CuttingEdge

BAME under-representation. Open and honest conversations are needed.

3 August, 2020 By WiC

First published in 2017, Green Park and Operation Black Vote, developed the Colour of Power to graphically illustrate the lack of female and black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) representation in the upper echelons of the UK’s most powerful institutions.

Out of more than 1,000 of the most senior posts in the UK, only 3.4% of occupants were BAME and only 23.6% were female. By visually exposing the race and gender disparity in Britain’s leadership, whose decisions often directly or indirectly impact the everyday lives of our multi-cultural population, Green Park hoped to begin an honest debate in the UK about who wields power and what might be the unintended consequences as a result.

Three years on and June 2020 sees Black Lives Matter protests spread across the globe, sparked by the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the police in the United States and fuelled by growing tensions of police brutality and racial injustice. In the UK, anti-racism protests have taken place up and down the country and the toppling of slave trader Edward Colston’s statue in Bristol has reignited debate about our own colonial history, national memory and institutionalised treatment and perceptions of race.

This has all taken place against the back-drop of the coronavirus pandemic, where the UK has one of the world’s highest death tolls, and findings of a Government-commissioned review have confirmed that among those diagnosed with COVID-19, the death rate is higher for BAME groups than white ethnic groups.

Open and honest conversations are needed

If ever there was a need for open and honest conversations about the UK’s relationship with race and power, the time is now. In relaunching the Colour of Power, Green Park wishes to not only continue the current momentum of the anti-racism movement, but more specifically focus on the role of the corporate sector in perpetuating systems and ideals that do not support equal opportunity.

The Colour of Power 2020 demonstrates not only the disparity of power in the UK’s highest echelons, but the total failure to address it despite three years of government-backed targets and ample rhetoric about commitments to diversity & inclusion.

Just 52 out of the 1099 most powerful roles in the country are filled by non-white individuals, or 4.7% of the total number compared to the 13% proportion of the UK population. The 2020 figures represent a gain of only 1.2% or 15 additional roles since the Colour of Power 2017 index. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was responsible for a third of this increase, through his appointment of ten ethnic minority Government ministers, up from 5 in 2017.

The research covers the top roles across 39 categories including central and local government, public bodies, the private sector, education, sport and charities. Fifteen of these categories had no ethnic minority representation at all at their top levels in 2020; five categories have seen a decrease in BAME individuals over the past three years and more than half the categories (21) have seen no change.

As organisations across Britain and the world declare their commitment to improving equality and diversity, in the light of the Black Lives Matter movement, the research reveals that Black individuals are particularly under-represented with just 17 of the 1099 roles held by Black men and women – amounting to 1.5% compared to the national population figure of 3.6%.

BAME individuals experience inequality across the board

Inequality in outcomes for BAME individuals across health, justice and education have been highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the Black Lives Matter movement. Green Park’s research reveals a virtually complete absence of BAME individuals in leadership roles in these categories – which could point to a lack of understanding of the issues faced by ethnic minorities.

Based on a 12% annual turnover rate – it’s calculated that a total of 395 positions would have new occupants since 2017. Even accounting for the fact that some individuals would have moved roles over the period but stayed on the list, it’s estimated that of 190 new names on the list, just 20 (10.5%) will be from minority backgrounds. At this rate of progress, representation amongst Britain’s top leaders will not reach the 13% representation in the current working population until at least 2044 – by which time the population will be more than 20% minority.

A call for accountability, action and change

The inadequacy of the present state of inclusion needs to be acknowledged. There is a deep-seated cultural denial about our present position, despite the irrefutable evidence. Evidence clearly shows our workforces and institutions are not reflective of their stakeholders. The Colour of Power is a call for accountability, action and change.

Simply measuring diversity isn’t enough to create change and drive inclusion. And randomly applying training solutions isn’t working either. Before diversity & inclusion strategies can be successful, a few basic principles must be established which underwrite any thoroughgoing commitment to inclusive action. Firstly, we must recognise that it’s no longer acceptable for members of the majority, however well-meaning they may be, to decide exclusively on the opportunities, outcomes and experiences of people who are different to them. If we’re to be inclusive in the way we ensure inclusion, then we need to begin with more diverse decision-making groups.

Where groups continue to under-represent their stakeholders, they need to design compensatory processes that acknowledge and nullify the disadvantages that minorities have accumulated. This approach will be greeted with cries of ‘double standards’. But double standards already exist. It’s obvious in the way BAME candidates fall away in the early rounds of recruitment.

