The study examined the experiences of 1,000 professional women across different sectors to understand support for careers and the talent pipeline. It found a paradox where most women feel supported, but many have faced gender-related obstacles. Accountancy, Law, and Education were best for women and mothers, while Advertising/Media and Engineering were worst. Flexible work and role models were seen as most important for progress. Addressing unconscious biases and creating a culture where issues can be safely raised could help solve the disconnect between perceived and actual support.
Millennial Women Career Success Survey: Corporate Image Monitoring: Penn Sch...psbsrch123
As per survey conducted by PSB, it’s been found those two primary qualities as keys to workplace success are the ability to balance personal and professional lives and a job where women can make a difference.
Women in the workplace report: Gender Equality in the Workplace via Fairygodboss. In the US there are over 73M working women representing approximately 47% of the labor force as defined by the latest annual US Department of Labor statistics. The percentage of the labor force that is female has plateaued since the year 2000.
Why Gender Diversity Matters at Work | ChronusChronus
Making up 47% of the current workforce and growing, women are prime candidates for filling the leadership pipeline that will soon be left lighter by a departing generation of workers. And yet, the higher you look in companies, the fewer women you see, with C-level positions comprised of only 19% women.
Learn how greater gender diversity can improve your organization, and why mentoring is an ideal solution to enable women in the workplace.
Download the full Ebook: http://ow.ly/fGyK30fCsaB
Millennial Women Career Success Survey: Corporate Image Monitoring: Penn Sch...psbsrch123
As per survey conducted by PSB, it’s been found those two primary qualities as keys to workplace success are the ability to balance personal and professional lives and a job where women can make a difference.
Women in the workplace report: Gender Equality in the Workplace via Fairygodboss. In the US there are over 73M working women representing approximately 47% of the labor force as defined by the latest annual US Department of Labor statistics. The percentage of the labor force that is female has plateaued since the year 2000.
Why Gender Diversity Matters at Work | ChronusChronus
Making up 47% of the current workforce and growing, women are prime candidates for filling the leadership pipeline that will soon be left lighter by a departing generation of workers. And yet, the higher you look in companies, the fewer women you see, with C-level positions comprised of only 19% women.
Learn how greater gender diversity can improve your organization, and why mentoring is an ideal solution to enable women in the workplace.
Download the full Ebook: http://ow.ly/fGyK30fCsaB
The goal of the CEO & Gender Media Audit was to understand the media coverage of CEOs in various situations and determine if there are differences in the way male and female CEOs are covered.
Promoting multidimensional teams has a positive impact on business outcomes. Female presence in company's executive bodies is essential to build business projects that are successful and long-term oriented.
During the meeting held by Woman's Week foundation and the Association of Directors of Communication in Spain (Dircom), Chief Communication Officer and companies, committed to equal opportunities and diversity, professionals discussed about CSR regarding gender diversity.
We are indeed living a shift of paradigm where companies are more sensitive to the economic importance of their role as social actors and the strategic and integrated management of key intangible assets such as reputation, brand, communication or public issues. We are immersed in the so-called "reputation economy".
The main advantages of promoting diversity within the corporation are the greater capacity of attracting and retaining talent, improvement of leadership and innovation strategies and a closer approach to key stakeholders for the company. In fact, the main idea of the concept of diversity is to optimize human resources presented by heterogeneous groups, this is to say, diverse regarding the gender, age, race or nationality of their members.
We are making progress in integrating diverse teams in the organization, but we are still below the goal of 40 % female board managers in companies set out by the European Parliament and the European Commission.
This insight addresses the current situation and future leadership, where diversity will play a major role for sure.
Millennial Women and Workplace Transformation: A PreparedU Infographic StorybookBentley University
Bentley University's PreparedU Project examines the unique challenges and opportunities facing millennial women in the 21st Century workforce. How can they be prepared for success? What roles do parents, companies, mentors, higher education institutions, and millennial women themselves need to play? Drawing on the results of the PreparedU survey, this infographic storybook moves past the problems to highlight solutions grounded in data and in the personal stories of women leaders at all stages of their careers. Learn more at www.bentley.edu/prepared and follow the conversation on Twitter with #PrepUWIB.
