diversity

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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Pension pots may be rising, but the gender savings gap is widening

3 August, 2020 By WiC

The average pension pot of UK employees in large firms is now £120k, a 35% increase on three years ago, according to new Changing Trends of Financial Wellbeing research undertaken by Close Brothers. However, outside of pensions, average savings and investments have fallen 3%, and delving into the detail reveals a widening gender savings gap.

The overall average pension savings pot, including all workplace pension schemes, has increased from £89k in 2017 to £120 in 2020.

Men have seen an increase of 35%, and whilst women have experienced a higher percentage increase of 38% over that time period, women’s retirement savings still lag significantly behind men’s at £73k compared to £162k.

Figures from: Close Brothers Lifetime Savings Challenge 2017 and Changing Trends of Financial Wellbeing 2020

In the wake of the coronavirus crisis, Close Brothers found that 16% of workers are going to reduce the amount they save into their pensions, due to pressures on shorter term needs, despite the risk that this could affect their longer-term financial wellbeing. Female workers, however, are less likely to make this decision (12%) compared to nearly one in five (19%) of their male counterparts.

As well as more people having to draw on their savings during the coronavirus, there are some positives to have emerged when it comes to savings: 50% plan to make changes to their finances, with the top changes being to keep a closer eye on day to day spend and to put more into their rainy day fund.

All demographics have spent less in lockdown and all but 18-34 year olds have realised they can live happily on less, which bodes well for putting more aside into savings once the acute effects of the pandemic ease their finances.

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Visit our searchable Knowledge Bank for a range of reports and studies on gender diversity, leadership and related topics.

To discover more about the impact of lower pension provision on women watch this video produced by the Chartered Insurance Institute as part of its Insuring Women’s Futures programme.

Virtual Inclusion in the City, Obstacles and Actions

15 July, 2020 By WiC

On March 16th 2020 the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson started giving the nation daily updates urging its citizens to work from home as part of the COVID-19 response.

Even before that date, over in the City of London, many firms had introduced working from home for a large proportion of their workers, expecting that they would soon no longer be able to travel to site. Therefore, throughout March 2020, as part of the COVID-19 response, financial and professional services firms made the transition from physical workspaces to virtual ones, with limited or no planning time. Soon, save for those people nominated as key workers, such as certain traders and salespersons, the majority of employees from the City of London were working at home.

In order to understand the obstacles that stand in the way of virtual inclusion for the City of London’s workers, Dr Grace Lordan, Director of The Inclusion Initiative, at the LSE went on a virtual listening tour engaging 35 of its most senior leaders who work in financial and professional services in the City of London.

The aim was to identify their perceived obstacles to enhancing virtual inclusion in their firm during the COVID-19 response. Ten major obstacles were identified, each with a set of three independent actions that can be easily pursued to enhance virtual inclusion in the firm, with a view to benefiting business outcomes now.

The Ten Obstacles are:

Physical distance can lead to psychological distance
Presenteeism may be replaced by virtual presenteeism
Communication
In-groups
Virtual group think
Unfamiliar context
Work is now home
Maintaining motivation
Beware of illusory correlation
Re-start with inclusion

We’re publishing this report in retrospect and wonder how many of the actions have been implemented.

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Visit our searchable Knowledge Bank for a range of reports and studies on gender diversity, leadership and related topics.

Successes and Failures – reflections on women’s progress in 2019

10 March, 2020 By WiC

Liz Walker, Commercial Director at Distinctly, reflects on the successes and failures for women in 2019.

Like any year, 2019 has been a mixture of successes and failures for women’s rights. This is true whether we are talking about the rights of women in employment, women in the wider UK, or for women worldwide. One of the truly positive notes to come from the December 2019 Westminster election was that this Parliament has the most female MPs in history, and for the first time, more than a third of MPs are women. On the other hand, women at intersections with other minority groups, for instance LGBT women or women with disabilities, are facing a more hostile working and living environment than ever before. For International Women’s Day 2020, while we need to celebrate the great strides that have been made, we must also discuss the room for improvement that remains.

Successes

Highest proportion of women in work ever

One of the most positive statistics this year was that in August, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced that the number of women in employment was at its highest level in history, at 15.46 million. This number has continued to rise into early 2020, with a new record already established at 15.61 million women in employment, equating to 72.4% of the women’s labour market. This continuing growth in women’s employment highlights that employers are becoming far better at hiring female candidates. Given that this growth in women in employment is credited with the growth in the UK economy that has occurred since 2012, this is a fantastic note of positivity.

