male and female colleagues are not paid or rewarded equally.

13%

of men think that that equally capable male and female colleagues are not paid or rewarded equally.

of respondents said their organisation did not have a gender diversity policy in place.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES Analysing male and female responses shows that almost one in two women (47%) said the same career opportunities were not open to equally capable colleagues of both genders. Comparatively, 24% of men said the same career opportunities were not open to equally capable colleagues of both genders.

64%

of respondents believe that the same career opportunities are available regardless of gender.

53%

of women believe that the same career oppotunities are available regardless of gender.

36%

of respondents said their organisation had a gender diversity policy in place.

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GENDER DIVERSITY IN THE CHINESE MARKET EQUAL PAY Do you think you and your equally capable colleagues are paid/rewarded in an equal manner regardless of gender?

80% Yes 20% No The majority of respondents in China overall, by gender and by age group all thought that pay was rewarded equally.

Results by gender

72% Yes 28% No

87% Yes 13% No

Results by age group Yes

25 years and under

90%

26-40 years

77%

41+ years

78%

No 10% 23% 22%

Results by industry Yes

No

Advertising & Media

80%

Construction, Property & Engineering

83%

Financial Services

77%

IT & Telecoms

84%

Manufacturing

80%

Mining & Resources

74%

26%

Professional Services

74%

26%

Retail

83%

Transport & Distribution

71%

20% 17% 23% 16% 20%

17% 29%

When looking at equal pay across all industries, there is a similar trend; the majority of respondents believe there is equal pay between genders across all industries.

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GENDER DIVERSITY POLICIES How well are gender diversity policies adhered to in your organisation do you think?

Does your organisation have formal gender diversity policies and practices in place?

Well

Yes 23%

Not sure 36%

31%

Fairly well Not well at all

No

40%

24%

46%

The majority of respondents in China stated their company did not have formal gender diversity policies in place. However, 77% of respondents stated that gender diversity policies were adhered to well or fairly well.

Which of these changes do you think would have the biggest impact on diversity in your world of work? Better board backing for diversity issues

71%

Changes to your organisation’s policy

59%

Allowing more flexible working practices

55%

Changes to government policy

36%

Changes to recruitment practices and policies

32%

Changes in workplace culture through education across the business

31%

Highlighting female role models

25%

Positive discrimination of female role models applying to management roles or above

25%

Introducing quotas

16%

Overall, respondents thought that better board backing for diversity issues (71%) and changes to their organisation’s policies (59%) would have the biggest impact on gender diversity. In contrast, only 16% believed that introducing quotas would have the biggest impact.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES Do you think the same career opportunities are open to equally capable colleagues regardless of gender?

64% Yes

36% No

Results by gender

53% Yes 47% No

76% Yes 24% No

The majority of respondents in China overall and across genders thought the same career opportunities were open to their equally capable colleagues regardless of gender.

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COMPARING GLOBAL GENDER DIVERSITY DIVIDES

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GENDER DIVERSITY IN THE GLOBAL MARKET EQUAL PAY Do you think you and your equally capable colleagues are paid/rewarded in an equal manner regardless of gender?

France Yes No

Yes

54% 46%

No

Australia

Russia

Spain Yes

59%

71%

No 29%

41%

Yes

China

69%

No 31%

Yes

Global Yes

80%

No 20%

64%

No 36%

These results show that China is leading the way when it comes to equal pay. While the majority of respondents in each country stated that pay was equal across genders, far more respondents in China compared to other countries believed that pay equality exists. Do you think you and your equally capable colleagues are paid/rewarded in an equal manner regardless of gender? France

Spain

Russia

Australia

China

Global

55%

No

47%

No

36%

No

38%

No

28%

No

45%

24%

No

30%

No

16%

No

11%

No

13%

No

18%

No

No

However, respondents globally overall showed a large discrepancy between genders over whether there is equal pay regardless of gender. More females than males in every country believed that pay was not equal.

Do you think you and your equally capable colleagues are paid/rewarded in an equal manner regardless of gender? China

Global

Yes Advertising & Media Construction, Property & Engineering Financial Services IT & Telecoms Manufacturing Mining & Resources

62% 60%

83%

58%

77%

Transport & Distribution

84%

64%

80%

62% 66%

Professional Services Retail

80%

74%

69% 74% 66% 63%

83% 71%

Comparing China globally, a higher percentage of respondents in every industry thought they and their equally capable colleagues were paid equally across genders.

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GENDER DIVERSITY POLICIES Does your organisation have formal gender diversity policies and practices in place?*

France

Australia

Russia

Spain

China

Global

75% 39%

39%

53%

32% 39%

34%

36% 40%

49% 31%

11%

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

*A minority of respondents answered “not sure” and were excluded from this chart. Globally, respondents were split over whether their organisations had formal gender diversity policies and practices in place.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES Do you think the same career opportunities are open to equally capable colleagues regardless of gender?

France Yes No

Yes

48%

No

52%

42% 58%

Yes No

Yes

40%

72%

No 28%

60%

32% 68%

Australia

Russia

Spain

Yes No

63% 37%

Yes

China Yes

67%

No 33%

Yes No

60% 40%

Global

64%

No 36%

Yes No

53% 47%

Yes

61%

No 39%

Yes No

52% 48%

Yes No

Globally, females are divided on whether the same career opportunities are open to equally capable colleagues regardless of gender. In Spain and France, the majority of all female respondents thought that career opportunities were not equal, while the majority of female respondents in Russia, Australia, and China thought they were.

