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• MPA Online

Women are making significant inroads into the mortgage industry, despite difficulties faced more generally in increasing their representation in Australia at senior management level.

Recently, ANZ chief executive Mike Smith delivered results from an Australian Institute of Company Directors census of women in leadership roles in Australia. The survey found representation on boards and at executive management level among the ASX’s Top 200 companies had shown little improvement over the past decade, remaining at 8% for boards in particular since 2002.

“To be blunt, what it shows is that not much has changed for women on boards and in management in Australian public companies since the census was first taken in 2002 – and perhaps even since I first worked in Australia over 20 years ago,” Smith said.

CBA executive general manager third party banking, Kathy Cummings, said she was not surprised by the results. “There are similar trends in the mortgage broking industry, for example, there are no women at the executive management level of any aggregators.”

However, Cummings argues that despite the general AICD results, more women are "finding their voice, particularly younger women”, at all levels of the mortgage industry. “Recent years have seen growing representation by females in industry bodies and many of these women have developed strong leadership positions and are highly respected by their peers.”

Cummings gives the example of the MFAA’s NSW/ACT council, which boasts a female president – Alison Whittle, from Tiffen & Co, The Mortgage Detective – and council members Katrina Rowlands (Mortgage Success), Donna Beazley (Professional Finance Mortgage Brokers) and Sarah Wells (Red Concierge) – a total gender representation of 40%.

Currently, women make up approximately 30% of the MFAA membership, and some of them are some of the highest volume writers in the country. The Australian Mortgage Awards held in Sydney in September recognised two of these high performers – Wendy Higgins and Irene Cujko – both from Mortgage Choice. Higgins also featured alongside Rowlands in the top ten of MPA’s recently published Top 100 Brokers Survey, a gender representation of 20%.

Cummings said the progress of women in the industry will continue. “Women are naturally suited to mortgage broking as they have instinctive rapport building skills and strong empathy,” she explains. “I think women are intuitively able to interpret and understand their clients’ financial needs. This helps them to recommend the most appropriate solutions.” The flexibility of mortgage broking to women is also an attraction. “It allows women to lead a lifestyle that suits their business and family life - in this way women can be both a financial provider and a primary care for the family,” Cummings explains.

There are challenges, however. “Mortgage broking is predominantly male and networking can be difficult for many women. Also women do not always get the opportunity to develop their business skills. Cummings said women need to stay relevant and network.

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