Why women on boards are good for business March 25, 2015 Yesterday’s release of the latest government report into gender diversity on the boards of the UK’s biggest companies brought some excellent news for those businesses, the broader economy and society. Four years on from the original survey, Lord Davies finds that female representation has almost doubled to 23.5 per cent, and only 17 more women [...]
Why transparency over pay is vital if we’re to reach gender equality March 11, 2015 Good news can sometimes feel like a rarity, but recent PwC data shows that the UK has improved its position in an international league table of female participation in the workplace, moving up four places to fourteenth in a ranking of the 27 OECD economies. It’s a welcome improvement, but there is still some way [...]
FTSE 100 women dine with Vince Cable in bid to highlight female representation on boards March 10, 2015 Vince Cable last night welcomed more than 100 women from the business world to a dinner at Lancaster House, in a bid to convince sceptics that top companies are improving the female representation on their boards. The business secretary’s department says the target of having 25 per cent of FTSE 100 board positions held by [...]
There are two types of sexism at work, and “friendly” is the worst for long-term equality March 10, 2015 Just because a man smiles at a woman and is keen to engage in conversation with her, it doesn't mean he isn't harbouring sexist views, scientists have found. There is a particular type of sexism associated with overly friendly behaviour in men, which has been labelled as “benevolent” or “friendly” sexism by researchers at Northeastern [...]
International Women’s Day 2015: Four shocking facts about gender equality at work and in business March 8, 2015 On International Women's Day, and 20 years after the Bejing declaration on women's rights, the UN concluded that "despite marginal progress, we have years, even decades to go until women enjoy the same rights and benefits as men at work." Here are five shocking facts about gender equality in work and business. 1. The gap [...]
The Oscars are over, but popular culture is still a driving force behind inequality February 24, 2015 The Oscars have come and gone for another year. Winning an Academy Award is very often the basis for either making a fortune or turning an existing one into mega riches. Jack Nicholson has an estimated net worth of over $400m, and stars like Tom Hanks and Robert De Niro are not far behind. Even [...]
Bigger firms do better at board gender equality February 22, 2015 The UK’s glass ceiling may be showing signs of cracking after new research revealed women now hold directorships in just over a third of UK businesses, with larger firms leading the way, according to consultancy firm Procorre. The new figures suggest Britain’s SMEs have a lot to learn from their bigger counterparts after the data [...]
From Greece to Scotland via BT and EE: What got us talking this week February 6, 2015 It was all Greek to us this week Specifically, Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, who visited London as part of a Europe-wide charm offensive to support his plan for solving the small matter of the country's giant debt. Free market think tank Adam Smith Institute gave its backing to his debt restructuring [...]
Female representation: FTSE 100 companies edge towards 25 pc target – but some fall behind February 4, 2015 The UK's biggest companies are making progress when it comes to having a greater number of women on their boards. Or at least, some of them are. Old Mutual was today named the FTSE 100 company that made the most progress in having female board representation in the last four years. The investment firm increased [...]
Why we must end damaging stereotypes and get women back into trading January 29, 2015 When I started work at BP as an oil trader in the 1980s, I joined a team of five female and four male oil traders. This was in the days before Diversity and Inclusion was even invented, let alone taken seriously by many organisations. It was a successful and high performing team doing its job [...]