The Davies report has highlighted inequalities at the boardroom level.
These are critical and need to be addressed as uniform boards make uniform decisions. For the long-term changes that are needed, we must build diverse channels, support and develop a much broader range of people with different skills, experiences, backgrounds, talents and ways of working. This is not a niche agenda!
Companies are limited by a lack of talent.
We need our organizations to be a better reflection of the demographics of the communities and societies they serve. Women’s balance is the most obvious dimension of this challenge, and with more women graduating than men, the loss of women in the workforce at all levels is enormously wasteful. Flexible working is a crucial part of this.
Creating work cultures where managers have the confidence and leadership skills to get the best out of flexible workforces will be better for all of us. The talent pool doesn’t start somewhere in the middle management levels: it starts in school! We need to do more to encourage young women to take on more diverse roles and careers, and help break down workplace stereotypes.
Looking broadly at the British workforce, some progress has been made, thanks to the Equal Pay and Sex Discrimination Acts, and a host of positive role models.
The workforce is now almost equally divided between men and women.
Participation in the labor market, which indicates the proportion of all adults who work, details that the gap between the sexes has been reduced from 40 percentage points in 1971 to less than 10 today. Still, disparities remain.
It is important for women to have a safe conversation space within their companies, where they can come together to share their thoughts and be heard. The reality is that with women it is not always about promotion and money, it is about feeling ownership, being emotionally committed to the organization and feeling that the work they do represents their values. “It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have the leadership over them, and take the mantle because they must, and seek their own surprise.” that they get on well.” JK Rowling – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. There is also a growing awareness in larger companies that flexible working is essential if they want to work to retain their senior staff, both men and women.
Feminism used to get a bad rap in the media, but until there is gender equality in the world, it’s still very important. The profusion of women’s networks suggests that women connect differently from men and like to learn from and support each other. Some men (and also women who sabotage other partners, which is a current issue highlighted in research) they need to change their attitudes and appreciate the differences between the way men and women interact.
The proportion of female directors at FTSE 100 companies rose from 12.5 per cent in 2010 to 15 per cent in 2011 in the UK, but most women do not feel the change is going far enough or fast enough. Quotas can be a blunt instrument, but they can be unavoidable. Having seen how slowly things have moved in this direction, one can see that more and more people are less against quotas than before.
There are organizations using more innovative ways to introduce senior women leaders to their companies. PricewaterhouseCoopers, for example, plans to increase the number of women promoted to senior positions using a new “fulfill or explainapproach. PwC denies that these targets were structured in the same way as quotas, an approach that has been criticized by senior women in business. It believes that the introduction of a ‘Meet or explain’ The approach is different from quotas, and that tokenism does not result in a meritocracy. Diversity must be consciously considered at each stage of people management and development; from recruiting and identifying key talent to development, promotion and retention.
Even if used, the compulsion would not be high enough to spark cultural change, and some have called on senior men to recognize the business case for change. Getting this right isn’t just about women’s racing; it is essential for the economy as a whole. Companies with equal numbers of men and women in senior management are more profitable than companies with predominantly male leaders. Furthermore, demographic changes mean that by 2030, in the UK, for example, there will be fewer than 1.3 million people of leadership age. More women in senior management would address both of these issues.
Men and women have much to offer the economy, whether it’s starting their own businesses or letting their entrepreneurial talents and business knowledge shine in the business world. Employers must act in their own interest to expand the talent pools available to them and ensure they do not lose the skills, energy and passion that professionals can bring to their workplaces if they are allowed to work more autonomously and flexibly. . Governments are right to actively encourage wider adoption of flexible working by employers and seek to support employers in starting and growing their own businesses. It makes a lot of sense to find ways to help people do this to generate economic growth.