Thoughts

Ah, the age old conversation… women in leadership roles. Why are they so rarely seen? Despite a small increase of women in management positions since the (sorry to bring it up again) pandemic, women CEOs only account for 5.4% of all CEOs globally. In Europe, 7.9% of company’s CEO roles were filled by women, reflecting the legislation that ensures women are part of decision-making.

Now, the UK has a voluntary approach to gender in the workplace. Because of this, nearly 40% of board seats at the UK’s top 100 companies are now filled by women, which is a great step in the right direction. Yet, female CEOs and CFOs are few and far in between, and only a third of leadership roles are held by women.

Research has found that women at board level are more likely to be in HR or marketing roles, rather than roles that are more senior (like CEO and CFO). Furthermore, research has also found that only 13% of FTSE 100 companies had a female CEO.

You’d think with statistics like these women don’t benefit a company. But obviously, this is not the case at all. Research has found that a more diverse workforce results in better financial results for businesses. So why are we still fighting the gender gap in the workplace?

An interesting case study is Jennifer Rumsey, who is the first female CEO of Cummins in their 104-year history. She said, ‘This question, how does it feel to be a woman in this role, can cause you to question sometime: Do people think I got this role because I’m a woman? Am I confident in myself? What are other people thinking of me?’.

These questions are often thought by many women – imposter syndrome can creep in. But this is largely to do with societal norms that discourage girls from expressing leadership characteristics. When a boy instructs a group, he’s a confident leader. But when a girl does it, she’s bossy. When a boy is loud and outspoken, he’s self-affirmed and sure of himself. When a girl is loud and outspoken, she’s rude and obnoxious. Girls are taught to be quiet, nice, and follow rules. Naturally, this does not lead to confident leadership skills in girls as they grow up, causing an imbalance of leadership roles in the workplace.

What can be done to help this imbalance? Well, the World Economic Forum suggests that with the pace we’re moving at to achieve gender equality, it will take another 132 years to close the global gender gap. Not overly reassuring, is it?

But, recognising the imbalance in the workplace and starting conversations to address issues in our own businesses is a good start. Understanding that these imbalances exist is often half of the battle.

Written by: Megan Emily Phillips for H W Martin & Co LLP

e: meganemilyphillips@gmail.com

http://www.meganemilyphillips.com