Creating Change for Women

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Creating Change for Women The Westpac Case Ann
Sherry May 2004
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What I will cover

• Why would a bank like Westpac be involved in
  creating change for women
• Key Market Opportunities
• An overview of Small Medium Enterprises in New
  Zealand
• Initiatives to support Women in their careers and
  business
• Westpac Partnering Women
• The Potential of Women
• Personal and Collective Power
• Summary

3
Westpac involvement the base case

• Recognition of women as key influencers in
  business and financial decision making
• Establishment of key initiatives to succeed in
  this market and reflect the value of women as
  customers and employees
• Promoting Westpacs partnership approach to meet
  both the personal and business needs of women and
  in turn to acquire, grow and retain business for
  Westpac
• Assisting women to unleash their potential and
  help both themselves and the wider economy
• An investment in New Zealands future as Small
  Businesses are the powerhouse of economic growth

4
The Drivers and Key Market Opportunities

• Women are leading the way for new business
  start-ups for reasons including
• - innate affinity enjoyment for creativity
  innovation
• - flexibility of lifestyle
• - disillusionment with employers and large
  organisations
• NZ women rank in the top 3 countries globally for
  entrepreneurship
• Women own and operate almost 40 of small
  businesses in NZ
• Women are more conservative in investment and
  business decisions
• Women influence 82 of household purchasing
  decisions
• Westpac has created first mover advantage

5
An Overview of NZ Small Business Enterprises

• Over 270,000 business enterprises in New Zealand
  are Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
• 87 of businesses employ 5 or fewer full time
  staff
• 97 of businesses employ less than 20 full time
  staff
• SMEs are a powerhouse of economic growth
  employing 43 of the full time staff in the
  economy and generating 39 of the output
• They created a net 130,000 additional jobs
  between 1995 and 2001(compared to a small decline
  for non-SMEs)
• Source Ministry of Economic Development, 2002
  SMEs in New Zealand Structure and Dynamics

6
Initiatives to Support this market

• Elevation of women to senior decision making
  roles in Westpac (now 4 out of 12 on the
  Executive team)
• Sponsoring the publication of the book Woman 2
  Woman - a guide for those looking to change
  careers or develop their own business
• Promotion of the book as a catalyst to confirm
  Westpacs commitment to all women and development
  of future alliances with women in business
• Facilitating networking opportunities for women
  W2W website
• Providing business, investment and financial
  skills improvement seminars and courses
• Mentoring programmes for womens groups and
  industry
• Partnership approach to build strong
  relationships with key groups

7
The Partnership for Westpac and Women

• Senior Westpac Women in management plus gender
  split is 72 women across the organisation and
  across age groups.
• Establishment of a specialist team of women
  champions across all business groups SME,
  Investment, Rural, Govt, Property, Maori
• Availability of an experienced team of financial
  and industry experts
• Mutual understanding of needs and how to add
  value
• Open and honest two way communication
• Recognising and extending relationships with key
  influencers to ensure win win outcomes for all
  parties
• Understand what you want and make sure what you
  get works for you

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Unleashing the Potential of Women

• Recent research confirms women can both deliver
  improved financial results and be inspirational
  leaders
• The development of women in careers and business
  is a serious issue for long-term economic
  sustainability eg 72 of our own
  business
• Encourage women to go for the big jobs and the
  big organisatons
• Women leaders can implement change from the top
• Force business to reconsider the way they are
  organised and how they operate
• Today business needs smart, sane, competent
  people

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The Personal and Collective Power

• Understand yourself, your business and your
  passion
• Channel your energy into owning your business
  rather than your business owning you - take the
  holiday test
• Maximise your strengths and call in experts to
  assist when needed
• Employ, reward and retain great people
• Recognise, promote and celebrate the fact that
  small businesses are the backbone of the economy
  for most countries and women play a key role
• Ensure Womens creativity continues to change and
  enhance the status quo both in careers and
  business

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Summary

• Westpac has recognised the current and future
  power of women as a key customer group
• The profile of Westpac has increased and
  confirmed the commitment to all women
• We recognise and celebrate the fact that small
  businesses are the backbone of the economy for
  most countries From Business survival to
  excellence
• Partnering is the key to maximising the group
  strength of women
• You owe it to yourselves to realise the potential
  and grow the economy of your country
• BUT most importantly remember the women coming
  behind you!