Flexibility is the key to retaining women

Sorry for the lack of newsletters in November - I was temporarily scaling back on work to deal with my son’s Type 1 diabetes diagnosis.? We’ve got into the swing of things now and he is doing really well so the newsletter is back!

Here’s an update on what’s happening lately in the world of gender equity…

One in seven HR leaders think men are better suited to management jobs

A report from the Young Women’s Trust revealed some shocking insights from research involving 1,000 HR managers indicating that 15% think men are better suited to management roles and 19% would be reluctant to hire a female employee whom they thought might go on to have children.

The report also looked at the prevalence of discrimination and sexism towards young women.

Women in their 40s will not see gender pay equity in their working lifetime

On Equal Pay Day 2023 The Fawcett Society released their research which shared that the gender pay gap was not expected to close until 2051.? The report is entitled Making Flexible Working the Default and it shares how flexible working would allow more women and disabled people to work.?

Flexible working

I am increasingly recognising that flexible work is the key to retaining women.??

Flexible working for all allows employees to manage caring responsibilities (whether for children, partners or relatives) and helps to break the assumption that women should take the lead on caring responsibilities.

As the sole parent of a child with additional needs I have been overwhelmed by the additional mental load that means for parents.? I now speak to the school more in one day than I did in his whole first year! The admin involved in managing his condition, supporting school to manage it and starting the process to get him extra help in school is a lot!? Many parents ended of being signed off sick with stress or even leaving their jobs due to the lack of flexibility.? We are 6 weeks in and I am still working reduced hours and processing our new normal emotionally.

Flexible working also allows anyone dealing with their own health issues to manage those and manage their energy effectively, helping the 15 million people in the UK with a chronic illness to stay in employment.

Retaining midlife women

Part time working also came up in my interview with Dr Lucy Ryan, author of Revolting Women: Why midlife women are walking out and what to do about it .? It’s a fantastic interview (if I say so myself) on a topic that should be on every employer’s agenda.

The book explores the combination of factors impacting midlife women, from gender bias to a collision of events around midlife and the need for flexibility.? It was interesting to hear that many women leaving the workplace are more ambitious than ever but either cannot combine working full time with everything else going on in their lives or want to work on their own terms.? The rigid need for roles to be full time is forcing them to walk away and take their talents elsewhere.? Both part time roles and sabbaticals for caring responsibilities would make a huge difference and help retain this fast growing and highly experienced segment of the workforce.

You can listen to the episode here or find Influence & Impact for female leaders on any podcast platform.

Upcoming open courses…

Our 4 session confidence and assertiveness course Be Bolder will be running again in March.? You can book multiple colleagues into the same cohort. Find out more here .

Influence & Impact , a 3 month small group leadership development programme for women will run again in May 2024.? This course has helped over 400 women build their confidence as leaders, increase their impact and become brilliant at influencing.? Find out more here .

We have a new offer coming for women leaders in May 2024 and already have almost 100 women signed up on the waiting list.? It has been designed to meet the needs that women leaders face and offers monthly leadership training to help them meet the ever evolving needs of their teams, peer coaching sessions for connection and support and monthly wellbeing sessions.? We are looking for a small number of teams and companies to take part in the pilot at a reduced cost.

Want to talk about working together?

Book a call with me to talk about your current gender equity activity and how we could potentially help you fill in any gaps.? My team and I focus on supporting women leaders, building the confidence of early-mid career women and training in allyship for men and leaders.