Govt grant not enough to overcome ageism in financial services
Financial services employees believe ageism is the most prevalent form of workplace discrimination in the industry, research reveals.
Data from the Marks Sattin Australia Equality Report 2015, found that 47 per cent of workers believed there was discrimination in the sector, with 48 per cent of those reporting that older worker were the most likely to be discriminated against.
The survey reported that those who were not part of a network and foreign workers were the next most likely to face workplace discrimination, while 34 per cent of respondents felt sexism believed women suffered discrimination in the industry.
"The Abbott Government recently announced it would expand its Restart Program to offer employers up to $10,000 to hire older workers," the report said.
"However, some experts believe this will not be enough to address the barriers to mature age employment."
The report noted that Equal Opportunity Commissioner, Kate Jenkins, said "age discrimination in employment starts from about 45 and is pretty systemic and accepted".
While financial services workers reported that ageism was a bigger issue in the industry than gender discrimination, the report found that many believed there was a gap in pay between the two sexes.
The report found that 69 per cent of women believed they were paid less than men for preforming the same role, while just one per cent of respondents felt women were paid more.
AUTHOR
Nicholas O'Donoghue
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