A Badenoch & Clark seminar - The Adecco Group/media/adeccogroup/brands/... · A Badenoch & Clark...

Women in LeadershipA Badenoch & Clark seminar

www.badenochandclark.com

2015

A plan for action

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http://www.badenochandclark.com

Women in Leadership | A Badenoch & Clark seminar 2Contents

Women in Leadership | A Badenoch & Clark seminar 3

Introduction

The male face of senior leadership

A voice for change

Talking solutions

Inspiring change

A solid plan for action

Contents

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Fresh from the publication of our ‘Women in leadership’ whitepaper — which explored the challenges facing women on the path to senior leadership — we invited Simon Hopkins, CEO of Elizabeth Finn Care, Margaret Gibson, CEO of Women’s Enterprise Scotland, and CEO of Working Families Sarah Jackson OBE to join Bonnie Clarke, Director of Badenoch & Clark, in sharing their experiences at a seminar in Central London.

CHALLENGE THE STATUS QUO:

BREAK UNCONSCIOUS BIAS:

50%of women in management believe the basic infrastructure of what’s offered to them is not beneficial; a change in mindest is needed

Male-dominated senior management teams too often

INCREASE SENIOROPPORTUNITIES:

open to men and women at their level, when compared to those earning around £30k.

we need to remove these barriers before they inflict irreversible damage.

hire in their own image;

Women earning £60k+ perceive inequality in the opportunities

Contents Women in Leadership | A Badenoch & Clark seminar 5


Despite a greater number of women in the workplace, the introduction of shared parental leave and a growing leniency from employers around flexible working, the face of senior leadership remains decidedly male. Little wonder then that Director of Badenoch & Clark and seminar Chair Bonnie Clarke began proceedings with the words:

The male face of senior leadership

I must admit, I am a little bit grumpy that this subject is still being talked about.

So why are we still talking about it?

When talent shortages threaten to stunt the growth of UK businesses, and

competition from across the globe treads on the toes of our trade and industry, why are we still failing to tap into the immense

talent at our disposal?

50% Male-dominated senior management teams 60k

of women in management believe the basic infrastructure of what’s offered to them is not beneficial; a change in mindset is needed

too often hire in their own image; we need to remove these barriers before they inflict irreversible damage

salary mark, the opportunities open to women begin to wane; we need to level the playing field

Why ARe Women sTILL unDeRRepResenTeD AT A senIoR LeveL?

Our ‘Women in Leadership’ whitepaper identified three major stumbling blocks:

Above


With a panel of determined professionals at our side, this seminar focused on finding solutions. We don’t want to get people talking; we want to get people doing. And we don’t want to be having the same discussion in five years time. By that point, it could be too late for our economy, and our talent pool: we need to take action now.

A voice for change

We need to think about how not to have this conversation again. Let’s make this into a ‘Do-Tank’, and not a ‘Think-tank’.

speaking about the research itself, Bonnie — who understands first-hand the hurdles that often bar women’s progression in male dominated industries — called for change:

Development interventions don’t actually work. We need to do more of the things that make a difference, and recognise the need to change those that don’t. Unconscious bias is killing innovation. Diversity in workplaces enhances creativity, but we rarely realise that we are acting as a herd. We need to work outside of our comfort zones and resist judgement when hiring. More role models are needed. If women are to believe in themselves, we need to increase the number of positive role models that are around, and understand that our actions influence others. We are therefore all role models in the workplace. organisations should look at setting up a mentoring programme that is available to everyone.

Sarah Jackson OBE, CEO of the UK’s leading work-life balance organisation Working Families, and a key figure in the ‘right to request flexible working’ movement, echoed the importance of confidence, but highlighted the need for employers to ease the pressure on women, and particularly, working mothers. In a world of innovation and progress, we should have long since evolved from a mentality that allows maternity leave to kill any woman’s career. A change in perception is what’s needed. Despite spearheading the campaign for flexible working

conditions, Sarah knows that flexible hours can be risky — especially where a reduction in hours is concerned. These arrangements are often negotiated as a favour, with women grateful for what they can get. But if we can change perceptions around flexible working, and promote a culture where working hours and location help people to maximise their output — encouraging flexible working patterns for both men and women — we will go a long way towards levelling the playing field.

Bonnie Clarke, Director of Badenoch & Clark

Sarah Jackson OBE, CEO of the UK’s leading work-life balance organisation Working Families

30,000 people a year lose their jobs because of maternity leave


With maternity leave as the big stumbling block in many women’s careers, sarah celebrated the companies offering coaching to women on their return to the workplace, along with those who have implemented ‘grownup apprenticeships’ — equipping women with the necessary skills to progress.

simon hopkins, Ceo of elizabeth Finn Care, and self confessed “white middle class man” who “doesn’t experience a lot of unconscious bias”, added weight to the drive for flexible working: after five years of employing two women on a job share basis, he reported a growth in profits of 300% — testifying that this style of working can create a depth of talent in a role that is unlikely to be possible with only one person. We should be moving towards an alchemy of possibility as combining skill sets through a job share can unlock qualities that would not exist otherwise.