Rise in working mothers

A major driving factor behind the growth of women in employment is that mothers are now far more likely to continue working, with approximately 72% of working-age mothers now remaining in paid work. While there is still a tendency for women who are parents to move from full-time to part-time work, this is still a positive trend, and has helped lead to a massive rise in the number of dual-earning families. This is believed to have been driven by a rise in flexible working opportunities.

1 in 3 FTSE 100 directors are now women

For the first time in history, 1 in 3 individuals on the boards of FTSE 100 companies are women. While this number falls behind target for the wider FTSE 350, this is still a fantastic growth given that only a decade ago women made up only 12.5% of FTSE 100 board members. With a growth in women in leadership roles, we can expect changes in wider workplace culture to continue at an ever accelerating rate. However, we still need to bear in mind that this is only the start of the change that is needed. The report also stresses the fact that some roles, such as finance directors, are still well below the 33% target, showing there is still significant room for improvement.

Failures

Statistics fail to show underlying problems

Unfortunately, while there are some very positive statistics for 2019, they fail to account for some underlying structural problems. First, women are still expected to be the primary provider of childcare, carrying out 60% more unpaid work than men, especially in terms of childcare provision. This is partly influenced by the fact that Shared Parental Leave, designed to allow parents to split the workload of looking after their newborn between them, has seen abysmal uptake. Only 9,200 new parents used the scheme in 2017/18, which was just over 1% of those eligible, highlighting the fact that cultural changes around childcare are far from complete. This has certainly not been helped by the fact that the cost of childcare for children under 2 has risen by 5%, meaning that in attempting to return to work, many women would actually be incurring a financial cost.

Similar socio-cultural issues can be seen elsewhere — for instance, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), women are still expected to undertake the majority of housework. This is believed to be a major factor behind many parents not taking up full-time roles when they return to work, even where it has a major impact on their pay. These underlying cultural problems are being slowly eroded, but they are still impacting the ability of working women to work in the roles they would like to, due at least in part to the need to balance their responsibilities as primary caregiver to their children against pursuing their careers.

Women are still facing pay-based discrimination, even in government

Mandatory gender pay gap reporting has now existed for companies with 250 employees and above for three years. Despite this fact, women are still routinely being paid less than their male colleagues, with little change to the 11% average pay difference seen over the past two years. Even women employed directly by the government, who purport to be looking to end discrimination against women, are failing to be paid an equal wage for the work they do. While 13 of the 18 government departments large enough to conduct reporting had managed to decrease their gender pay gap, one saw no change, and the remaining four saw an increase. Of the 18 departments, only one, the Department for Work and Pensions, had no reported gender pay gap. This raises serious questions about how the government could possibly hope to succeed in changing the private sector pay gap when it is busy failing its female employees.

Women in niche industries are still being failed by employers

Across the STEM and creative industries, women are still being left behind. While there are definitely positives, such as the number of women engineers doubling in the past decade, and 1 million women now working in STEM occupations, this shift has not been occurring consistently. In some sectors within STEM, women have actually dropped as a percentage of the workforce despite increased numbers, due to an even higher number of men entering these fields. A good example of this is Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) managers, where despite growing every year since 2015, the number of women in SET has dropped heavily as a percentage.

In fact, between June 2018 and June 2019, over 300,000 men entered STEM employment, compared with only 150,000 women. With men thus offering an even larger proportion of the overall talent pool, they are statistically more likely to receive promotions and pay rises, further contributing to the marginalisation of women in the STEM workforce.

This same struggle can be seen in the creative industries. Despite a 30.6% growth in the creative industries between 2011 and 2018, women still make up only 37% of the employees, with a growth rate of under 3% in the past 6 years. Between 2017 and 2018, the number of women in creative fields actually dropped, despite overall growth. Clearly, despite the fact that the picture across the wider workforce looks so positive, for women in STEM or the creative industries, there is a lot of work still to be done. As two major growth industries in the UK for the past decade, continued domination of these fields by men implies that — without major changes — gender imbalance in the UK economy is likely to persist for a long time.

See also Visualizing the data: Women’s representation in society (released by the UN)

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.