Training standards unequally affect women, adviser says

Financial adviser and author Helen Baker recently took pen to paper for ifa to detail why red tape is tying up women in advice.

Specifically, Ms Baker explained that a prominent issue restricting women progressing within the industry is their inability to have an extended period of time off, including for things such as carers leave with data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) showing that women account for 88 per cent of all primary carers leave taken in Australia.

Ms Baker has now spoken to ifa to expand on the requirements in the industry that are disproportionately affecting women in advice.

She highlighted that anyone who wants to take a period of time off, such as maternity leave, can’t “switch off” because they still have to complete licensee exams and meet continuing professional development (CPD) requirements.

“Women have babies and want time off to be with their child. How do they do that when they have to maintain their CPD hours?”

“The fixed costs of the license, PI (professional indemnity insurance) and the amount of admin support you need means working part time is a problem,” Ms Baker said.

She said that this is an ongoing issue for female financial advisers returning to work from maternity leave or those in the “sandwich generation” that took time off to look after their parents.

However, Ms Baker conceded, this also impacts men who take an extended period of leave.

Accordingly, she argued that the training requirement consisting of fewer CPD hours would benefit the whole industry.

“Given employees want freedom to work from home, have time off to travel, to look after parents and in-laws, it is very difficult to switch off and have time out, particularly lengthy periods of time.”

Moreover, Ms Baker pointed to the need to address these barriers if the industry is to welcome more new entrants.

Adviser Ratings has suggested the number of female advisers has been falling since 2018 — the same year as the royal commission — but Ms Baker offered that there is room for this to change.

When attending a conference in Sydney late last year, she said she was “amazed at how many women were there”.

“There certainly were numerous, particularly younger, women coming through — in my 14 years as an adviser, this is a trend I am seeing grow at many industry events,” Ms Baker said.

Ms Baker is currently looking towards other industries, such as the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), which she said have done a great job in welcoming and retaining female entrants.

Comparatively, she explained that advice is still considered a “male-dominated industry” and recounted that she has never had to “queue for the toilet at a conference”.

In opposition to the current gender disparity, Ms Baker said financial advice is the “best” industry for women, both on the client and adviser end.

“Meeting with women and guiding them is like hanging out with your friends, because it is the conversation about life and goals that determine the strategic recommendations. Money is supporting lifestyle, it isn’t all about the numbers,” she told ifa.

Ultimately, Ms Baker warned against understating the value that women provide to advice.

“It is a common point I often hear from female clients. Indeed, many admit they would have sought financial advice sooner had a female adviser been known or available to them.”

But to attract both women and men, she added, there needs to be a greater understanding of what advisers do for clients. To this end, she concluded that extra demands should also be dealt with so that the line of work can appeal to a variety of lifestyles.