
In an interview with Joanna Murphy, CEO, Taxback.com she stated:
“We welcome reports like the CBI’s Gender Balance Index because they promote accountability. Gathering data like this on a continuous basis is an effective way of looking at how far organisations and institutions have come – and how far they have yet to go. Last year’s Index showed that Ireland’s Central Bank has gone from not having any women in key roles 20 years ago, to comprising almost 50% of the workforce. That’s progress. But continually assessing this progress is the only way we will ensure it continues.
In the years 2012 to 2016, men were appointed to approximately eight in every ten senior positions in financial organisations in Ireland. These numbers show the stark reality of a severe lack of representation of women in the finance industry in recent years.
Diversity of all kinds is paramount in any business or institution. It must permeate the entire organisation – and is especially important in decision making roles. Research has shown that a lack of gender representation at management level can have a significantly negative impact on how that organisation performs, yet bias continues to be ingrained in our workplaces and in our discussions about how to best fill senior roles in particular.
But it’s important to stress that this is not just a ‘women’s issue’. A lack of diversity in our workplaces, and workplace demographics that do little to reflect social diversity, has ramifications across the board. Indeed there has been much international research on the topic, which illustrate the positive correlations between diversity and increased employee performance. So the challenge in essence is to change the corporate mindset towards seeing people as individuals – not simply as one gender or another, or a particular race or ethnicity. At Taxback.com our vision is to fill our organisation up with a myriad of people who can bring their own skillset, their own attributes and their own personality.
It is just a few days to go before International Women’s Day, which celebrates the achievements of women across the globe, so what better time to shine a light on the treatment of not just women in workplaces in our organisations nationwide, but of every worker. The #eachforequal campaign reminds us all just how every person in our society has a right to equal opportunity and equal treatment.
Taxback.com Workplace and Gender Survey 2020
We recently conducted a survey of 2,000 of our customers in which we found that almost 7 out of 10 people (69%) believe the gender pay gap to be a real issue. Approximately 31% of women have actually seen or experienced it themselves, whereas this is a reality for just 15% of men. The most popular explanation cited in the survey was that men have traditionally always been paid more than women, with lack of investment in women’s careers being cited as the second.
The survey also found that ‘job flexibility’ is the most important priority for 33% of women when considering new employment options, while ‘professional growth and development’ tops the poll for 34% of men.
Surveys like these are useful in that they tell the story of what people are thinking and they prompt discussion and debate, which is both healthy and necessary for change. From what I can see, there are a myriad of employers, both large and small, taking steps to address inequalities in the workplace. As the CEO of Taxback.com, a large multinational Irish company, I am confident that we instill a culture where both men and women have equal opportunities to advance their careers and salaries within the company.”