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WIC News

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

8 March, 2020 By WiC

Image: Alan Amanti

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

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Filed Under: Latest, WIC News Tagged With: diversity, leadership, paygap

Get the most from your 2020 annual leave

6 January, 2020 By WiC

Holiday

Research from tombola shows that 44% of Brits don’t use up all their holiday allowance.  The main reason?  “Too busy” say 38%.

Other standout stats from tombola’s study

  • 24% of us take a break that lasts between 6 and 10 days in one go and 20% take 3 days or less.
  • 23% of us are working at least 1 unpaid week each year, losing an average of £529 per week. (ONS data)

With that in mind tombola have gathered a handy list to help people get the most of their annual leave in 2020.

How To Get The Most Annual Leave in 2020

One of the best ways to maximise your leave is to book time off around statutory holidays.

Get 16 Days Holiday in the Spring by Booking 8 days off at Easter

  • Monday 6th April
  • Tuesday 7th April
  • Wednesday 8th April
  • Thursday 9th April

Then a second set of days.

  • Tuesday 14th April
  • Wednesday 15th April
  • Thursday 16th April
  • Friday 17th April

Book 7 days off and Unwrap 16 at Christmas

Christmas 2020 is a long way off, but a bit of forward planning will have you the envy of your colleagues.

Next year, book these dates for holiday success.

  • Monday 21st December
  • Tuesday 22nd December
  • Wednesday 23rd December
  • Thursday 24th December

And then book this second set of days to cover between Christmas and New Year.

  • Tuesday 29th December
  • Wednesday 30th December
  • Thursday 31st December

Some people like to take an extra day (the 2nd January) to ease their way back into work, but as the 2nd this year falls on a Saturday, if you’re a Mon-Fri worker then you won’t go back to the office until 4th January 2021.

That’s 16 consecutive days off for just 7 annual leave days.

Harvard economist Juliet Schor says:

The pace of work has increased quite dramatically. We are working much faster today than we were in the past. And that contributes to our sense of being overworked and frenzied and harried and stressed out and burned out by our jobs.

 

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Filed Under: WIC News Tagged With: workplace

Warrior Women gather at Lloyd’s

26 September, 2019 By WiC

Warrior Women

Lloyd’s provided a stunning backdrop for our full-to-capacity Warrior Women at War leadership event held in partnership with ABF The Soldiers’ Charity on Wednesday 25 September.

The theme was to compare and contrast Army leadership with that in the corporate world and to discover what, if anything, each could learn from the other.

The Keynote, delivered by Major General Susan Ridge, set the tone for the evening and outlined her experience, as a lawyer, within the Army.  “Whilst businesses had shareholders,” she said “the Army needed to satisfy the demands of multiple stakeholders.”

She also highlighted that in the Army it was always about “us” and not about “me”, that the ethos was one that welcomed challenge, where leadership required judgement and humility, knowing when to give people their head and when to give help, supervision and training.

Warrior Women image
Panellists Philippa Lorimer MBE, Claire Bowler and Annette Andrews

In response to a question about whether the corporate world could learn from the Army’s values (Courage, Discipline, Respect for Others, Integrity, Loyalty and Selfless Commitment) Panellist, Commandant Philippa Lorimer MBE, First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (PRVC) reflected that one of the big differences between her experience in the Army and her work in private sector defence sales was the lack of “honest” communication. She said that it had taken her time to adjustment to a world where what you said didn’t necessarily happen and you knew it wasn’t going to happen. 

Annette Andrews, HR Director, Lloyd’s spoke of her experience having moved from country to country as a child and how that helped her when she worked overseas and managed teams in other countries.  It had enabled her to quickly adjust to new situations, to “read” people and understand other cultures.

Claire Bowler, Partner, DWF who has three young children, aged 2, 4, and 6 spoke about how flexible and agile working had helped her to progress within her career.  “Within a 40-45 year career, it’s OK to take your foot off the pedal now and again,” she advised.  She also encouraged women to be strategic about how they used their time when managing a high level career and family and to be selective about when to be present at work. 

During the Q&A session that followed, there was much discussion about flexible working – its importance and how to ask for it (base on facts, on outputs rather than emotion) and the need for mentors, sponsors and role models.

Gwen Rhys, CEO Women in the City reminded everyone that sometimes they needed to be their own role model, citing Condoleezza Rice, former US Secretary of State who said:

Search for role models 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 or role models 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.

