The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, CDO: The Gender Balance in New Zealand's Data Industry Has Improved, Yet Fewer Women are in Leadership

(US and Canada) Tracy Parsons, CDO, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, talks with Maria Espona, Editorial Board Member, CDO Magazine, about gender balance in New Zealand’s data world

Parsons says there are starkly more men than women in data in New Zealand, but the gender balance has improved. Few women were in data when she first started looking for roles in that field in 2011. While it may feel like there are more women in data, particularly at the junior levels, there aren’t many in the senior ranks, Parson notes. Nevertheless, the gender balance continues to improve.

When her oldest daughter (now 20) was a baby, Parsons held a senior position at the time and wanted to go back to work four days a week, working some of those days at home, but flexible working hours and working from home were not options then. Fortunately for Parson, her manager went to bat for her and supported her in in breastfeeding her young daughter at work. So, things have certainly changed a lot in the last 20 years, she notes.

In fact, in New Zealand today, there is policy that states staff are entitled to flexible working hours or working from home unless there is a good reason for not allowing it. And it is still common to have managers who are fully supportive and others not so supportive, Parsons notes.

She believes that work-life balance is essential, and if you’re a dedicated employee, the challenge is putting work aside when you get home so you can focus on your family. Parsons adds that as women get older, they learn how to better switch off work and switch on home responsibilities.

Men and women don’t think differently, Parsons maintains. She believes that both are probably socialized to value things differently. For example, women are socialized to care more about what people think, and that can be detrimental because occasionally, women feel uncomfortable standing up for themselves.

According to Parsons, however, the positive side is that women have a more conversational approach to change management. Parsons, for example, is quite people-oriented, which means she thinks about the people at the beginning of change — how to best work with them and the products being built for them during the change journey.

As a woman, Parsons emphasizes the soft side of working with and for real people. She thinks that's undoubtedly one of the reasons her work program has been very successful. Parson has a knack for focusing on people's capacities, what they can do and achieve, and how they fit in her work program now and in the future rather than considering gender.