Those in entrenched positions of power need self-knowledge and a willingness to adopt new perspectives. We need to let go of the myth of an achieved meritocracy and reform our working practices so that they are inclusive from the start. And we need to remember at all times that inviting people into decision-making processes is an antidote to groupthink.

The fact that one person – the Prime Minister – is responsible for a third of the increase in ethnic minority individuals on the Colour of Power list, reveals that if there is a will to make a difference, then change is achievable. But, boards across the public and private sectors must act now rather than make promises for later.

[Words: Raj Tulsiani, CEO & Co-Founder, Green Park]

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More than half of women avoid asking for a pay rise

11 March, 2020 By WiC

Wages have been increasing at a faster rate than inflation since 2018. According to statistics released by the Office of National Statistics, the average weekly income for full-time workers has seen a year-on-year increase of 2.9%, rising from £568 to £585.

Delving into the salary expectations vs reality, research collated by Instant Offices reveals that in 2019 UK wages saw the fastest rise in just over a decade, increasing by 3.9% in just three months.

The difference between men and women regarding salary negotiations

One-third of women state they believe they are over qualified for their current role, regardless, data show that women seem less likely to approach or instigate a conversation around money in the workplace. In fact, growing number of women prioritise work-life balance, flexible working options and better hours over money.

Workers who	Men (%)	Women (%)
Feel comfortable asking for an increase	64	43
Have never negotiated their salary	40	55
Are more likely to negotiate working hours than pay	41	56
Are more likely to negotiate on specific parts of a job	55	42

In their book, “Why Women Don’t Ask“, Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever reveal that men are four times more likely than women to ask for a raise—and when women do ask, they typically request 30% less than men do. In a study of 78 masters degree students, Babcock, a Carnegie Mellon University economics professor, found that just 12.5% of women negotiated for their starting salary, versus 52% of men. That leads, by her estimate, to as much as $1.5 million in lost income over the woman’s career. The gap is closing somewhat among younger women, who are more likely to ask for raises and are more likely to be the family’s primary breadwinner, but women are still far from parity when it comes to negotiating pay. Moreover, an Australian study of 4,600 employees found that while women were as likely as men to ask for raises, they were 25% less likely to receive them.

Money disparity starts young and affects women throughout their lives

Moreover, money disparity starts young with boys receiving more pocket money than girls. It’s no wonder, then, that women’s financial security is compromised, literally from cradle to grave. See Insuring Women’s Futures, a recent report from the Chartered Institute of Insurers on the points in life when women’s financial security becomes vulnerable.

Three top tips for negotiating your remuneration package

Donna Hughes, founder of Launch Negotiation, shares below three top tips to prepare for salary negotiations.

1. Know your worth

Most of us tend to undervalue ourselves at the best of times, therefore it is necessary to perform market research to create an objective assessment of your worth. Make sure you review job advertisements for similar roles in the sector, as advertised on websites such as LinkedIn, Monster and Indeed. Next, initiate discussions with recruitment consultants within your industry to validate the salary range and benefits for similar positions. If you are applying for a position within your existing company, leverage your trusted network to further ascertain the salary range for the role.

2. Think outside the box

Whilst salary is often considered the most important component of the remuneration package, take time to list other variables available for negotiation. What other components of the remuneration package, besides salary, are important to you? By thinking creatively, you may be able to enhance other aspects of your remuneration package, such as bonus, holiday entitlement, pension contribution, training and development opportunities private medical insurance, company shares, company vehicle, flexibility to work from home, amongst many other factors.

3. Step forth with confidence

When you receive an offer, express your gratitude and ask for the proposal to be provided in writing, for your consideration. It’s natural for us to compare the offer against our current package; however, it’s likely that the new role will have increased responsibility, and therefore you should be compensated accordingly. How does the offer compare against the salary range for similar positions? If this is not aligned, provide feedback that demonstrates your gratitude for the offer, your excitement to start in the position, but share your insight on the remuneration package for similar roles, and request for the offer to be aligned within the uppermost part of this range. Remember, you deserve this raise, but you’ll likely need to ask for it.

Instant Offices have some additional handy tips

Have a list of reasons justifying why it would be in your manager’s best interest to pay you more with emphasis always on your ability and what you can bring to the department and company.
Prepare your manager for the upcoming discussion to allow them to also prepare; they may need to talk to the finance team, or even promote you to a more senior role. Send an email outlining your request and a suggested date for a face-to-face meeting to sit and discuss things in full.
Don’t threaten to leave, unless you’re actually prepared to. If you’re wanting a pay rise, unless you have another job offer lined up, it is not sensible to threaten to quit. Worst case scenario your employer says no and you have no other card to play, resulting in long-term doubt about your loyalty to the company. However, your best case you current employer tries to match the offer.
Think about the timing. If your company has just announced their budgets, restructuring or cuts then factor that in accordingly. You don’t have to wait for your annual review, or even a pay review, just choose a suitable time when there isn’t significant pressure on your manager or the business as a whole.