Gwen added that many women felt there weren’t role models in their business that they could look up to an emulate and suggested that rather than trying to find “the one”, women should make a composite role model of the “best” traits, characteristics, behaviours of several women and men.

The post-event networking was lively, with lots of ideas and suggestions being exchanged.  One idea was to set up Mentoring Groups, rather like Tutorial Groups, to encourage male mentors, who may be reluctant to mentor women 1-2-1, to participate.

Warrior Women at Work
Warrior Women at Work
Warrior Women at Work
Warrior Women at Work
Warrior Women at Work
Warrior Women at Work
In partnership with Sponsored by
abf

Join our mailing list to find out about future events.

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Filed Under: WIC News Tagged With: diversity, leadership, personal development

Warrior Women at Work, join us on 25 September

4 September, 2019 By WiC

image warrior women

REGISTER NOW TO ATTEND

 

Warrior Women at Work is a unique, interactive Women’s Leadership event designed by Women in the City in partnership with ABF The Soldiers’ Charity. The evening will bring together senior female leaders from a variety of backgrounds to share, discuss, compare and contrast their leadership challenges.

Our Keynote Speaker will be Major General Susan Ridge, the first female to hold the rank of major general in the British Army. A solicitor, she served as Director General of the Army Legal Services Branch from September 2015 to July 2019.

Susan will be joined by a panel made up of:

  • Annette Andrews, HR Director, Lloyd’s
  • Claire Bowler, Partner, Head of the Insurance Sector, Head of International Claims Team, DWF and a Women in the City, Woman of Achievement Category Award Winner
  • Commandant Philippa Lorimer MBE, Commanding Officer, First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal’s Volunteer Corps)
Date: 25 September 2019
Location: The Old Library, Lloyd’s, One Lime Street, EC3M 7HA
Time: 18.30 – 20.30
Format:
18.30 Mix & Mingle Reception
19.00 Welcome and Introductions
Keynote Speaker and Panel Interview
Audience Discussion
Q&A
19.45 Networking
20.30 Close

This event is open to women and men. Refreshments will be served.

REGISTER NOW TO ATTEND

The evening is brought to you in partnership with:

abf ABF The Soldiers’ Charity was formed in 1944, at the height of World War Two. Its purpose has not changed since that day: to ensure that all soldiers, veterans and their immediate families can live a life of independence and dignity.
While there is a British Army, there will be The Soldiers’ Charity.

And is sponsored by:

 

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Filed Under: WIC News Tagged With: leadership, personal development

Managers: do you recognise the signs of burnout?

27 June, 2019 By WiC

Careers expert Zena Everett is an executive coach, author and an in-demand speaker on career management and productivity. Here she talks about how to spot and stop burnout in your teams – and yourself.

Don’t wait for a sickness note or resignation for proof of burnout in your teams. Here’s some warning signs to look out for and some prevention strategies.

Burnout is defined as a ‘state of vital exhaustion’. How do you know if you are genuinely exhausted with work rather than depressed? A depressed person will take their black dog with them wherever they go. Burnout, on the other hand, is confined to work. Get away from your desk (and your boss) and up a mountain, on a beach, or wherever you go to decompress, and your energy and mood will be restored.
To state the obvious, people should NOT burn out, take a break, return to work and repeat the pattern (although I know some who do). That’s bonkers from any angle: career, psychological, physical or family.

Your job as a manager is to ensure that your team members are happy, engaged and productive (all three feed into the other). Burned-out colleagues are none of these. What are the warning behaviours? Here’s two canaries in the coalmine I look for when coaching:

Burnout Sign #1: Reduced productivity.

Your high performing, perfectionist, people-pleasing, nothing-is-ever-good-enough-for-me, piece of expensive Talent ceases to deliver. They work even longer hours but the standard of their tasks tails off. Talk to them about it. Say that you have noticed the changes and ask what they think is going on. It could be that they are just bored and need more responsibilities. Or they could be overwhelmed by their workload and their own relentless drive to excel. Those are predictors of burnout. Coach them to manage the demands of their role and the pressure they put on themselves.

Burnout Sign #2: Cynicism.

