How to close the gender pay gap - addressing the Heart of the matter

As we approach the April deadline for gender pay gap reporting in the U.K., firms continue to release data. EasyJet, Ladbrokes and Virgin Money were among some of the latest firms to go public. It was no surprise that the gender pay gap varied from 15%-52%, but they all assured "men and women are paid equally when in the same role." What questions do these statistics raise not about the pay gap per se but the seniority gap, or the leadership gap or perhaps dare I say it, the confidence gap?

Publication and transparency of the gender pay gap is good but this alone will not close the stubborn gap that persists. The true question that needs to be asked is: Why are women consistently not represented in the highest levels of leadership? We hear of aspirational targets and several statements of intent from firms to improve the gender balance amongst their senior leadership teams but not much about HOW this will actually be achieved. Once we understand the "Why?" I believe the "How" becomes easier to tackle and provides a foundation on how to tackle it.

Over the last few weeks, the HerCapital Associates have been reading Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg as a collective and it is very insightful (I would recommend it to every female student). We read a chapter a week and discuss key takeaways on our WhatsApp group and I think the lessons being learnt at this stage of their lives is crucial. As thoughts are being shared on the group, one thing that is becoming clearer and clearer is that most women struggle with same heart conditions that keep us from fulfilling our potential. Lean In is such a beautiful piece of work because most women will relate to everything Sheryl pens down to the extent that it almost feels she is writing about only you! So what are these heart conditions that many women struggle with that need to be both recognised and addressed?

1.     Heart of inadequacy – this heart condition silences. This is responsible for the infamous "imposter syndrome" that everyone experiences but one that constantly causes women to feel they are not really good enough and don't deserve what they have achieved or what they could achieve. This heart in a man probably motivates him to prove that he can rather than confirm that he can't. It's important for women to realise that this heart condition prevents risk taking as one constantly fears people will realise that they don't really know what you are doing. But isn't that how we learn? As they say, experience is the best teacher.

2.     Heart of fear - this heart condition immobilises. A heart whose dominant fear is failure refuses opportunities where outcomes are not predictable and/or carry great risks. The fear of the unknown paralyses. This is detrimental for anyone who aspires to lead. Strong leadership is connected to visionary leadership that is able to carry others along in the journey of innovation such that you remain ahead of the competition. Therefore, if we want more women to rise to positions of leadership, we need more women who will act in spite of the fear they feel. We need courageous women. This could be going for that promotion or putting their hand up for that stretch assignment. 

3.     Heart of inexperience - this heart condition confines. It refuses to go for opportunities that are not similar to anything they have ever experienced before. The irony is that to overcome this heart, one must try new things and see that it is possible to succeed without prior experience. Men are good at this. In general this analogy holds true: a man will apply for an opportunity when he qualifies based on 20% of a job spec whereas a woman will wait until she qualifies 90% of a job spec before even thinking of applying. The heart of inexperience should actually govern what opportunities we should be putting our hands up for - the ones we've never tried before. The more you succeed during these types of experiences, the more reinforcement you receive that you are indeed capable! Many defining moments in your life will arise from situations where you overcame despite the odds being stacked against you.

These heart conditions need to be treated through ACTION OVER TIME. If not "as the woman thinks in her heart, so she becomes and so she is". And the result... too few female leaders are at the top. Advances in gender pay gap reporting is good but without a healthy pipeline of confident women in business, the status quo will not change.

Michelle Obama summarises this eloquently "You have to practice success. Success doesn't just show up. If you aren't practicing success today, you won't wake up in 20 years and be successful because you won't have developed the habits of success, which are small things like finishing what you start, putting a lot of effort into everything you do, being on time, treating people well." This is the ethos of HerCapital - giving female students the opportunity and platform to practice success years before they enter the world of work, so that by the time they get there, those disciplines become part of who they are. I'm so proud of all the HerCapital Associates because, by committing to this growth journey, they have decided to proactively deal with these heart conditions that many of us struggle with.

The strides industry is making to fix institutional challenges opens great doors for the HerCapital Associates to demonstrate the leadership skills they are developing, and they are more likely to succeed as they journey on unchartered territories.

The truth is, to close the gender pay gap, we need more women who (1) aspire to narrow the ambition gap between men and women, (2) seek high growth opportunities throughout their careers that have greater risks but are attached to higher rewards (even if they are scared or feel under qualified), (3) seek to be represented in the highest paid professions, (4) learn to self-promote in a tactful way and (5) take a fearless and proactive approach to navigating their careers. However, being able to do this when they get into the world of work will be highly dependent on the levels of confidence they have built up over time. 

 SEO London’s HerCapital programme is working with 57 First Year university female students across 21 universities. The one year Programme is structured such that most of the development and learning takes place while they are at university, so is incorporated in their daily lives, and also offers exposure to industry professionals through the in-person professional development workshops. The programme’s objective is captured in the tag line: “closing the confidence gap” and the vision is to make a tangible impact in raising the next generation of female leaders. Read more about the programme here.