Workplace gender inequality is a global phenomenon. McKinsey Global Institute estimates that women add 37% of the world’s GDP while constituting one-half of the global working age population. If they played an identical role to men in the labour markets, however, women could add about USD 28 Trillion to global GDP by 2025, or add about USD 12 Trillion if their proportion in the workforce was brought up to ‘best-in-the-region’ levels.
On each of the above numbers India has the most to gain, compared with 95 other countries. Women’s share of India’s GDP is about 17%, and the above two scenarios could elevate the country’s GDP by 60% and 16%, respectively. Getting anywhere close to these numbers requires India to recast its outdated social mores substantially, however.
Progress in gender diversity in public relations remains painfully slow in many ways, but Time’s Up for the field. According to The Homes Report, women make up about 70% of the PR workforce, but they only hold about 30% of the top positions in the industry.
The Plank Center hosted a free webinar titled “Women and Leadership in Public Relations.”
The Center’s 2017 Leadership Report Card found that being successful in the field is still challenging for women—the pay gap is real; the opportunity gap is real; and the being-heard-and-respected-gap is real.
The webinar discusses bridging those gaps, including action items for current leaders at all organizational levels. Led by industry professionals:
Julia Hood, founder, Pop-Up Media and AgendaZoom
Jacquie McMahon, senior account executive, Ketchum
Donnalyn Pompper, public relations professor & endowed chair, University of Oregon
Brian Price, corporate communications manager, Starwood Retail Partners
And moderated by Leah Seay, assistant manager, public policy communication, General Motors.
To view the archived webinar, go to The Center's website: http://bit.ly/PlankWebinars
The Gender Gap At The Top: What's Keeping Women From Leading Corporate America?Subha Barry
This Working Mother research project takes a comprehensive look at the experiences of women - and men - at all levels of corporations to ascertain what perceptions and realities are keeping them out of the highest ranks and to offer real solutions to close the gap.
Question # 1: What differences between women and men are there?
Question # 2: What are some examples of low gender diversity?
Question # 3: What are some examples of high gender diversity?
Question # 4: How do we measure gender diversity?
First Jobs for Young Women in the Middle East and North Africa [WHITE PAPER]Bayt.com
"First Jobs for Young Women in the Middle East and North Africa: Expectations and Reality" is a research initiative from Education For Employment (EFE), Bayt.com and YouGov that provides insight into factors that inhibit or discourage young women from securing a first job. The recommendations are based on a survey of over 2,300 young women and employers across the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) and complement existing research on women’s labor force participation in the region.
The industry's most authoritative study returns for 2019. #StateofPR 2019 paints a picture of a commercially robust industry that isn't always the people-focussed profession it aspires to be.
Find out more: http:www.cipr.co.uk/stateofPR
For more information go to: http://www.bentley.edu/prepared They're about to be the largest workforce in US history, but are they ready for the 21st century workplace? And is it ready for them? In our ongoing PreparedU Project, Bentley university looks into the mind of the millennial to find inspiration and opportunity.
Company Culture is Key to Unlocking Gender Equality and Narrowing Pay Gap, New Accenture Research Finds
“Getting to Equal 2018” report identifies 40 key factors that help all people thrive
The goal of the CEO & Gender Media Audit was to understand the media coverage of CEOs in various situations and determine if there are differences in the way male and female CEOs are covered.
Promoting multidimensional teams has a positive impact on business outcomes. Female presence in company's executive bodies is essential to build business projects that are successful and long-term oriented.
During the meeting held by Woman's Week foundation and the Association of Directors of Communication in Spain (Dircom), Chief Communication Officer and companies, committed to equal opportunities and diversity, professionals discussed about CSR regarding gender diversity.
We are indeed living a shift of paradigm where companies are more sensitive to the economic importance of their role as social actors and the strategic and integrated management of key intangible assets such as reputation, brand, communication or public issues. We are immersed in the so-called "reputation economy".
