How Women in Business get to the top and how to improve their chances.

1. Breaking the Glass Ceiling – A Women of Warwick Event
Louise Redmond
17th May 2012
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2. Back in the old days
“Would they give up their noble calling as wives and
mothers…to become incompetent surgeons, third-rate
physicians, shallow lawyers, wordy, inconsiderate and
excitable senators, or hasty, impulsive and discredited
Ministers of State?”
William Rathbone Greg (Senior Lead Writer, The Economist,1850)
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3. 20th Century Female Firsts
Role First Now
MP 1918 1 in 5
Cabinet Minister 1929 33 to date
Vice-Chancellor 1975 1 in 8
Prime Minister 1979 Still only one…
Senior Judiciary 1993 1 in 10
Church of England 1994 2 in 3
Ordinations
CEO (FTSE 100) 1997 1 in 20
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4. Women by Numbers
49% 31m 55%
UK Workforce Women in UK University
Graduates
14.9% 4%
FTSE CEOs
FTSE100
Directorships
400 134 years
Missing Female To Achieve Equal
Directors Numbers of CEOs
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5. What do women add to the board?
• Gender diverse boards achieve superior financial returns –both
in their net profit margins as well as higher returns on equity each
year (Women at the Top of Corporations – Making it Happen,
McKinsey, 2010)
• Improved performance when 3 or more women directors on the
board (The Bottom Line: Corporate Performance and Women’s
Representation on Boards, Catalyst, 2011). Return on Sales,
Return on Invested Capital, Return on Equity
• Not all studies point this way but this does not necessarily
undermine the main conclusion. With so many factors influencing
corporate performance, null or negative results are not surprising.
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6. Who holds the purse strings?
• By 2025 women will control 60% of the UK’s private wealth
• Globally, women control £13 trillion in consumer spending
• 70% of all US & UK personal wealth is owned by over 65s -
the majority are women
• In the UK, female millionaires will outnumber male ones by
2020
• In China, there are 350 000 female millionaires
Centre for Economic and Business Research
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7. Micro Inequities
The little things can mount up…………
• Wow, you speak English so well!
• Where are you from, originally?
• Are you his secretary?
• She doesn’t have a surname but he does
How we interpret language and posture can also count
(Judith Baxter, 2011 Aston University. Women on boards: 4x more
likely to speak unconfidently, indirectly, apologetically)
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8. Issues to Address
• Does opting for flexible working involve demotion?
• Does maternity leave jeopardise client
relationships, bonus and appraisal?
• Informal recruitment practices, including male-only
networking events.
• Lack of senior successful female role models.
• Appointing in own (male) image.
• Preconceptions of female aspirations.
• Professions and jobs that women select.
• Women’s attitude towards their skills, abilities and
career.
• Different communication styles
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9. How can I improve my chances?
• Early career choices will make a difference
• Profit and Loss responsibility is a key step on the way
• Get international experience
• Network intelligently and not just with women
• Make trade-offs knowingly, seek to compensate
• Believe in yourself and your abilities
• Don’t worry if there are no role models
• Take a chance
• Get a sponsor or two
• Expect it to be difficult
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10. Presentation 2
By Don Barratt

11. “Breaking The Glass Ceiling” (1)
• What is the Glass Ceiling
How would we recognise it
What form(s) does it take
Why does it apply only to women
Why do we want to break it
Does it keep moving upwards
What happens when we’ve broken it
1

12. “Breaking The Glass Ceiling” (2)
• How women can improve the position – some
practical tips
• A male perspective
2

13. How would we recognise it?
• Different in various sectors eg much less prevalent in
HR and the voluntary sector
• Applies mainly to “permanent” work(double the %age
of senior women in interim management positions)
• “The only woman in the room”
• Much worse in mainland Europe (eg France and
Germany) but much better in Scandanavia
• No female loos on the Executive floor
• (Not) referred to in the annual reports, PR generally,
company recruitment policies
• Long hours culture, playing golf, lap dancing clubs
3

14. What form(s) does it take?
• Job application process – introduction via
contacts – members of the “old boys club”
• Being aware of opportunities – if the senior
management team is principally/exclusively male,
how does a woman find out?
• “But a role like this takes total commitment and
long hours – won’t that get in the way of your
family life?”
• Lack of a “sponsor” when internal promotions are
being considered
• Maternity leave
4

15. Why does it apply only to women?
• It doesn’t – there are many glass ceilings –
education, age, background, health, sexual
orientation, ethnic origin, etc
• Gender diversity is part of the need for a diverse
workforce – but need other aspects as well
• Is Society at large actually ready to accept that
women can do top jobs – HM Queen, Prime
Minister, (almost) President of the US, so the
issue is getting more attention
5

16. Why do we want to break it?
• There are numerous examples of where a diverse
senior management team produces superior results
• The current reality is that most large company SMT’s
are dominated by white males – so, unable to produce
superior results
• “Looking at the mess men made of it (eg 2008 financial
crisis, current political omni-shambles), how could
women have failed but to have done better”
• Creating a fair(er) world will give opportunity to all
• The opportunity to influence our own future and that
of others
6

17. Does it keep moving upwards?
• YES • NO
7

18. What happens when we’ve broken it?
• A more diverse management team will have
been created in (the) business - a wider mix
of skills, experience, values and abilities. This
will lead to the achievement of superior
results in every sense
• The evolution of society is such that a
different glass ceiling will appear somewhere
else!
8

19. How women can improve the position
– some practical tips
• Have some clear (career) aspirations, share these with your
colleagues
• Seek an internal sponsor/mentor – to guide and help you round the
organisation
• Make sure you’ve got strong support in your personal life
• Use an external (to the workplace) mentor
• Network (it’s at least as much to do with who you know)
• Set a good example yourself – it will encourage others
• Buddy up
• Seek out role models, find out their tips and experiences
• Avoid quotas (“the token woman”)
• Stop the self doubt – you can do it (“my last boss would say...”)
• Take the tanks off the lawn
9

20. A male perspective
• Women are responsible for 75 per cent of
consumer spending decisions – surely that
means we (the business) need to hear more
from them
• It isn’t a fair world
• Flexibility is key in working arrangements
• Fear of “favouritism” in the workplace
• Yes you can!!
10