Almost three-quarters of women (73%) believe the glass ceiling exists and say there are still barriers for women looking to be appointed to senior management and board level positions in the UK, according to a recent report, Ambition and gender at work by the Institute of Leadership & Management. [1] In contrast, just 38% of men believe there is a glass ceiling.
Nearly 3,000 managers were polled, which reveals that over a third of women (36%) feel that their gender has hindered their career progression. This figure rises to almost half (44%) among those women over the age of 45.
Former trade minister Mervyn Davies review on gender equality in Britain's boardrooms has just been published [2] and although mandatory quotas are not expected to be among the recommendations, other longer-term targets are expected. Lord Davies told The Observer: Chairmen have got to be more creative in looking for talented women," and went on to point out that only 12.2% of directors at FTSE 100 companies were women and that at the present rate of progress, equality was seven decades away: "If we carry on as we are, and if we aim for 50% women on boards, it will take 70 years to get there, he said.[3]
Career aspirations of men and women
The research sheds fresh light on the reasons behind the lack of women in senior management, revealing that women’s lower confidence and career ambitions can combine to impede their progress into top roles. Only half of women managers described themselves as having ‘high’ or ‘quite high’ levels of confidence, compared to 70% of men. Similarly, just half of women surveyed had expected to become managers when they embarked on their career, compared to almost two-thirds of men. Even among young managers, these gender differences are entrenched, with 45% of men under 30 expecting to become managers or leaders, compared to just 30% of women.
The research also reveals that:
- At every stage the career ambitions of women were found to lag behind those of their male counterparts.
- Fewer women than men have ambitions to reach middle management, department head, general management or director level .
- Women are more likely than men to aspire to run their own businesses, and younger women are the most entrepreneurially ambitious, with a quarter of women under 30 planning to start their own business within 10 years.
Penny De Valk, chief executive of the Institute of Leadership and Management explains: “Our research reveals that women managers tend to lack self-belief and confidence at work compared to their male counterparts. Women feel a greater sense of risk around promotion, which leads to a more cautious approach to career opportunities. And yet we also found that younger women in particular are more likely to aspire to run their own business – they are not adjusting their expectations to the same degree when it comes to the risk of starting their own ventures.
“Employers who are serious about increasing gender diversity at the top need to recognise and respond to these differences, and find ways to nurture women’s ambition. This means developing transparent talent management systems and introducing leadership career models and development approaches that flex to meet individuals’ differing needs. Coaching and mentoring, in particular, have an invaluable role to play here.
“We know that gender diversity drives organisations’ financial performance. Business leaders should need no encouragement to realise this competitive advantage by ensuring their most talented employees move into leadership roles, regardless of their gender.”
Dawn Nicholson, HR consulting partner at PwC commented: "Lord Davies report has put gender equality back on the business agenda. But it is unlikely that these proposals, even if fully implemented, will significantly reduce the inequality of opportunity that they seek to address. The risk is that these targets, which are highly aspirational, will simply encourage employers to hire in senior women without dealing with the far more complex issue of why women are failing to progress within their organisations in the first place. This is like painting over a damp wall.
To take an example from the legal profession, new PwC figures released today illustrate the dramatic decline in the numbers of women in law firms as they progress through the ranks. Despite outnumbering men at newly qualified level, making up 52.4% of lawyers, the percentage of women falls to 30% for non-equity partner, 24% for fixed share partner and 14% for full equity partner.
This failure may be for a variety of reasons, from cultural barriers to personal choice, and is by no means confined to law firms. However, until organisations get to grips with the points in the employee life cycle the inequalities begin to arise, and start addressing the underlying causes, it is difficult to see what will change.
The reports suggestion that firms should fully disclose the number of women sitting on their boards, and working in their organisation as a whole, is helpful but could be made even more meaningful by asking firms to disclose the types of roles women are doing and coupling that with disclosure of pay related data. This would paint a very clear picture of the challenges.
Women undoubtedly do have a huge amount to offer and that contribution all too often goes unrealised. The challenge for employers is going to be engaging with this enormous pool of talent. For those who do so, the prize is enormous.
[1] www.i-l-m.com/downloads/resources/press/Ambition_and_Gender_at_Work.pdf
[2] http://www.bis.gov.uk/news/topstories/2011/Feb/women-on-boards
[3] www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/feb/20/public-disclosure-women-boardroom-roles