The main advantages of promoting diversity within the corporation are the greater capacity of attracting and retaining talent, improvement of leadership and innovation strategies and a closer approach to key stakeholders for the company. In fact, the main idea of the concept of diversity is to optimize human resources presented by heterogeneous groups, this is to say, diverse regarding the gender, age, race or nationality of their members.
We are making progress in integrating diverse teams in the organization, but we are still below the goal of 40 % female board managers in companies set out by the European Parliament and the European Commission.
This insight addresses the current situation and future leadership, where diversity will play a major role for sure.
Millennial Women and Workplace Transformation: A PreparedU Infographic StorybookBentley University
Bentley University's PreparedU Project examines the unique challenges and opportunities facing millennial women in the 21st Century workforce. How can they be prepared for success? What roles do parents, companies, mentors, higher education institutions, and millennial women themselves need to play? Drawing on the results of the PreparedU survey, this infographic storybook moves past the problems to highlight solutions grounded in data and in the personal stories of women leaders at all stages of their careers. Learn more at www.bentley.edu/prepared and follow the conversation on Twitter with #PrepUWIB.
Workplace gender inequality is a global phenomenon. McKinsey Global Institute estimates that women add 37% of the world’s GDP while constituting one-half of the global working age population. If they played an identical role to men in the labour markets, however, women could add about USD 28 Trillion to global GDP by 2025, or add about USD 12 Trillion if their proportion in the workforce was brought up to ‘best-in-the-region’ levels.
On each of the above numbers India has the most to gain, compared with 95 other countries. Women’s share of India’s GDP is about 17%, and the above two scenarios could elevate the country’s GDP by 60% and 16%, respectively. Getting anywhere close to these numbers requires India to recast its outdated social mores substantially, however.
Progress in gender diversity in public relations remains painfully slow in many ways, but Time’s Up for the field. According to The Homes Report, women make up about 70% of the PR workforce, but they only hold about 30% of the top positions in the industry.
The Plank Center hosted a free webinar titled “Women and Leadership in Public Relations.”
The Center’s 2017 Leadership Report Card found that being successful in the field is still challenging for women—the pay gap is real; the opportunity gap is real; and the being-heard-and-respected-gap is real.
The webinar discusses bridging those gaps, including action items for current leaders at all organizational levels. Led by industry professionals:
Julia Hood, founder, Pop-Up Media and AgendaZoom
Jacquie McMahon, senior account executive, Ketchum
Donnalyn Pompper, public relations professor & endowed chair, University of Oregon
Brian Price, corporate communications manager, Starwood Retail Partners
And moderated by Leah Seay, assistant manager, public policy communication, General Motors.
To view the archived webinar, go to The Center's website: http://bit.ly/PlankWebinars
The Gender Gap At The Top: What's Keeping Women From Leading Corporate America?Subha Barry
This Working Mother research project takes a comprehensive look at the experiences of women - and men - at all levels of corporations to ascertain what perceptions and realities are keeping them out of the highest ranks and to offer real solutions to close the gap.
Question # 1: What differences between women and men are there?
Question # 2: What are some examples of low gender diversity?
Question # 3: What are some examples of high gender diversity?
Question # 4: How do we measure gender diversity?
First Jobs for Young Women in the Middle East and North Africa [WHITE PAPER]Bayt.com
"First Jobs for Young Women in the Middle East and North Africa: Expectations and Reality" is a research initiative from Education For Employment (EFE), Bayt.com and YouGov that provides insight into factors that inhibit or discourage young women from securing a first job. The recommendations are based on a survey of over 2,300 young women and employers across the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) and complement existing research on women’s labor force participation in the region.
The industry's most authoritative study returns for 2019. #StateofPR 2019 paints a picture of a commercially robust industry that isn't always the people-focussed profession it aspires to be.
Find out more: http:www.cipr.co.uk/stateofPR
For more information go to: http://www.bentley.edu/prepared They're about to be the largest workforce in US history, but are they ready for the 21st century workplace? And is it ready for them? In our ongoing PreparedU Project, Bentley university looks into the mind of the millennial to find inspiration and opportunity.
