Gender equality group to set pay target for female FTSE 100 execs August 10, 2015 The government-backed committee charged with promoting greater gender equality among UK companies is considering targeting earnings as its next campaign issue. The Davies Review is looking into ways to push the gender equality agenda forwards, after UK firms reached its original target of appointing women to 25 per cent of FTSE 100 board positions earlier [...]
British Gas: Just 4pc applying to engineering roles are women August 9, 2015 British Gas has revealed that just four per cent of applicants to its technical and engineering apprenticeships are women. Since conducting an analysis of its intake, the company has launched a recruitment drive targeting young women, hosting open days and launching a new mentoring programme. Claire Miles, managing director for HomeCare at British Gas, said: [...]
Why is office air conditioning either too hot or too cold? Now science has an answer August 4, 2015 Why is the office always so cold? Why is the air con creating an icy tundra when it's 30 degrees outside? These are questions you've either posed yourself – from beneath a layer of blankets when you've lost all the feeling in your toes and fingers – or perhaps heard someone else mutter bitterly while [...]
Recessions make women turn to well-paid, maths intensive careers August 4, 2015 There's nothing quite like a recession to close the gender pay gap. According to a study published by Germany's Institute for the Study of Labour, economic downturns cause a greater proportion of women to follow maths-intensive, well-paid career paths. Read more: The gender pay gap can't be closed while the Tories have their heads in [...]
FTSE 350 boardroom diversity is up as women made up four in ten new directors appointed last year August 3, 2015 More women than ever are being appointed to UK boards, as four in 10 of new non-executive directors last year were female. The composition of boardrooms is changing dramatically, with the percentage of women joining boards quadrupling over the past seven years, from 11 per cent in 2007 to 39 per cent in 2014, shows [...]
To stay ahead in a digital economy, we must dismiss the myth that digital skills are only for a certain few July 31, 2015 To stay ahead in a future digital economy, leaders of any business need to culturally prepare for radical change. Today, the digital skills that underpin the success of our future economy lie in the hands of a small group of people. How many business leaders can confidently say they understand what goes on behind the [...]
Gender pay gap: About time to name and shame businesses who don’t promote women July 16, 2015 News that UK firms will be required to publish gender pay audits is to be applauded. Gender diversity in the workplace has been ignored for too long by UK companies and it’s about time businesses that fail to employ, support and promote women are named and shamed. Why am I so passionate about this topic? [...]
Ten reasons why gender pay differences don’t prove discrimination by employers July 15, 2015 We can all agree that gender pay discrimination is wrong, but there is also too much gender pay disinformation at present. Gender pay differences neither prove nor disprove discrimination. There is undoubtedly a significant difference in the full-time hourly pay of women compared with that of men, even though this gap has narrowed over [...]
Women’s confidence in fair pay plummets as fewer women than men expect a pay rise July 15, 2015 Women are far less likely than men to expect a pay rise in the next year. Just 27 per cent of women feel “confident” that they will get a raise within the next 12 months, compared to 40 per cent of men, according to a new survey from careers website Glassdoor. Overall, expectations of a [...]
Gender pay rule gets lukewarm City reception: Focus should be on getting “more women into senior executive positions” July 14, 2015 The government's plan for companies to reveal pay differences between men and women received cautious backing from the business world yesterday, yet critics insist it will not improve equality in the workplace. Feelings from major City firms were mixed after David Cameron announced that large companies will be required to hand over data on [...]