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INTERVIEW WITH A LEADING WOMAN At Hays, we’re proud of our meritocratic culture where we reward people based on their performance. As a result, we have many highly talented senior women in our business who are role models to our staff – both women and men. Christine Wright is one of these remarkable women. Director of Hays in Asia. I have relocated several times. I’ve moved from the UK (Home Counties and London) to Sydney, Perth, back to Sydney, then to Japan and now I’m responsible for our operations across Asia in 6 countries. Every move has allowed me to learn new skills, which has enabled me to progress to my current role.

What challenges did you face along the way? What was your route to Hays? I graduated from University with an Honours degree in statistics and computer science and joined Hays in 1994 in the UK as an associate consultant. Prior to that I worked in a variety of customer service roles during my studies and I spent a gap year in between school and university working as an administrator in a privately owned business.

Tell us about your progression into a leadership role at Hays My first leadership role was in the UK as a Team Manager and subsequently an office manager, before transferring to Australia. In Australia I progressed through the Hays career path to become a Regional Director responsible for the management and growth of a number of teams. In 2009 I became Managing Director of our operations in Japan and joined the Asia board, and in 2012 I was appointed Managing

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I’d say that the biggest challenges have been managing downturns and upturns in the market, moving to new countries and adapting to different cultures. Additionally, working with staff where English is a second language and not having the support of family and friends in the same country. In recruitment no day is the same so I encounter fresh challenges all the time. I have enjoyed all these challenges as it has not just developed my technical skills but also broadened my view of the world and knowledge of different cultures.

What do you enjoy most about your current role? Business success, meeting customer expectations and seeing our Asia results grow every year. There is a huge growth opportunity for Hays in Asia and that’s very exciting for all involved in the region. I also enjoy developing our staff and seeing them progress in their careers, regardless of their gender,

age or nationality; we have 21 different nationalities working for us in Asia.

In your opinion is there a difference between how men and women progress in their careers (in the broader world of work, not at Hays)? I’d say that it varies based on the approach that an organisation takes to how they recognise, assess and reward their staff. In the companies that promote on merit and have transparent career paths and performance reviews, then it’s an even playing field for men and women. However in companies that don’t operate this way there can be a lack of trust in how management select people for progression. The most common complaint I hear from both women (and men!) is that they aren’t part of the ‘club’ so they will hit a glass ceiling and not progress any further. Unfortunately there are also some managers who believe that once a woman has a family she will not want to advance in her career anymore. This perspective can also be held by the woman’s family and can be part of the culture she grew up in.

How does Hays support women to achieve their career goals? Looking firstly within our own business, as a meritocracy all staff, from the CEO down, are promoted and recognised based on their

performance alone. This firm belief in promoting staff based on performance and nothing else ensures women can reach their career goals regardless of their personal commitments. Our meritocratic culture also explains why gender equality goes right to the top levels of management at Hays; a female Managing Director is still not all that common in Asia. Externally we conduct surveys and through our thought-leadership share our insights with our clients and candidates on the benefits of a diverse workforce and how to go about creating such a workforce. Every day our consultants advise their clients on the importance of looking at skills and behaviours to find the right candidate rather than making hiring decisions based on gender, age or ethnicity. As a result, we have an important role to play in helping organisations across Asia embrace diversity – this includes not only gender diversity but also diversity of age and nationality.

Have you encountered any gender specific obstacles in your career? Throughout my career I have been fortunate to have strong female role models, so I never questioned my ability to progress. As mentioned, at Hays our meritocratic culture means that if you perform you will be given opportunities. I am lucky that I have never felt that I have been passed over for promotion due to gender or age or ethnicity as it is up to me to earn the promotion. The gender specific challenges I have faced have been the result of external attitudes about working with women. I have encountered such attitudes in all the countries I have worked in, but most prominently in Japan where

gender diversity in the workforce is a very big issue. However the Abe government is raising awareness of gender diversity. A female Managing Director of Hays in Japan and now Hays in Asia hasn’t hindered our business growth and in a lot of cases it has been a differentiator as most of our competitors are male dominated in their management teams. It has also been positive internally, with some of our staff joining Hays because they can see a female role model in a senior management position.

What’s your advice to female professionals who are looking to work in a leadership role? Firstly, find a strong role model or mentor – male or female! Whenever you are given targets or promotion criteria make sure you understand them. If you misinterpret them, you will not reach your targets, so understand them 100 percent so that you can achieve them and then be rewarded. Being flexible about where you are willing to work can help your career progression, although it’s not essential. What is important is to have an open mind and be open to learning so that you expand your technical and behavioural skills. Be passionate about the job you do and don’t settle for anything less. Learn from your managers throughout your career. Take what works well for you and incorporate it into your leadership style. You should learn something from all of your managers, good or bad! Finally, hard work will lead to results!

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HAYS JOURNAL ISSUE 9 OUT NOW Global insight for experts in the world of work

Featured in this issue:

Female leaders Insights from international executive women

Middle management When and how to bridge the gap

Workplace environments Does a cool office really matter?

External resources HR for staff who are not your own

To request a copy visit hays.com/haysjournal or read it online at hays-journal.com

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