Company Culture is Key to Unlocking Gender Equality and Narrowing Pay Gap, New Accenture Research Finds
“Getting to Equal 2018” report identifies 40 key factors that help all people thrive
Phaidon International continues the 2017 Inclusive Talent Series in March discussing the challenges faced by women group within STEM industries; Attraction, Retention and Advancement.
McKinsey Global Survey results: Moving mind-sets on gender diversity: To ens...Lucia Predolin
Moving mind-sets on gender diversity: McKinsey Global Survey results
To ensure that corporate culture supports—not hinders—the ability of women to reach top management, companies must address mind-sets and develop a more inclusive, holistic diversity agenda.
Achieving Gender Parity in Australia - the impact of pregnancy - august 2014PG Consulting
The business case for gender parity is more than compliance. Countries and companies can be competitive only if they develop, attract and retain the best talent, both male and female.
A qualitative research study revealing the barriers to pay parity and opinions on solutions to the industry's gender pay gap. Published in partnership with Women in PR, this report offers a fascinating glimpse into the experiences of twenty senior female PR professionals who shared candid accounts of the issues influencing the gender pay gap in PR.
The Kelly Global Workforce Index (KGWI) is an annual global survey that is the largest study of its kind. In 2015, Kelly collected feedback from 164,000 workers across 28 countries across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC regions and a multitude of industries and occupations.
This study is taking a high level look at:
- Work-Life Design as it pertains to the global worker today.
- Women in STEM Talent Gap - a study that at the gap of women talent in STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math – fields.
- Career Management – specifically the emerging trend of do-it-yourself (“DIY”) career development – as it pertains to the global worker seeking to be as resilient as possible in today’s uncertain environment
- Collaborative Work Environment as it pertains to the global worker today.
Here is our second global report on the topic Women in STEM.
Strategies on how to attract and retain female talent - LVI Associates.pdfonline Marketing
Covering the state of diversity in the transportation market, LVI Associates Principal Consultant Sarah Davis discusses the challenges hiring managers and job seekers face within engineering, as well as how firms can attract female talent in a competitive market, and the importance of retention. please visit: https://www.lviassociates.com/disciplines/transportation
In 2012 OIWC conducted an industry-wide survey to study perceptions of gender diversity and workplace values. The study serves as the foundation for workplace diversity and inclusion and women's leadership advancement efforts by the OIWC.
How to Attract and Retain Female Talent - LVI Associates.pdfonline Marketing
Covering the state of diversity in the transportation market, LVI Associates Principal Consultant Sarah Davis discusses the challenges hiring managers and job seekers face within engineering, as well as how firms can attract female talent in a competitive market, and the importance of retention. Please visit: https://www.lviassociates.com/blog/2022/09/attract-retain-female-talent-in-engineering
Women in the Workplace is a multi-year joint research effort by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org and the largest comprehensive study of the state of women in corporate America
The Paradoxical Tale of India's Working Women (Author: Anika Gururaj)AnikaGururaj
Female labour force participation across India has continuously declined and languished at about 27.5 percent since 2015-16 which is considerably lower than it was a decade earlier. This is in spite of India witnessing unparalleled 9 percent annual growth rates, marked improvement in the human development indicators, a sizable decline in fertility rates, greater illiteracy and more education.
What is causing this alarming decline in participation by women in India’s workforce? What are possible solutions?
PREPARED BY:
Anika Gururaj
Summer Research Intern @ The Takshashila Institution
A majority of executives believe gender diversity in leadership links to better financial
performance, but companies take few actions to support women in the workforce.
Hays heeft onderzoek gedaan naar genderdiversiteit op de werkvloer in 31 landen wereldwijd. De onderzoeksvragen werden ingevuld door bijna 6.000 respondenten. In het onderzoeksrapport worden de belangrijkste globale en Nederlandse resultaten met u gedeeld.
Similar to The career Paradox for UK women (sectors) FINAL (20)
1. • The Career Paradox for
UK Women
•
• An in-depth study across industry sectors exploring
career support, the working environment and the
talent pipeline.
