By: Michelle McQuaid - @chellemcquaid
MOST Australian businessmen blame women for failing to reach the top, citing family commitments and lack of ambition.
Sixty per cent of professional men believe women have equal career opportunities — yet only a third of the women agree. The “work-life juggle’’ is seen as the biggest barrier to leadership roles for women, cited by two-thirds of men and 83 per cent of women surveyed. Women’s “lack of ambition’’ was blamed by 19 per cent of men and 13 per cent of women, in the poll of 1000 professionals by workplace consultant Positive Leaders.
Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick insisted yesterday that there was no evidence women lacked ambition. “What most women want is to build a strong career while caring for those they love,’’ she said. “Perhaps their ambitions do not fit the ideal worker model as well as men’s do.
More from Natasha Bita - @natasha_bita, The Australian - @australian
