Gender Equality in Recruitment & the Wider Market

Just 19% of UK employees think there is gender equality in the workplace, according to new research by technology giant Samsung. Workplace gender stereotypes are reportedly still rife in the UK, as nearly half (44%) of workers said they still believe certain jobs are exclusively male or female. The gender pay gap remains stubbornly high, and too many women continue to face sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. The introduction of gender pay gap reporting has helped ensure more organisations are taking steps to tackle inequality at work, but more action is needed.

Statistics in the UK

-???????In the UK, for every ￡1 earned by a man, a woman earns 81p (1)

-???????Only 9.7% of executive positions in FTSE 100 companies are held by women (2)

-???????78% of UK firms pay men more than women (3)

-???????only 8% of women say they have never experienced gender bias in the workplace (4)

-???????At the current rate, it will take 217 years to close the economic gender gap (5)

-???????1 in 10 women have experienced sexual harassment at work (6)

-???????Over 50% of tribunal cases involve sex discrimination (7)

-???????For every 100 men promoted to managerial level, only 79 women are promoted (4)

-???????If you were to utilise the full potential of women in the countrywide workforce then it would be worth 323 billion to the economy.?(4)

LGBT in the British Workplace

One in seven LGBT+ women and non-binary people are not open about their sexuality at work. Almost a quarter said they had received negative comments or conduct from colleagues because they were LGBT+ at least once in the last year. Almost one in five LGBT people who were looking for work said they were discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender identity while trying to get a job in the last year.

The recruitment industry is not exempt from gender inequality.

It is hard to deny the historic reputation of the recruitment industry as a ‘boys club’, and previously this reputation was founded. Forbes translates the boys club ethos as one founded in informal male social networking where it is easier to fit in and progress if you are seen as “one of them”, and often consists of a degree of sexist humour and objectification*. However, recruitment as an industry has seen a dramatic shift in mindset with steps being made to create a more gender-diverse workforce, with 2022 seeing 41% of the workforce at the recruiter level being female.

But just how far have we come from the “boys club”?

Statistics in Recruitment

-???????A 2015 study by the Westminster Business School revealed that 73% of women in recruitment had no female role model in the workplace and 41% felt that the ‘old boy ethos’ still existed.

-???????‘Women in Recruitment’ has found that almost a third of recruitment firms have less than 5% female leaders at the board level.

-???????Statistics have shown that employees who work under a female manager are 6 more times engaged in the workplace than if they were working under a male manager.

-???????In addition, women in leadership roles achieve 15% profitability from their team compared to men in leadership.

?Women in Recruitment

?Employees of women-led recruitment agencies have reported that these companies feel more forward-thinking and flexible than their male counterparts (4). However, while there are more female recruitment business owners than ever before, the Gender Index reports that female-led companies make up just 16.8% of total recruitment firms, and only 20% of newly incorporated companies have female CEOs or board-level members.

So why is there a lack of female presence at the Senior level, and how can we challenge this going forward?

A lack of confidence is reported as one of the biggest reasons women feel they can’t make the bold move into a leadership or senior role. The absence of senior-level female role models twinned with this “boys club” ethos may deter women from taking the next step and block them from seeing a pathway for career progression.

To counter this eco climate there are steps that businesses and colleagues can take to create a more empowering work environment by:

·??????Nurturing a respectful workforce and calling out inappropriate behaviour.

·??????Saying no to the gender pay gap.

·??????Providing opportunities for leadership roles and recognising achievements.

·??????Bringing in female industry leaders and motivational spokespersons to carve pathways navigating women into more senior positions.

From a grassroots level, there are opportunities that females can take to empower each other, such as connecting with other women in your firm, consider mentoring a female recruiter and simply supporting one another.

Conclusion

Every year charities and organisations investigate the statistics of gender equality and report small changes in the progression of closing the pay gap and making businesses more gender diverse. And, while some fantastic changes are happening within recruitment and other industries as a whole it is clear that we have some way to go until the gap is closed, and the biggest barrier to this is a mindset.

There are two main types of gender discrimination:

1) Statistical Discrimination which is rooted in beliefs about average gender differences in abilities or skills.

2) Taste-based discrimination which is driven by stereotypes, favouritism for one group and a bias against another group.

Unconscious bias through stereotyping is widespread across recruitment and can be detrimental to agencies, employers, and job applicants. Tackling that historic boys-club ethos is at the forefront of creating a more equal and diverse workplace, not just for women but transcending gender and sexual orientation, race, religion, and other protected characteristics.

The first step to overcoming unconscious biases is to recognise them in yourself and admit you are being biased. By being aware of unconscious tendencies, you can begin to consciously fight preferences like in-group favouritism.?

Reference List

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*Forbes “How to navigate a boys club culture” https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizelting/2018/07/27/how-to-navigate-a-boys-club-culture/?sh=601f599f4025

(1)??- The Women’s Equality Party (https://www.womensequality.org.uk/equal_pay_overview)

(2)??(WISE campaign https://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/women-on-boards-of-ftse-100-companies/ )

(3)??Euronews (https://www.euronews.com/2018/04/05/78-of-uk-firms-pay-men-more-than-women)

(4)??Women in the Workplace 2021 Report (https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace )

(5)??United Nations Industrial Development (https://www.unido.org/news/we-cant-wait-267-years-achieve-equal-economic-participation-men-and-women )

(6)??(2020 Sexual Harassment Survey – Gov. uk https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1002873/2021-07-12_Sexual_Harassment_Report_FINAL.pdf )

(7)??People Management Publication (https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1745734/latest-legal-updates-sex-discrimination-cases)

(8)??(Coffman, K.B., Exley, C.L., and Niederle, M., (2018) When gender discrimination is not about gender. Boston: Harvard Business School)