•
•
2. 2
• Executive Summary
This report is an examination of the working environment for women and mothers and seeks to understand what
organisations are doing to support female career progression. Based on research conducted among 1,000 professional
women, it sets out to identify which are the best and worst sectors for women and working mothers, based on key
factors such as female progression and retention, the amount of value and support received, and employer attitudes
towards women and working mothers in general.
It also examines the current paradox of being a woman in the workplace whereby a large proportion (80%) say that
they feel supported in their career, while at the same time many of those same women have experienced prejudice,
been overlooked for promotion and held back by their gender. This paradox is also explored through the lens of a
working mother.
The report demonstrates how current experiences could shape the future talent pipeline of senior level women. It puts
forward suggestions as to how existing challenges can be overcome and measures introduced to reflect the support
women and working mothers really need to succeed in their organisation.
Key findings include:
• 80% of women feel their employer is supportive of them.
• Conversely 44% say their gender has hindered their career (or will in the future) while
36% of women have experienced workplace prejudice.
• 12% of women have been passed over for promotion because of their gender.
• Accountancy is the best sector for working women, receiving the highest scores in more
positive indicators than any other sector.
• Law, Education and Accountancy are the best sectors for working mothers.
• Advertising & Media and Engineering & Construction are the worst sectors for both
women and working mothers.
What is clear is that while women may feel like they are being supported, there is a disconnect between this and the
realities of their day-to-day working life.This paradox undermines much of the good work that many organisations are
undertaking, highlighting the need for a healthier working culture and greater consistency in the implementation of good
policy.
This research echoesTalkingTalent’s experiences of delivering consulting work for clients where, during the early stages
of diagnostic work, women often offer up a very positive outlook on their work situation and feel a sense of loyalty
to the organisation that belies the reality of their, or others’, true experiences.This phenomenon warrants further
examination because it is getting in the way of broader, more honest, debate and the ability to find potential solutions.
Arriving at a solution therefore requires both organisations and women themselves to be supported, and challenged, to
address the reality that women and working mothers are facing.
3. 3
• Theories vs. Reality For Women in the Workplace
At first glance, the view is positive.
• The majority of women – 80% – view their employer as being supportive.
• More than seven in ten rate their employer positively for retaining and progressing female talent.
• 53% believe their employer values men and women equally in mid-level roles.
However, on closer inspection, there is a gap between women’s overall impressions and the reality on the ground.
• 36% of women have experienced prejudice or discrimination in the workplace because of their gender.
• One third say that discrimination took the form of being looked over for promotion.
• 25% of women believe gender has hindered their career.
• 12% do not believe their employer values men and women equally at any level.
The results are striking; the majority of women feel supported in the workplace in theory but are experiencing
prejudice or discrimination in large numbers in practice.
The landscape for professional women in the workplace is mixed with positive elements, as
well as significant areas for improvement.
The Reality for Working Mothers
The situation is compounded by similar contradictions for working mothers. Despite several positives, there
are a significant proportion of women for whom career progression has been hindered by their status as a
working mum.
Positives
• 71% of women say their employer is
supportive of working mothers.
• A third of employers offer a career break for
women to have a child.
• 14% offer free or subsidised childcare.
Negatives
• 37% said being a working mother has
hindered their career.
• A third had experienced workplace prejudice
or discrimination because they were a mother.
• 37% of those said they have been passed over
for promotion because of being a working
mother.
4. 4
• The Cross-Sector Picture for Working Women
Accountancy is the best profession
for women to work in. This sector
had the highest scores for more
positive indicators than any other
profession. For example, 94%
of female accountants say their
employer is supportive of women,
the highest in the survey. They are
also the most positive about their
employer’s ability to retain female
talent, with 34% describing their
employer as excellent in this regard.
Female accountants also rate
their profession highest on valuing
everyone equally and offering
everyone the same opportunities
regardless of gender.
Despite these positive findings, 43%
of female accountants have still
experienced workplace prejudice
and discrimination.
