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Female university graduates dramatically underestimate their worth

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A report published by the Department for Education shows that, five years into their careers, women earn on average £6,500 less than their male peers Rex

Breaking the glass ceiling is still an ambition for many women, but before they reach such lofty heights, they have to contend with sticky floors and concrete mazes.

According to a recent study by the graduate career website  Milkround, female graduates dramatically underestimate their earning power when applying for their first job out of university which can have long term consequences.

A £10,000 pay-gap right from the get-go

The current median UK graduate wage is £30,000 per year.  However, a survey of 5,000 postgraduates shows that more than a third of female respondents indicate that they expect a starting graduate salary of £20,000.

The study also shows that whilst 17 per cent of women expect to earn between £25,000 and £35,000 in their first jobs, only 18 per cent of male graduates say they are prepared to accept a starting graduate salary below the £20,000 mark.   This “self-belief”  in their own worth gives male graduates a head start when it comes to their salaries, paving the way for a gap further up the road.

Despite efforts by policy groups, charities and the Government to close the gender pay gap, progress has been sluggish. According to the Fawcett Society, the overall gender pay gap for full-time workers is still about 14 per cent.

A report published by the Department for Education in June shows that, five years into their careers, women still earn on average £6,500 less than their male peers.

Francesca Parkinson from Milkround commented

Although we’re very aware of the existing gender pay gap, it was a surprise for us to see that so many female graduates do not realise their worth when starting their careers, a fact that may contribute to a difference in pay,” said

Nearly 85 per cent of female graduates do not know their own value, which may have a knock-on effect in their future earnings.”

WiC Comment

A recently graduated female, who is part of the WiC Hospitality Team asked us to provide a reference when applying for “internships”.

We responded asking why she wasn’t applying for paid work – a “proper job”.   We reminded her that she has work experience, skills and potential and we forwarded a couple of advertisements for entry level  jobs and an opportunity for a 3-month paid research role.

Don’t understimate your worth.

Politics definitely needs more women

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A new generation of young women is ready and willing to participate in politics.

 

Politics in Action, Acocks Green, Birmingham
Acocks Green Council, Birmingham

 

Politics became more interesting during the UK general election in June 2017 and the result was a rise in voter turnout among 18- to 24-year-old women, with participation up from 44 to 53 per cent compared with the 2015 general election.

A report published in August 2017 by the Institute for Public Policy Research says that so far there is little evidence to suggest that this will translate into higher levels of party membership and political representation among women.

Despite making up half of the population and voting in the same numbers as men, on average only 34 per cent of women are a member of a political party, typically the first step into participating into local politics.

This is the first in a ‘pattern of thirds’, which runs through candidate selection and election, and then thins out dramatically at the top of local government, with women entirely absent among directly elected mayors and representing just 4% of the leadership of England’s new devolved institutions – the combined authorities.

This level of representation of women at the top of institutions which claim to be bringing power closer to the people is unacceptable in 2017.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) argues that political parties and institutions must seize the recent increase in voter turnout  among young women to dramatically increase the numbers of women going into local politics. This must be complemented by a series of radical reforms to improve the pipeline of women rising to the top in local politics, and to correct the absence of women at the top of combined authorities.

The case for reform – lessons from other countries

What is clear from international comparisons is that where countries have seen a step change in levels of political representation in local or national government, this has come about as a result of decisive political action such as the introduction of equality measures like quotas.

More rapid progress is possible under proportional representation electoral systems that allow for practices such as ‘alternating lists’. But this can also be achieved under first-past-the-post systems such as in the UK through all women shortlists. Institutional support from political parties, governments and NGOs in the shape of leadership, mentoring and positive action schemes to encourage women to come forward for political office, have also played a vital role in improving female representation in countries such as Germany, Sweden and in North America.

The UK has far less well developed forms of institutional support than in comparison countries, so this is an important area for development.

KEY FINDINGS

Women are less likely to become local councillors because they are less likely than men to be political party members.

Women make up just 38 per cent of Labour party members and only 36 per cent of Conservative party members.

