New Industry Recognition – Female Adviser of the Year

The AFA has expanded its suite of industry awards in launching the inaugural Female Adviser of the Year Award.

Announced on the second day of the 2010 AFA National Conference, and to be sponsored by TOWER Australia, the Award is designed to champion excellence in female financial advisers.

AFA CEO Richard Klipin explained the rationale behind the new Award: “People may ask why we need to introduce a special award for women,” he said. “The argument goes that a good adviser is a good adviser, regardless of gender. However, when compared with their male colleagues, working women are still under-valued and under-paid.  It’s a disappointing fact of life that the glass ceiling still exists.”

Mr Klipin’s point was underscored by statistics presented to the audience during the Award launch, which highlight a number of gender inequities, such as:

• 2.8 million women aged over 15 in Australia are not covered by superannuation, compared with 1.6 million men
• The average superannuation payouts to women are less than half that received by men
• Women represent only 12% of claims paid for income protection, but make up over 45% of Australia’s workforce

women prefer to speak with other women about their investment and insurance needs

The Patron of the Award is Kerry Chikarovski, Former NSW Leader of the Opposition and the AFA’s Political Strategist.  In her comments about the Award, Ms Chikarovski reflected on the lack of numbers of female advisers in the financial services industry, but observed that it was a fact of life that women prefer to speak with other women about their investment and insurance needs.

Ms Chikarovski added that the Award was designed not just to recognise excellence in female advisers but to also send a message to the broader public that the financial services industry is serious about addressing the gender inequities that exist in the retirement savings part of our world.

In addition to the Award itself, Ms Chikarovski said the Female Adviser of the Year will also become a process that will recognise leadership, encourage mentoring and ensure that the gender equity issues within the industry are addressed.

Tower Australia CEO Retail Life, Brett Clark, said his company is delighted to sponsor the Award and hoped it would encourage more women into the advice industry:

“We know that there are far fewer female than male financial advisers,” he said. “We hope that this Award, which formally recognises the unique contribution female advisers make to their clients, will encourage more women to enter the financial advice industry.”

Click here to view a brief video featuring Ms Chikarovski and Melbourne-based adviser, Sarah Riegelhuth, who outline the basis of the Award and the reasons for their support, including the fact that the Award is also about creating a support network for women in the financial services industry and is a step towards securing the financial future for all women.

The first AFA Female Adviser of the Year will be awarded at the AFA’s 2011 conference.

Editors note: The announcement of the Award has generated much discussion amongst AFA Conference delegates and their partners, both male and female, some of whom support the concept and some of whom do not.

Those who do not support the Award have told riskinfo they feel its creation is tokenistic, while those who do support the Award believe it will be a step forward for females both in the financial services industry as well as for the many females who need financial advice and do not receive it.

But whether advisers agree or disagree with the creation of the Award, the 24 hours since its announcement has seen more discussion centre on the real gender inequities that exist in the industry and the acknowledged need to do something about it, than at any other time in the recent past.