Law is also a strong performing
sector with 56% of female lawyers
rating their industry highly in terms
of offering career progression for
women. They are also among the
most likely to say women are valued
equally at top level roles. 84%
say they feel supported by their
employer.
Despite this positivity, only 32% of
female lawyers say men and women
are valued equally in mid-level roles
and this number declines further
at more senior levels, dropping to
27% at board level. Almost half have
faced prejudice and discrimination in
the workplace.
One industry that exemplifies the
paradox we’ve seen throughout
is Financial Services. Whilst
84% of women in this sector feel
supported by their employer, and
are well served by flexible working,
a majority (56%), also say they
have experienced prejudice and
discrimination.
The main challenge seems to come
as women seek to progress to the
upper levels of an organisation. 53%
felt their employer valued women
and men equally at mid-level
roles but this drops to just 16% at
board level. Tellingly women in this
sector are most likely to say female
retention and progression would be
improved by more senior women in
their profession, and more coaching
and advice for women.
Going deeper into the results, by sector, we see a diverse range of experiences.
Sally Bucknell, Director, Diversity & Inclusiveness UK&I provides insight into how EY is getting it right:
“At EY, we believe that sustainable change in our business will happen through the embedding of core principles
of inclusiveness in all our processes and across our entire organisation, so that diversity and inclusion is a part
of everything we do. A big part of this is our focus on building the skills of all our people at every level of the
organisation to team and lead inclusively. This includes enabling a flexible working culture through behaviour
change and implementing a policy of proportional promotions for gender and ethnicity. It also includes
maternity coaching for all employees taking maternity, adoption or extended paternity leave and their line
managers.”
5. 5
• The Cross-Sector Picture for Working Women
Going deeper into the results, by sector, we see a diverse range of experiences.
Whilst a majority of women in
Advertising & Media feel supported,
51% have also faced prejudice and
discrimination at work.They’re also
the least likely to say their gender has
enhanced their progression. However,
they are most likely to say men and
women are equally valued in top level
roles suggesting those that do make it to
the senior ranks are valued when they
get there.
Women in Engineering & Manufacturing
are least likely to say they feel
supported and are least positive about
their employer’s ability to retain female
talent (11%). They are most likely to say
their gender has hindered their career
progress, with the majority citing a male
dominated environment as a key reason.
They rated their industry worst for
valuing everyone regardless of gender
and for offering the same opportunities
to all.
Unlike Advertising & Media, there is
no silver lining for most women in
this sector. Significant change is clearly
needed to attract and retain female
talent.
Table one: best and worst sectors for support, retention and prejudice for working women
Best Sector Worst Sector
Retaining female talent Accountancy Engineering & Government
Progressing female talent Law Engineering
Experiencing prejudice Education Financial Services,
Advertising & Media
Career progress enhanced by
gender
Accountancy Advertising & Media
Offering the same opportunities
regardless of gender
Accountancy Engineering
Graph one: the career paradox for working women
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
My employer is
supportive of
women
I have experienced
prejudice or
discrimination at
work because of
my gender
6. 6
• The Cross-Sector Picture for Working Mothers
Education is ranked the highest
of all sectors for acceptance of
the need for work-life balance;
assessment based on performance
rather than hours worked; support
and understanding during maternity
leave and attitudes to working
mothers. Mothers in this sector also
see the lowest level of workplace
prejudice and discrimination (25%
compared to 34% overall).
However, Education still saw the
highest proportion of women who
said the fact they have children or
the expectation that they might has
hindered their career progress.
Women in Law rate their
profession highest for supporting
working mothers with 29%
describing it as excellent compared
with an average of 14%. They also
rated their profession highest on
offering career progression and
opportunities for working mothers.
Those in Accountancy rank their
profession most highly for support
and understanding, both during
pregnancy and on the return to
work, with a third saying being
a working mother had actually
enhanced their career progress.
Despite such encouraging signs,
39% in this sector still said they
had experienced prejudice or
discriminationin the workplace
because they were a mother,
suggesting such organisational
support is let down by its day to
day application and surrounding
culture.