Practice, practice, practice

Donna Hughes suggests practising your negotiation skills on a regular basis, in a variety of settings, to help you refine this skill and she’s offering readers an exclusive discount on the range of workshops hosted by Launch Negotiation. For further details contact hello@launchnegotiation.com citing “WiC”

Equality – The long and winding road with no end in sight

8 March, 2020 By WiC

On International Women’s Day 2020

Women in the insurance and financial services sector are effectively working 123 days, more than a third of the year, for free. That’s twice the average across all sectors.
There are still only 6 female CEOs in the FTSE 100.
Three quarters of women say their workplace makes it more challenging for women to advance their careers than men and nearly half of men agree with them.
Globally, the WEF anticipates the economic participation gap between women and men will take 257 years to close.

Women are still in the minority while representing 50 percent of the population

At the beginning of March The Hampton Alexander Review announced that it had sent letters to 63 companies asking how they intended to improve their gender diversity. The majority of these companies were FTSE 250 and 350, but the Review’s letters include 4 FTSE 100 companies, which despite having reached the 30 percent target of having board positions filled by women, still have all male executive committees. Moreover, men are still seven times more likely to be finance directors than women.

The Fawcett Society’s Sex and Power Index 2020 reported a “Dismally slow pace of change with stark inequalities continuing to thrive in the UK today.”

No matter what sector of business or society is considered, women are still in the minority whilst representing half of the population. Only 2 out of 12 Supreme Justices are female and in the Civil Service and Academia women account for around 30 percent of senior roles. In Parliament, women make up 34 percent of MPs and 27 per cent of Peers.

It’s a global issue

These UK figures are mirrored globally. The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2020, reveals that gender parity will not be attained this century.

Drilling down into the facts and figures, it will take 95 years to close the gender gap in global political representation, with women in 2019 holding 25.2% of parliamentary seats and 21.2% of ministerial positions.

And in terms of global economic participation, the WEF anticipates the gender gap will take 257 years to close. Worryingly, this is an increase of over 25 per cent on its 2019 report. Yes, we’re going backwards.

Female FTSE 100 CEOs and the Pipeline

Returning to the UK and representation of women at the top of business, there are currently 6 female FTSE 100 Chief Executives. That’s the same number as two years ago and when one steps down, a female replacement is by no means guaranteed. More positively, the FTSE 100 insurance company, Admiral, announced on 5 March that Milena Mondini de Focatiis, who is currently head of UK and European insurance, will take over as CEO next year.

Whether women with the necessary skills, experience and ability aren’t in the workforce or whether those carrying out executive search simply aren’t looking for them, is a moot question.

Many senior women in professional services feel that the situation is no better, perhaps worse, than when they started work in the 70s and 80s. They now see women and men entering their professionals in equal numbers. Yet, for the last decade the percentage of senior roles held by women remains around 25 percent and when they look at the women coming through the organisation, there simply aren’t enough of them still in the workforce in their 40s to make a significant impact at the very top.

A Grant Thornton report released in 2017 revealed that the UK was in the bottom 6 countries in the world for female representation in senior management roles. This is nothing short of shocking.

It’s not surprising that senior and junior women alike are concerned by the low numbers of females progressing within their organisations. As we move towards the end of the first quarter of the 21st century, the picture is pretty grim.

Retaining women beyond their late 30s is a significant issue. And women drop out not just because of what’s known as the “motherhood” penalty but for other reasons, too. Many of them to do with corporate culture. Of course younger women ask questions about how they will manage a career and bringing up a family, but they also talk about the barriers that still exist for women progressing their careers.

Workplace culture isn’t female friendly and men agree

Research published in 2019 by Murray Edwards College, Cambridge, backs up this view on cultural barriers. In a survey of nearly 6000 employees, split 53 per cent male, 47 per cent female, it discovered that 74 per cent of UK female employees said that their workplace culture makes it more challenging for women to advance their careers than men and, interestingly, 42 per cent of men agreed.

Interestingly, 81 percent of senior female employees said that their workplace culture presented career advancement challenges for women, yet only 72 percent of junior female employees reported those same challenges.