The selection process for councillors by local parties is opaque

While national selection processes are largely formal and determined by party rules, at the local level these can be informal and shaped by networks, environment and culture. Decentralised processes tend to favour well networked and resourced candidates.

To reach a 50:50 gender balance in local government over 3000 more women councillors need to be elected

To achieve equal numbers of male and female councillors, 3028 more women will need to be successfully elected – an increase of over 50%. This means that over 12,000 women need to come forward and apply for council positions, based on previous success rates.

Combined authority boards are almost entirely composed of men

This reflects the fact that women are less likely to be local government leaders.  Ahead of local elections in May 2017, only 17 per cent of council leaders were women, amounting to just 56 female leaders, an increase of only two percentage points on 2014/2015.

Female councillors are less likely to have responsibility for key devolution deal policy areas, such as business, finance and regeneration

The IPPR analysis shows that of the 160 women who are currently cabinet members in councils, the words business, procurement, jobs, regeneration and finance are unlikely to feature in their portfolios. In contrast, the words health, children, community, social care and wellbeing feature much more heavily

RECOMMENDATIONS

Getting more women into local politics

There needs to be greater clarity from political parties on party membership and the numbers of people coming forward to stand as councillors, particularly women and those from protected groups.

This would allow for the performance of parties on recruiting women in equal numbers to men to be understood and assessed.

Getting more women selected, elected and into leadership roles

The ‘50:50 Parliament’ campaign and its ‘Ask Her to Stand’ initiative aim to recruit more women into national politics. However, there is a gap for a similar cross-party campaign focussed on encouraging women to run for local politics.

The most successful international schemes were typically nonpolitically affiliated, and run as either national networks or individual or networked local chapters with specific local goals for an increase in candidates.

Achieving a better gender balance in the leadership of local authorities and new devolved institutions

The measures above are aimed at improving the pipeline of women councillors into local government and into leadership roles. However while this could be expected to result in changes to the leadership of local authorities and combined authority boards over the next 10-15 years and beyond, more immediate measures will be needed to address the lack of women at the top of these institutions in the short-term.

 

(Words: Clare McNeil, Carys Roberts and Charlotte Snelling, Institute for Public Policy Research)

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WIC Comment

Becoming a local councillor is a great way of serving your community whilst building valuable skills and experience that can add significantly to your CV.  You’ll learn key influencing skills and formal meeting protocols;  have opporutnities to sit on and chair committees (“board level”);  you can expand your networks and extend your knowledge beyond the workplace.

 

To access reports on Diversity, Leadership and related topics, visit our searchable Knowledge Bank

The reason why you shouldn’t ask for equal pay.

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PayGap

The recent salary differences revealed by the BBC and the pending Gender Pay Gap Reporting requirements have once more brought gender pay disparity to the fore.

In their book Why Women Don’t Ask, authors Linda Babock and Sara Laschever point out that males are brought up to value their “worth” in financial terms: “here’s £x go tidy up your room”. Girls, on the other hand, are told “be a good girl and tidy up your room”.

From the get-go, males are able to negotate from a position of greater strength.  The result is cumulative. Women not only earn less whilst at work but end up with a reduced pension pot, too.

Heidy Rehman, a former equity research analyst is the Founder of feminist British fashion house Rose & Willard,  also mentors career professionals. She says:

When it comes to pay the advice I offer is broadly the same.

Understand market rates and always have ready a clear, summary record of your performance and achievements as set against those rates. This will ensure that you always know your worth.

Don’t confine pay and performance discussions to annual and biannual appraisals. Make it at least a quarterly event, within a formal setting and with conversations confirmed subsequently in email. This will make it clear to your boss that getting paid market rate is important to you.

If you are a valued employee, s/he will not want you to be disgruntled and potentially looking elsewhere. Aside from losing someone who performs, managers are always measured in terms of retention of staff. And if you do decide to leave because of pay, they can never say they weren’t warned.

Heidy also has some advice for working mothers as returning from maternity leave is often when women’s pay really starts to lag behind that of their male peers.

This is mainly because career progression slows.