Very much in line with the overall findings for women, Law and Accountancy all ranked
highly for working mothers, with Education also featuring as a strong sector.
Table 2: Best and Worst Sectors for support, retention and prejudice for working mothers
Best Sector Worst Sector
Attitudes towards working mothers Education Advertising & Media
Prejudice & discrimination against
working mothers
Education Financial Services
Career progression and opportunities
for working mothers
Law Government
Support and understanding on return
to work post maternity leave
Accountancy Government
Nicola Wardell, Managing Partner (and working mother) from Grey London provides insight into the
advertising industry:
“Grey London has realised that we, and the advertising industry as a whole, need to get better at looking after our
working mums. Motherhood should not be seen as a roadblock to future progression – but in an industry that is
legendary for it’s long hours, being networking dependant and wonderfully sociable, there is inevitably a conflict.
We’d rather not be checking our BlackBerrys during bath time, but we also want to ensure we’re as ‘always on’ as
the business demands.
“We want our working mums to be well supported during this challenging time in their career, to be better able
to manage this conflict. So we’re delighted to be launching the ‘Grey Mummies’ programme with Talking Talent’s
coaching as its cornerstone.
“The coaching will take place before, during and after maternity leave, with the aim of retaining and supporting
our talented women and then helping them progress their careers in the months and years following. In addition,
we have formalised more parent friendly socialising and ongoing practical support to enable Grey mums to make
the most of what the agency has to offer. It’s been fabulous as a working mum myself to see such buy-in for this
programme at the very highest level of our organisation.”
7. 7
• The Cross-Sector Picture for Working Mothers
Very much in line with the overall findings for women, Law and Accountancy all ranked
highly for working mothers, with Education also featuring as a strong sector.
Advertising & Media rated their
industry the worst for attitudes to
flexible working, and acceptance
of the need for work-life balance.
49% of women in this sector felt
that being a working mother had
hindered their career progress,
despite a majority believing they
were supported as working
mothers.
As we saw for working women
in general, Financial Services
scores highly for prejudice and
discrimination, showing the highest
number of working mothers (49%)
that said they had experienced
prejudice and discrimination against
working mothers.
40% of working mothers in
Government were also likely
to have experienced workplace
prejudice. They also ranked their
sector worst for support and
understanding before, during, and
after maternity leave, as well as
for career progression for working
mothers.
Case Study
Why setting boundaries is important for working mothers
Partner at a leading global law firm
“I think people see you in the office and forget that you’re juggling things and have family commitments.
You just have to keep reminding people. It’s all about communication, being organised and understanding
the implications of the jobs and what you been asked to do.
“I’m really clear with my team that I can’t get into the office before 9am, so if they want to book any early
morning meetings or calls, I always do it as a call from home. You have to be firm about what you can and
can’t do. There was a suggestion made about working at the weekend, and I’m happy to do a couple of
hours at the weekend from home, but I’m already compromising the time with my daughter, and I don’t
want it to impact any more than it already does.
“Just having someone to ask the right questions helped me to engage properly with the necessary issues.
Things like: what did I want to communicate? Who with? What were the expectations coming back into
the business? We identified potential challenges and put in place a structure to make it happen. It was
valuable to have someone who probed the responses I gave them.
“There are a number of things that I’ve continued to use. For example, thinking about what I want to be
doing in my career and what I want to do with my daughter, and what do I need to make that work. It’s
given me a thought process and a structure – a framework that can be re-applied when I need it.”
8. 8
• Addressing the Paradox
So what is responsible for this gulf between theory and reality?Through their experience of coaching professional
women,TalkingTalent have identified the following reasons that explain why working women paint a positive picture of
their professional progress – despite experiencing a significantly less supportive reality:
• There is a tendency for women to acknowledge that they are ok but that others in the organisation aren’t. It’s safer
to acknowledge that there is a problem by identifying through others’ experiences rather than their own.
• Women may feel an unconscious or conscious anxiety about highlighting the realities to senior management or
leadership for fear of how those messages will be received and the potential negative impact on career prospects.