Surprisingly half of senior female employees report they face these challenges ‘always’ or ‘often’ indicating that “things get worse not better” as women progress their careers.

Young women and men enter professional services in equal numbers and are confident that they’ll compete with their male colleagues on an equal basis, but by their late 20s, early 30s the men begin to push back. The women are surprised and often for the first time realise that the playing field in the workplace, unlike that at school, university, graduate entry programme isn’t as level as they thought. In fact, they realise that not only is the playing field not level, they’re not even sure of the rules of the game.

The classic cartoon showing a group of men and one woman seated around a boardroom table illustrates perfectly one of the issues.

There isn’t a woman who hasn’t experienced saying something that goes unheard only to find that when a man says the exact same thing it’s lauded as a “great idea”. Not only is the woman not heard, the man gets the credit. It’s a double whammy that hits really hard.

Yet the Murrays Edwards research reveals that the commonly viewed challenges for women such as their being interrupted in meetings, not being credited for their work and men having access to informal networks and sponsors are ranked far lower than expected.

What comes at the very top are women being judged more negatively when they behave like men, and men and women being evaluated differently.

Emma Codd, Managing Partner for Talent at Deloitte, was Women in the City’s Woman of Achievement Award Winner in 2015. When questioned about her success in increasing the number of female partners at the firm by 18 percent in one year, Emma She said she had questioned every unreasonable reason “not” to promote women – for example saying

“She’s not quite ready” or “She has a two year old, she’s probably going to have another child” or “Her husband’s recently been promoted, she’ll need to support him”. These “reasons” are rarely, if ever, said about men.

However, effecting deeply embedded cultural change, that is societal as well as organisational, is difficult.

Will the situation improve?

The Women in the City Knowledge Bank features many of the reports that have been published in the last 10 years. These put forward the case for increasing the numbers of women in senior roles – but very little has changed. There have been initiatives, there have been programmes. All try to “fix” women, but women don’t need fixing so it’s not surprising that we’re getting nowhere fast.

The Women’s Business Council 2017 Report predicted that by 2024, the UK would need nearly 2 million new managers and if those roles were to be split equally between men and women, 1.5 million of those new managers would need to be women.

Currently, 73% of entry-level roles are occupied by women, yet only 34% of managers, directors and senior officials in the UK are women. In the 6 years to 2017 this proportion increased by only one percentage point.

These figures indicate the scope of the problem. It’s a very long winding road and the end is way, way ahead.

For more on this top, listen to WiC’s Founder, Gwen Rhys, debut CityNatters podcast

Menopause, the often overlooked career challenge

6 February, 2020 By WiC

Words:Rebekah Bostan of Diversity Puzzle

There is a career challenge that over 50% of the UK workforce will experience during their working lives that significantly impacts their productivity, confidence and mental health. This event is little understood, ill prepared for and most employers have no policies or guidelines in place to help employees cope with this new life stage.

Welcome to the world of ‘working through the menopause’, the most overlooked career challenge facing the UK workplace.

Over 4m menopausal women in the workforce

The rise in economic participation of women in the UK workforce is leading to stronger and more robust senior talent pipelines than ever before. The ONS estimates in March 2019 there are around 4.38 million women aged 50-64 years old in employment in the UK. This also means that a larger proportion of the women than ever will experience symptoms of menopause while still at work, often at the time they are entering senior roles.

Nearly half of women experience menopause symptoms that negatively affect their productivity

Symptoms can start anywhere up to 10 years before menopause and studies have shown that between 40%-50% of women feel that menopausal symptoms are affecting their productivity at work, even leading to some women exiting the workforce prematurely. Wildly fluctuating oestrogen levels can cause radical shifts in our dopamine, glutamate, oxytocin and serotonin levels, leading to mood swings, hot flushes, memory fog, depression and sleeping difficulties. The overall declining levels of oestrogen also impact receptors all over your body leading to aches and pains, and increased risk of osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, dementia, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Over 2m women in the UK are struggling

Despite this being a natural transition towards the end of a women’s reproductive years over 2 million women in the UK are struggling. Over the last couple of years, the taboo around menopause has decreased but working through the menopause remains a marginalized topic. This is particularly so in relation to senior professional roles where any apparent cognitive decline directly relates to your perceived competence.

Check out other blog posts by Rebekah Bostan, from Diversity-Puzzle.com including how to stop playing at being superhuman during the peri-menopause and how to stop ‘Shoulding’ on yourself and start celebrating the joy of here and now.

