Women execs get there sooner

By Selwyn Parker

Women executives who are made redundant are generally better organised than their male counterparts. They network better, plan better and focus better, according to a new survey.

Thus, they get jobs faster.

That's the conclusion of a study of 500 executives by career strategists Davidson & Associates published in the October issue of New Zealand Manufacturing, which found that it takes male executives an average 5.9 months to find a new job while women do it in 3.6 months.

All of those surveyed earned more than $60,000.

"Women are more focused on the job search and they're better at networking," observes Wendy Rowe of Davidson & Associates' Auckland office. Although the study was conducted in Australia, its results are applicable to New Zealand, she says.

"Women seem to have better networking capabilities and better organisational skills than men and those skills are crucial for re-entering the workforce," says Rowe.

"Many executive positions are never advertised - you hear about them through word of mouth - so networking is tremendously important. Women do that very well."

Women also activate the network much faster by sharing their concerns and contacts with friends and colleagues, which is something their apparently more constrained male counterparts are reluctant to do.

* Contributing writer Selwyn Parker is available at wordz@xtra.co.nz.