• Some will be held back by an ingrained sense of loyalty to their organisation.This loyalty may exist because
individuals do not want to challenge or upset the power base that individuals feel they need to align with in order
to progress. In most cases this will be senior management positions occupied by men, so to criticise that group is
seen as detrimental to their progression.
The results clearly indicate that while the majority of the management populations in these organisations are
progressive, there are still some individuals with bias and prejudices.They also show that good policy and practice is not
implemented consistently and that the working cultures do not unilaterally allow women to thrive. For far too many, the
opposite is still true.
Employers need to consider whether their organisation is creating a culture that allows women to bring implicit or
explicit barriers to their careers to attention without fear of damaging their careers or being seen as disloyal. Employees
– including both men and women – who observe poor behaviour should feel free to feed this information back
to the right people to be able to implement change from the ground level up as well as being promoted by senior
management.
The women responding to this survey cite their organisation as being supportive of them
and their careers, yet large numbers of them have experienced prejudice and have seen
their career impacted simply by virtue of their gender.
Flexible working is viewed as most vital to career progression, with 38% of working women in agreement. Role models
(32%) and more thought given to provision for women and working mothers (31%) are also believed to play a vital
role.While a culture and attitude change is more of a long-term change, this is important to a quarter of all working
women.
Better coaching or advice for both working women (21%) and managers (14%) could make a more immediate
difference between a career succeeding or stalling.The skills coaching can provide tally very strongly with the enablers
identified by women as important to their career progress.These tend to relate more to how they assert and present
themselves rather than the skills to do the job, as we saw in our Career Pinch Points research (2012).
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Once these issues are effectively
vocalised within an organisation, what
can be done to solve it?
With one in four women believing
their gender has hindered their career
progression, action is clearly needed.
There is a significant need for attitudes
and culture in the workplace to change
but this takes time. Aside from this,
respondents also identified the following
more immediate solutions:
Graph Two: Support needed for working women
9. 9
• Bridging the Industry Gap
It is clear from the research that certain sectors are in stronger health than others when it comes to how they are
looking after and progressing their female employees.There are pockets of real difference and although no one
sector is failing completely, some sectors have undoubtedly fallen behind and significantly so.The difference between
Manufacturing, for example, and Accountancy is stark.
How can those industries now take steps to make a difference to the role women have to play in their organisation?
The greatest impact thatTalkingTalent has been able to make over the past 9 years is when partnering with
organisations who have built a specific female talent strategy as part of their broader organisational talent approach.
This recognises the uniqueness of some of the challenges facing women, especially in male dominated environments,
and seeks to address them in an inclusive manner. Inclusivity must mean that managers and senior management are
fully integrated within the objectives of any programme and the ambitions of the employee. In doing so it offers the
opportunity to build sustainable cultural change, make a real difference to the day-to-day environment and better align
key stakeholders in the process. If that can be achieved then the astonishing discrimination figures shown in this report
would surely reduce.
Table 3: Perceptions of female career progression through the age groups
50.00%
55.00%
60.00%
65.00%
70.00%
75.00%
80.00%
85.00%
16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+
My employer is good
at progressing female
talent
My employer is
supportive of working
mothers
As the graph above shows there is a clear
timeframe where excellence needs to be
achieved around flexible working, the maternity
transition, support for working parents, and
support for talent looking to break through the
senior ranks. Currently that support is not being
given when it matters most and accordingly
women between the ages of 25-44 are not
progressing and not staying with organisations in
the numbers that they should be.
The spotlight on this age range, the potential
future leaders of tomorrow, really must come
into far sharper focus if a critical mass of talent
is to progress through the middle ranks.The
commercial impact of failing to do so is huge
and the personal cost to so many women is the
curtailing of a career that would otherwise have
flourished.This is the heart of the female talent
pipeline challenge and until greater support is
given, when it matters most, women will remain
underrepresented at the highest levels of UK
business.
It’s critical that support is given at the right point in time.
10. Call: +44 (0)1865 400087
Email: press@talking-talent.com
Log on: www.talking-talent.com