Women in the City is looking to break this silence

To support professional women, WiC, in partnership with Diversity Puzzle, is

planning an informative and interactive evening seminar on 2 June 2020 on the important topic of how best to manage peri and post menopause symptoms at work
conducting a survey to help ensure the seminar meets the needs of peri- and menopausal career women and assess the impact of this stage of women’s lives

MenoPositive Seminar – 2 June 2020 (6 – 9pm, City of London)

We’re delighted that leading menopause GP Dr Louise Newsom, The Menopause Doctor, has agreed to be our Keynote Speaker. She’ll be joined by a number of panellists with expertise in different aspects of menopause support.

To be the first to find out more about the Seminar, please click HERE

If you’d like to Sponsor or Partner our MenoPositive Seminar, click HERE for details

MenoPositive Survey

To help us plan our seminar, please complete our MenoPositive Survey which takes around 6 minutes. The data is gathered anonymously and it will help us to understand where you are currently in your menopause juggle, what symptoms are most impacting you and what help you are currently accessing.

The Survey also provides information on menopause symptoms which you may find useful.

CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY

Internal politics are biggest workplace struggle say study respondents

31 January, 2020 By WiC

Earlier this month, Roar Training asked nearly 400 people to reflect on their biggest workplace struggles of 2019. What came out of this exercise was the realisation that huge numbers of people are genuinely unhappy at work, for reasons that are easily managed.

Scenarios that require collaboration and navigating interpersonal relationships are some of our biggest struggles
Over half (54%) struggle with feeling bored, unfulfilled or demotivated
For some work is somewhere they “dread going to”, with “toxic bosses”, “sexist cultures” and “political sociopaths”

Relationships with bosses also scored highly, though relationships with co-workers less so. Considerations around productivity, such as managing workload and handling emails, are less challenging.

What do employees want?

Roar Training also asked people ‘If you felt completely professionally fulfilled, what would be different?’ to gauge the changes that participants wanted to see within their professional lives.

More autonomy

Professional autonomy and the ability manage one’s own workload was a common theme, with respondents stating:

“I’d have total autonomy over how I worked my day/hours.”, “I’d like more autonomy and opportunity to manage my own work.” and “A manager that trusted my decisions and my ability to do the right thing, without always needing to check on me. I know what I am doing, I would like to be able to just get on.”
“I would be happier if I was able to use my initiative more and work independently.”

Less stress

The majority of what would make respondents feel professionally fulfilled were emotional, rather than financial. (Only 8% of respondents mentioned money or salary specifically) and feeling less stressed and worried was a huge part of that.

“I’d be in a better place mentally and emotionally and it would help me in all other aspects of my life. I’d truly be working to live, not living to work which is how it feels at the moment.”

“I wouldn’t be dreading coming into work. I wouldn’t be stressed the second I open my emails. “

“I wouldn’t feel so stressed and I’d be able to focus on the parts of my job that add real value”

Focus and clarity

For many participants, a desire for professional clairty and focus was a recurring theme. Interestingly there was a correlation between this sentiment and wanting to feel valued and supported, suggesting a lack of direction or objectives, making employees feel lost and consequently uncertain of whether they were doing the right thing.

“Sit down and create more plans, structure is key!”
Clarity on what I do and my role within the business, especially how it can develop.
“A clearer understanding of what my job is and what exactly is expected of me”
“Have the time to focus on projects that will really move the needle and make a difference without distractions.”
“I’d feel motivated and have clarity in what I actually do.”

Feeling heard

The ability to feel as though you are being heard, believed and listened to is significant in developing professional fulfillment. Interestingly, this notion featured heavily in our research on creating gender parity in the workplace. Without feeling heard, people can feel ignored, undervalued and underappreciated.

“Bosses need to believe me”
“Understanding of how to be heard when you know you’ve got a company changing idea, a good one”
“I would be able to bring forward issues and solutions”
“Have the confidence to suggest changes or discuss them without fear of being fobbed off or ignored.”

Flexible working

Unsurprisingly, a desire to work remotely or flexibly features regularly in professional fulfillment.

“Flexible working would be key. I work full time and I have a small child. I wish my employer would recognise that sometimes doing the standard 9-5 isn’t possible, but it doesn’t mean that I can’t still achieve as much working around that.”

“I recently took on a remote role that offers flexible working in a department I love.
Previous to this I worked in an office in a role I wasn’t at all passionate about.
I can already feel the difference in both my professional and working life.”

“Freedom with working hours (not feeling like I have to stay until 5, even though I’ve tied my tasks up by 4.30 for example).”

What are your thoughts and main workplace challenges? Perhaps these are familiar, maybe yours are different.