Research from solution-led fintech lender Nucleus Commercial Finance (NCF) finds that almost half (45%) of UK employees work for a company with a female CEO or Managing Director.
It also found that nearly two-thirds (63%) of female respondents feel their company is supportive of female leaders and encourages female staff to pursue leadership roles.
A quarter of female employees work in a company that does not offer any gender-related benefits.
Also, just a third said their employers offer enhanced maternity leave benefits or flexible arrangements for working mums.
This follows the Government review into board diversity achieving its target of 33 percent of board positions at FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 firms being held by women by the end of 2020.
However, there is still a lot of work to do to create working environments without gender disparities and continue facilitating equal access to leadership opportunities in the workplace.
Chirag Shah, CEO and Founder of Nucleus Commercial Finance, says:
“While we’re seeing positive improvements when it comes to women in business, there is still major work to be done in order to achieve total equality.
“Recent reports have shown female entrepreneurs in the UK launch their businesses with 53 percent less capital than men, and a lack of access to funding is one of the biggest challenges they face when deciding to start their own company, as opposed to men.
“The lending industry must also play its part. That’s why as part of our offering, we are introducing a discount on loans to companies with a female director. Our ambition is to encourage businesses with female leaders to maximise their potential and ensure they are doing so with the appropriate financial backing in place. It’s by no means a silver bullet, but hopefully a step in the right direction.”
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.
