Australia has been identified as one of the worst OECD countries for its support of working women, with recent OECD survey results ranking Australia as seventeenth out of 20 countries . 
 
According to Group Executive of Culture and Reputation at IAG, Sam Mostyn, who recently spoke at the Institute of Chartered Accountant’s inaugural Tall Poppies Women’s Series, these figures are indicative of the gender disparity in Australia. 
 
“While many Australian businesses are working to develop strategies to attract and retain women, there is still a culturally assumed gender imbalance that is supported and perpetuated by society and the media, who regularly profile the business acumen of men rather than women,” Ms Mostyn said. 
 
While reflecting on the benefits of having a greater female presence in the higher echelons of organisations, including the benefits to the bottom line, Ms Mostyn offered valuable guidance to women wanting to hone their skills and advance their careers including: 
 

• Overcome the barrier of self-advancement – women by their very nature are more self-effacing than men; it is important that women become more masculine in the sense of having a go;
 

• Build confidence – learn from those who are good at self-promotion and be confident in putting yourself forward for opportunities to advance;
 

• Be a risk taker – women should be less averse to taking risks in order to get ahead in their careers;
 

• Become a networker – women wanting to advance their careers need to “network up”, forge informal social links with key industry players, clients and management; and
 

• Advocate for a better reflection of women – through increasing the profile of women in areas such as the media, it will become more widely accepted that a female presence in management roles is beneficial for businesses.