Large numbers of Australian women are locked out of business leadership roles, a survey by the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (Finsia) has found.

A Finsia research paper, entitled Seven Myths about Women and Work, is intended to debunk myths about women in the sector.

CEO Martin Fahy told insuranceNEWS.com.au the long-term view is that there aren’t enough women in the workplace, “but we know that’s not the case”.

“We know women aspire to leadership roles and experience high levels of frustration,” Dr Fahy said. “The gap is not exaggerated and it’s particularly real in the Australian financial services industry.

“We cannot afford to leave large numbers of potential executives on the bench.”

Finsia has now called for an examination of the issues which are draining the talent pool.

Dr Fahy says the financial services industry, including risk insurance, can’t afford to ignore the aspirations of women because their future competitiveness depends on them.

“We need to see greater public investment in childcare; men encouraged to take up paternity leave; an open debate on targets and quotas of participation by women; and more reporting on the transparency of recruitment processes,” he said.