Making work work for all women

Our CEO Viviane Paxinos does a deep dive into why, as it stands, work isn't working for women and what steps can be taken to helps businesses improve inclusion, belonging and equity for women at every level - not just C-suite and senior level executives.

There has never been a more important time to invest in women leaders. I know, you’ve heard that before, but right now it’s more urgent than ever. Interest rates are climbing and we’re teetering on the brink of a recession. ?

We need as much economic prosperity as humanly possible, such as the ￡250bn that the government’s Rose Review found female entrepreneurs could add to the economy if they were able to start and scale their businesses at the same rate as men, or if there were as many female leaders as there need to be in the first place. New research by Frank Recruitment shows that companies with female CEOs are more profitable, so it doesn’t take a genius to see that women are fundamental to the economy. ?

We’re at an inflection point as a society and we have a choice: back women in business, or lose out on the huge amount of potential extra economic prosperity that all our communities need right now.?

The state of play?

There have been initiatives over the past decade to get more women into positions of power. Some have worked - the 30% Club recently announced that the FTSE 250 has hit 40% women on boards for the first time. But, there is so much more to do. Nearly a fifth of UK women are considering starting a business post-pandemic but in 2022 just 1.9% of all VC funding went to women-led startups, a pitiful number.?

The FTSE 250 still has 83 all-male executive committees, while the Fawcett Society’s 2022 ‘Sex and Power’ report found that men outnumber women in positions of power in the UK by two to one.?

According to McKinsey’s ‘Women in the Workplace 2022’ report, women are still facing a ‘broken rung’ on the career ladder. For every 100 men promoted from entry-level to management, only 87 women are being promoted, and only 82 women of colour. The result? Men significantly outnumber women at a managerial level. From that very first step, there are simply fewer of us in the pool to go onto senior leadership roles. Gender inequality starts right here. ?

‘A problem solved’?

To get more female candidates into positions where they can step into leadership roles in the first place, we need to be supporting women at all stages of their careers and making sure they have the visibility and empowerment to progress, something I am passionate about. ?

Too many times, in recent months, I have spoken to male business leaders and DEI committees and been told that they are ‘done with the woman thing,' as if we are some box that has been ticked.

Little wonder that over half of women in the UK want to leave their employer in the next two years, and only 10% plan to stay with their current employer for more than five years. Yet there is masses of data to suggest that women do stay in their roles longer and can progress further if properly supported. ?

So what can we do??

We need a cultural shift, and fast. What women are recognising is that it’s no longer about merely getting a seat at the table. The table wasn’t built for us, or by us. Instead of trying to fit ourselves around it, we need to remodel it entirely and benefit from new frameworks that are created with our success in mind. ?

That includes:?

• More visibility for women?
• Women to be recruited and promoted at every level?
• To have childcare and caregiving support from their employers?
• To be paid for all work, such as voluntary ERG roles.?

If we do all this? We might just start to get somewhere. ?

The right kind of support?

As we shift away from traditional office-based working, it’s vital that businesses ensure women aren’t victims of proximity bias - overlooked for promotions because they’re not physically there.?

With that in mind, mentoring, something that’s rarely properly implemented, with fewer than half of companies offering virtual opportunities, needs stepping up. Studies consistently show that women’s mentors tend to have less organisational seniority than men’s. McKinsey’s 2020 report said that female employees are 24% less likely to be offered advice from a senior leader than male ones.?

Yet the more clout a mentor has, the faster the mentee’s progression. In the UK, in 2021, men were 21% more likely than women to be internally promoted into leadership roles, according to LinkedIn data. It comes back to that same problem: the broken rung that stops us even getting a foot on that first step of the management ladder. ?

Duty of care?

According to the Office for National Statistics, rising numbers of women aged 25 to 35 are dropping out of the workforce to care for their families - a rise of 12.6% in the last year alone. The cost of childcare is a major factor and research by the Social Market Foundation says that women miss out on ￡70,000 in the decade after giving birth.?

But a lack of support from businesses is also to blame. Government Equalities Office research has found that women are significantly less likely to be offered a promotion after having a child than their male counterparts. In the first five years following new parenthood, 26% of men had been promoted compared to just 13% of women (the women still left in the workforce, that is). ?

Employers have a duty of care to those who care. Flexible working, locations, leave policies and sick days can all mean women don’t drop out. And one rule doesn’t have to suit all. We need to reach a place where employer and employee can discuss caregiving without the fear of being marginalised or penalised.?

Focus on positive potential ?

Networking, just the sort of initiative that certain male executives seem to be losing interest in, can truly help women progress. Workshops with clear outcomes are key to increase visibility, improve relationships, open up opportunities and provide role models. ?

Another issue, cited in a study last year, is that women are often judged more harshly than men on their ‘potential,' a subjective idea that’s all too vulnerable to unconscious bias. Yet, it’s that untapped potential that could give the economy the boost it needs.?

If businesses don’t act soon, they risk not only losing their current female managers but the female leaders of the future. So I’d like to call on responsible leaders to get involved. This isn’t a DEI issue, it’s something that requires us all to put structures in place to have women’s wealth and wellbeing at the forefront of our minds. ?

Not because a box needs ticking, not even because it’s the ‘right’ thing to do, but because it’s good for business. We do a better job as a society, when we are better represented, both male and females. That’s my mission for 2023 at AllBright. Join us.?

To learn more about the AllBright Alliance go to www.allbrightalliance.com?