We think that women in the UK have come a long way since the suffragettes fought a century ago for the right for women to vote. However, reports from the Equality and Human Rights Commission and Office for National Statistics confirm that women are being paid between 16.4% and 12.2% less than men. Perhaps we need another health dose of Suffragette-inspired fighting spirit.
The Davies Review – ‘Women on Boards’ – published in February this year, found that since 2008 the number of women in top jobs at UK FTSE companies has plateaued at 12.5 per cent. While women in Europe and the US represent an average of six out of 10 university graduates, and form 46% of the UK’s economically active workforce, men hold 941 out of 1076 directorships in FTSE companies, while women occupy just 135.
The report predicted that at the current rate of change, it would take 70 years before we see gender-balanced boards in the UK. It also outlined a new code of conduct for head hunters and employers to help shatter a ceiling evidently made of glass.
A lack of visible corporate female role models was cited in the report as a challenge, despite women’s prevalence in fields such as media and the public sector. Critics, including City superwoman and mum of 6 Nicola Horlick, are calling for legally binding quotas of women on boards, as has been implemented in Norway with some success. Lord Davies called for a goal of 25% of women on FTSE 100 company boards by 2015.
Perhaps 21st century women should take a leaf out of the book of Alan Sugar’s feisty right hand woman and former West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady. Aged 6, she offered beauty treatments from her bedroom and aged 23, she was managing director of Birmingham City Football Club. And while these women are at it, can we please change the word chairman?
Posted by Simon Broomer, Managing Director and Founder at CareerBalance Ltd