But the recruitment process itself needs urgent attention if women — and new ways of working — are to stand a chance. simon spoke of the need for a consistent framework, and extolled the virtues of competency based interviewing in an attempt to stop people hiring in their own image.

It’s also important to eliminate the unconscious bias that can occur in job advertisements; traditionally ‘masculine’ language can deter women from applying for a role that they may be more than capable of filling.

What works well is natural collaboration in a safe environment. We need to see our HR function as enabling and empowering.

“Leadership is changing — it used to be controlling, more masculine. Now it’s about creating an environment where everyone can be brilliant. Trust, hope, stability, compassion — these are more feminine attributes; qualities that people will follow in the modern world.”

Talkingsolutions

Simon Hopkins, CEO of Elizabeth Finn Care

This may be why more and more women are choosing to start their own businesses; if employers want to capitalise

on the talent in their midst then this needs to change.

only 6.2%

of all jobs advertised offer flexible working conditions;

drops 2%

for jobs paying £60k or more.

This figure


Mentoring gives opportunity for someone to guide you, rooting for you and to help you map out a career plan that is right for you.

We have to change the way we think of flexible working as fewer hours, with people not fulfilling all of their responsibilities. It’s often the opposite: people are dedicated, grateful, and work more than they are paid for.

Flexible working is undergoing a shift. upcoming generations expect more from their employers, and since the recession — which threw into sharp focus the need to prioritise a life beyond work — people of all generations have begun to question archaic working practices.

For women to flourish as leaders though, mentoring is essential; cross-gender mentoring in particular. simon spoke of a female mentor and leader that he had earlier in his career: she was kind, principled, strategic, honourable, and she helped to “change his mind as a bloke” — a woman with extraordinary leadership skills.

margaret Gibson, Ceo of Women’s enterprise scotland, agrees. For her, collaboration is everything: “A good leader can empower everything that we have spoken about today.” And mentoring is at the heart of that. But it needs to start much earlier in life: we are targeting a new generation, and we need to inspire girls from a young age. sending role models into schools — women who are at the top of their game, and who manage to fit their lives around their job without unrealistic compromise — would help to show girls that it can be done. In fact, margaret re-enforced the importance of displaying positive attributes such as trust, hope, compassion and confidence in order to be a true leader.

she also shared her belief that networking is important, particularly for young people — creating inductions for those entering the workplace, and introducing them to the sort of real-life role models that will help them to breakdown the barriers that women often put up themselves (from a lack of confidence, to the belief that an employer would be unlikely to entertain flexible working). But she also put the onus on employers — citing flexibility as critical to her success in the workplace.

Inspiringchange

As men get more involved with family life, young fathers are becoming increasingly disengaged with traditional, full time working. As a result, it’s likely that demand for flexible working will increase among younger generations — and if employers want to capture fresh talent, they need to listen.

And it’s largely win-win all round: people are more motivated (and therefore more productive) if their needs are being met; working parents in particular would find it much easier to perform and progress if they had an element of flexibility around their working pattern.

What’s more, if we were to introduce skills-based recruitment — looking at what a company actually needs, rather than trying to replace like for like — we would see even greater potential for flexible working, as not all jobs require the 9-5 slog.

Again, it’s about escaping the herd mentality and breaking the mould.

Are you brave enough?

Margaret Gibson,Ceo of Women’s enterprise scotland


It’s time for employers to encourage, nurture and capitalise on the talent in their midst; women deserve it, and skills shortages necessitate it.

A solid plan for actionWe said at the beginning of this seminar that we wanted people to take action; so what can you do in your business to occasion a change today?

to develop the skills necessary for promotion

Support women

so they’re able to reach senior level

Retain female professionals

for those with promise

Introduce executive coaching

so that they can advance within the organisation – ensure an organisational culture exists that is able to accept diversity of thought

Support women

flexible working policies for all Encourage

for hiring managers to avoid unconscious bias

Improve training

in the leadership pipeline

Have enough women

that retain and develop women; review and measure the success of each programme – only continue the ones that work

establish development programmes

CV and job application process

Adopt an anonymous

for executives, utilising technology available to create a more connected working environment

Consider reducing travel expectations



To read our ‘Women in leadership’ whitepaper in full, or to discuss any of the topics that you’ve read about here today,

contact your local Badenoch & Clark office.

www.badenochandclark.com

© Badenoch & Clark 2014. All rights reserved. The information contained in this publication is intended for general purposes or guidance only. It does not purport to constitute professional advice. Badenoch & Clark accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein.

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