This varies from an increasingly apathetic approach to the job, when people fall prey to office and digital distractions, to downright pessimism about the impact of their work. You’ll hear previously positive people make snidey comments about the customers, other team members, other departments, or senior management. ‘What’s the point anyway, nothing changes around here,’ ‘I don’t mind teaching, it’s just the parents and the children that spoil it’, ‘not him again, what does he want this time?’ etc. It’s sort of funny in the moment, but it’s not actually. Negativity and disengagement will drive more motivated team members away. It’s certainly not enabling a collaborative culture that screams service, success and energy.

What can you do to prevent burnout happening and restore resilience? Step up to the plate and actively help your people to do their best work in a healthier way.
Prevention Strategies

Restore the boundaries.

Employees are happiest and most motivated when they make daily, incremental progress towards their goals.* That’s all it takes! Allow them to get their meaningful work done – with clear role descriptions, targets, performance metrics, deadlines, training and all the resources they need.

Then get out of their way.

When I meet stressed-out people they are often overloaded with pointless projects, routine administration, complicated reporting systems, badly-thought out management initiatives and lengthy meeting schedules. All of these are obstacles to real work. Be brave. Re-evaluate the output you expect from people and clarify how they can achieve it. Then cut out everything else that takes up their time. They’ll thank you for asking some hard questions and challenging fatty work cultures that inhibit productivity. ‘Why are we doing this? Is there a better, more efficient way of achieving the same result?’

Walk the talk.

You are a role model for high and healthy performance. If you are rushing from one meeting to another, snapping at people, over-promising and under-delivering and working stupid hours, then you’ve no time to step back, listen, think strategically and nip problems in the bud before they escalate.

Delegate, manage upwards, push back, re-negotiate and say No.

All of these are crucial yet basic leadership skills. Don’t send out of hours emails (save them in your draft folder or use the timed sending facility if you really must write them), or finesse tasks that don’t need finessing (that power-point deck is just fine). I hear of so many managers who CREATE stress.

  • Get proper training on the granular details of managing work-flow.
  • Only hold meetings that are absolutely necessary, keep to an agenda and don’t let anyone waffle.
  • Be on time.
  • Look like you can cope with more responsibility, not that you are about to combust.

Disconnect and build real connections.

No one can be ON all the time. Do less but think more: you’ll be more valuable that way. You rarely get your best ideas in the office.

  • Encourage your people to take their holidays.
  • Exercise. Breathe.
  • Find a hobby or a challenge outside work that nourishes you.
  • Take a real lunch break and eat with your team.
  • Talk, don’t email.

Someone said at one of my recent Crazy Busy™ sessions that the only creative thing their Creative Director did was create email chains.

Reward results, not presenteeism.

Flexible working is a no-brainer. Trust people with the freedom to do their work in the most appropriate place and don’t be petty about checking up on them. There is no correlation between long hours cultures and productivity, quite the opposite. A sense of control over where and how we do our best work is a crucial aspect to motivation.

Build co-worker support systems.

Eating together, talking about how to improve processes, doing pre- and post-mortems, building in planning time, asking for support and advice. I’m not sure that hackneyed team-bonding initiatives like away days are as effective as regular, shorter team pow-wows when you can really communicate, allow everyone’s voice to be heard and get solutions from the people at the front line. Problems don’t get solved by paint-balling.

*Conclusion of a reassuring three-year study by Teresa Amabile of Harvard Business School on how to create forward momentum with clear goals, autonomy and a genuinely respectful culture. It confirms what your management instincts have been trying to tell you: HR interventions that work are lean, honest and relatively obvious. Read her book with Steven Kramer, The Progress Principle: Using small wins to ignite job, engagement and creativity at work.

Next Steps

I hope that’s helpful and I’d love your feedback and experiences. As ever, please feel free to share with anyone you think would benefit.

Pick up the phone if I can help build resilience and coping strategies with my executive coaching or if you need a lively, practical speaker on career management or productivity topics at your next conference.

ZENA EVERETT
Phone: +44 20 3287 9505 | Mobile: +44 (0) 7968 424650
Email: zena@zenaeverett.com

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Your session was great – informative, interactive, fun and engaging, can’t ask for more! ICAEW SME Conference Organiser

Here’s my short animation on how to stop our brains getting so frazzled

 

Click HERE for details of sessions I can run in your business

(This is a WiC promotion on behalf of Zena Everett)

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Filed Under: WIC News Tagged With: development, leadership, workplace

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