Industry has more work to do to foster greater diversity
Unconscious bias is the main barrier facing female brokers, says the head of the largest peak body for the mortgage and finance industry.
MPA was speaking to Anja Pannek, CEO of the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia, ahead of International Women’s Day on Friday, which this year has the theme “Inspire Inclusion”.
Pannek (pictured above) said maintaining a focus on female participation in the industry and listening to the reasons why women were leaving the industry was crucial if “we want to move the dial and see greater numbers of females entering the broking industry and staying”.
The MFAA Industry Intelligence Report 16th Edition, covering the six-month period from Oct. 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023, showed that the proportion of female brokers rose 1.5 percentage points to 26.9%, the first time it had lifted since the October 2020 to March 2021 period.
However, the actual number of female brokers fell 4.47%, down 150 to 3,208 period on period. Comparing year on year, the drop was 3.14%.
Pannek said the MFAA’s Opportunities for Women initiative and research had been running since 2018.
“While we have seen progress in how the barriers women face are viewed, there is more we can and must do to make lasting changes,” Pannek said.
“We can see in our research that unconscious bias is the primary barrier for women in the mortgage and finance broking industry. This is limiting greater gender diversity.
“If all of us in the industry don’t make the effort to challenge our own biases and really understand the barriers women are facing, we can’t remove those barriers.”
When asked if the MFAA had specific targets in mind for female broker numbers, Pannek said: “More than a number, our goal is to remove those barriers that women have told us they face when it comes to remaining in the industry, so they have every opportunity to become and succeed as a broker.”
“As an industry we must aspire to reflect the diversity of the Australian community we serve. We need to show clients that we represent them, we understand them, and we want them to reach their goals.”
The most recent Opportunities for Women Report (2022), which surveyed MFAA members, revealed that unconscious beliefs about gender roles in the workplace were the biggest barrier for women working in the broking industry – with 45.52% of women naming it as the biggest barrier, and 19.6% of men, or 29.28% combined.
Those surveyed also said more MFAA training and development for unconscious bias and inclusive leadership was the best way to help their organisations efforts to become more diverse and inclusive.
MFAA’s Women In Finance network
Pannek said the MFAA held its first Women in Finance Broking networking events in 2022 in response to feedback from members.
“Our members were calling out for a space to connect with each other and discuss how they’ve overcome challenges,” she said. “These sell-out events have proven that people – men and women – want to see change in our industry.”
MFAA members who volunteered their time to be part of the panels at Women in Finance Broking events had commented on “how many new people have reached out to them to say how much they gained from hearing their story, which is what it’s all about”.
Pannek said the most important part of the events was that they kept the participation of women in broking in the conversation.
MFAA works with partners to encourage female brokers
Pannek said there were many organisations across the industry that had stepped up and run programs for female brokers to feel included.
“We applaud these initiatives, all of which have delivered results for women, for their organisations, but also the community,” she said.
Through the Opportunities for Women initiative, Pannek said the MFAA had consistently put the spotlight on making broking a more attractive career choice for women.
This included bringing the issue to the attention of decision makers in the mortgage and finance broking industry and producing data to support the industry to take action.
In November 2022, the MFAA lodged its submission to the Treasury Employment Whitepaper, Equal Opportunities for Women and Labour Force Participation, calling for investment in female-led small brokerages, incentivising the recruitment of untapped talent into the finance and broking industry through government-sponsored pathways and forming government and industry partnerships to increase female participation in broking.
“This year, we’re continuing to highlight the concerns around the number of female brokers leaving the industry,” said Pannek. “But, we’re shifting the conversation to take on a broader diversity, equity and inclusion lens.”
“We’re bringing together industry leaders so that we can learn about what it means to be a truly diverse, equitable and inclusive industry together and make collective agreements to help us achieve it.”
Diversity and inclusion
The Opportunities for Women report showed that almost two thirds (65.1%) of respondents agreed that businesses that support greater diversity and inclusion would have an advantage in regard to customers, employee engagements and referral partners.
“Diversity, equity and inclusion is good for any business and industry, including ours,” said Pannek.
“Consumers are watching, and they are increasingly demanding industries and businesses they deal with demonstrate that they are diverse and allow people to be their whole selves. And, it’s not just diversity in gender, but in cultural background, sexuality, disability, and so on.”
Pannek said the long-term sustainability and relevance of the industry “requires us to nurture an environment that is welcoming to people from all walks of life”.
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2024, Pannek said she and MFAA executive policy and legal Naveen Ahluwalia and other members of the team would be speaking at various events with industry partners to share what the organisation was doing more broadly and to build momentum among members.
What can the industry do to increase the number of female brokers and boost diversity and inclusion? Comment below.
