Two thirds of Australian employees believe organisations are not doing enough to help women attain roles in senior management.

According to a Hays Banking survey of over 1,100 people, only 36% said organisations are doing enough to help women's career progression into senior management.

"Within most industries there is a need to propel more women to senior management ranks," said Jane McNeill, senior regional director of Hays Banking.

"Women are not only in the minority in traditionally male-dominated industries, like trading desks or on resources projects. They're also under-represented across the spectrum of Australia's senior management workforce.

"From our experience, we know that many women look for a new job because of inadequate career development and progression opportunities. So a program to assist women into senior management will not only expand the pool of talent internally with leadership potential, but it can also help improve retention rates."

The survey suggests a number of ways companies can better encourage female staff into senior management positions, such as establishing steering groups, active mentorships and coaching or networking programs to allow women to discuss ideas and career paths.

It was also suggested that both male and female managers be trained in the value of a diverse workforce and provided with strategies to develop female staff into senior management roles.

Companies were encouraged to develop a succession plan to identify up and coming people and opportunities for growth and to ensure that the number of women in senior management reflects the number of women employed overall.

Work-life balance was also identified as an important factor for encouraging female career progression, as well as open communication with staff.