Prebble 'fought office sexism'

By AUDREY YOUNG political reporter

A report by an independent consultant hired by the Treasury to assess its treatment of women singled out Dr Mark Prebble for his efforts to make improvements while he was its acting head.

The report was completed 15 months after a damning report had been produced on why so many women were leaving the Treasury.

A comprehensive survey of former and present women employees cited poor management and an aggressive culture which left women feeling unvalued.

The praise for Dr Prebble, head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet since 1998, appears to fly in the face of allegations made against him in the Christine Rankin case.

He was accused last week of sexist attitudes to women in the Treasury by the lawyer of Mrs Rankin, the former head of Work and Income, who is suing because she was not re-appointed for a second term.

He disputed an allegation that his treatment of an unnamed woman had been behind a personal grievance taken by a former female Treasury official. He said her poor performance was the issue.

Dr Prebble has also been criticised for having told Mrs Rankin in a private meeting that he had been offended when one of her tops exposed too much of her breasts.

Both reports on women at the Treasury were commissioned by the Treasury, in 1997 and 1998, and were done by a Wellington human resources consultant, Margaret Hanson, of Top Drawer Consultants.

They were issued by the Treasury yesterday in response to a request.

But the report Making Treasury a Better Place to Work: a Progress Report, said staff had recognised positive changes.

"Leadership was identified as the most commonly identified cause of the shift. In particular, people commented on Mark Prebble's demonstration of his personal commitment to these issues whilst he was acting secretary."

The turnover rate for women back in 1997 had been up to 35 per cent, compared with the overall rate of 26 per cent.

Now it matches the overall rate of 22 per cent.

That is still higher than the 15.2 per cent rate across all public service departments, but 70 per cent of Treasury staff are under 35, and young employees tend to be more mobile.

At present, 43 per cent of total Treasury staff are women.

The first report contained a series of allegations which drew a picture of a male-dominated culture that placed high value on competition and adversarial conduct.

"A softer, gentler style is seen as 'capture'," one of the women was quoted as saying. "If you're not in conflict with the people you are negotiating with, then you are not being tough enough."

Angela Hauk-Willis, a deputy secretary and manager corporate services, said Dr Prebble had been "universally acknowledged" as a driving force behind changes at the Treasury.