Basically the argument is that women are less likely to be promoted because they put in less facetime in the office. But longer hours doesn’t necessarily translate to higher productivity or better job performance. This is when I would argue that it is even more important to be armed with current evidence of achievement.

Ultimately when the conversation is centred specifically on performance, gender will become irrelevant and that is when equality will truly have been achieved.

Importantly, says Heidy, don’t ask for equal pay.  Ask for what you are worth.  You could be worth more.

The message is clear:  Know your worth.

Rose&WillardWebsite

 

 

 

Discover the gender paygap as reported by 42 employers.

 

Visit our searchable Knowledge Bank database for reports on Diversity, Leadership and allied topics.

 

You can’t be what you can’t see – or can you?

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As a sound-bite this phrase certainly has impact and is often used to explain why women are not succeeding as well as they might in the workplace, the inference being that there are insufficient women in leadership positions who other females wish to emulate.

What are women’s expectations of role models, do all women want and/or need role models and should role models and mentors be “what others can see”?

Expectations of role models

Research undertaken by Dr Ruth Sealy on the impact of role models in female progression suggested that women tend to seek out role models who “tick all the boxes” and women often say that there aren’t “suitable” female role models within their organisations.

Men, on the other hand, put together a “composite” role model that encapsulates the best characteristics, behaviours, traits of a variety of people. They try to be the best by adopting and emulating the best regardless of whether s/he looks like them or not.

Do all women want/need role models?

Yes and no. There is a wide body of research which indicates that women need role models in order to succeed, yet I once heard Janet Street Porter speak at a female entrepreneurs’ network and when asked “Who are your role models?” she replied, quick as a flash, “Why would I want a role model? Why would I want to be like anyone else? I want to stand out from the crowd. I want to do things differently,” she continued to cheering and clapping from the group.

You could argue that she was the ideal “poster girl” for these female entrepreneurs. They wanted to do it their way. She was, therefore, their perfect role model – someone who was prepared to be different.

Do role models need to “be what you can see”?

Condoleeza Rice, the former US Secretary of State has said:

Search for those you can look up to and people who take an interest in your career.

But here’s an important warning: you don’t have to have mentors who look like you.

Had I been waiting for a black, female Soviet specialist mentor, I would still be waiting. Most of my mentors have been old white men, because they were the ones who dominated my field.

Maybe it’s time to think less about seeking one person, and more about seeking out a range of people whose qualities, values and behaviours you admire because sometimes you have to be what you can’t see.

Improving female representation in leadership positions

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Female Representation

Leaders from some of Britain’s largest companies are to undertake a government-backed review on improving female representation in leadership positions of British business.

The review, which will be led by Sir Philip Hampton, chair of GlaxoSmithKline, and Dame Helen Alexander, chair of UBM, will focus on ensuring the very best of female talent make their way up the pipeline by removing barriers to their success, and continue to drive forward the momentum from Lord Davies’s work – which pushed the numbers of females on FTSE 100 boards up from 12.5% to 26%.

The review broadens the ambition to the entire FTSE 350 and raising the target to 33% of women on boards by 2020.

The focus for the work on the pipeline will be on representation on executive committees and direct reports to the executive committee in FTSE 350 companies.

Sir Philip Hampton said:

It is clear that gender balance on FTSE boards has undergone a dramatic shift in recent years and this progress continues. However, we must significantly increase the number of women in senior leadership roles if we are to harness the skills of women for the benefit of business and the UK economy.

A key element of the review will also consider current research on how to drive improvements and the obstacles preventing women’s progression. It is expected that findings will be presented to government by the end of 2016.

In order to meet the 33% target for FTSE 350 boards by 2020, a constant turnover is required and an appointment rate of one in three board positions going to women.

Turnover rates have decreased, with fewer people leaving and joining companies, and the percentage of new appointments going to women over the past six months dropping below the one in three required to meet the 33% target.

Progress in the executive ranks and in the executive pipeline remains very slow. Only 9.7% of executive directors in the FTSE 100 are women, dropping to only 5.6% in the FTSE 250.

Women in the City has curated a number of key gender diversity reports in its searchable Knowledge Bank