If you are a woman in the workplace today, you are more likely to feel under pressure to work harder and deliver more but are less likely to be rewarded and recognised for your efforts compared to your male colleagues. A new survey reveals women feel more obliged to go above and beyond at work compared to men*.
Some of the key findings from the survey of UK workers include: 60 per cent of women say they always work hard, compared to 45 per cent of men who say the same; 28 per cent of women say they always deliver over and above to impress, compared to just 19 per cent of men; 15 per cent of women have attended a course or studied for a qualification to increase their credentials, compared to nine per cent of men.
Despite this extra effort women are still significantly outnumbered on the senior leadership teams of the UK’s top companies; they hold only 29 per cent of FTSE 100 board positions**.
These findings go some way to explain why 76 per cent of organisations that believe advancing women is a critical business issue are unsatisfied with their ability to demonstrate the individual actions, organisational practices and cultural attributes that cultivate gender diversity and elevate women in leadership. The study sheds new light on the advancing more women in leadership and what successful organisations are doing differently to make real progress. The catalyst for elevating women in organisations comes down to what managers and leaders do every day. The daily behaviours of the people managers who are known champions of female talent have the greatest impact on an organisation’s ability to get and keep women in their leadership pipelines.
The top five behaviours that people leaders demonstrate to champion female talent that make a real difference are:
Provide coaching and feedback that builds business acumen; Support flexibility to manage work schedules or location of work; Provide equal access to meaningful stretch projects that are tied to strategic business objectives; Give females exposure and profile to senior leaders and decision makers; Recruit and promote from a diverse pool of candidates
*from global human capital consultancy Lee Hecht Harrison Penna. The research was conducted by Opinium 15th – 18th February 2019 among 1,246 UK workers.
**https://www.gov.uk/government/news/record-number-of-women-on-ftse-100-boards
Interested in diversity in the workplace? We recommend the Diversity and Inclusion Conference 2019 and Diversity and Inclusion for HR professionals training day.
Aphrodite is a creative writer and editor specialising in publishing and communications. She is passionate about undertaking projects in diverse sectors. She has written and edited copy for media as varied as social enterprise, art, fashion and education. She is at her most happy owning a project from its very conception, focusing on the client and project research in the first instance, and working closely with CEOs and Directors throughout the consultation process. Much of her work has focused on rebranding; messaging and tone of voice is one of her expertise, as is a distinctively unique writing style in my most of her creative projects. Her work is always driven by the versatility of language to galvanise image and to change perception, as it is by inspiring and being inspired by the wondrous diversity of people with whom paths she crosses cross!
Aphrodite has had a variety of high profile industry clients as a freelancer, and previously worked for a number of years as an Editor and Journalist for Prospects.ac.uk.
Aphrodite is also a professional painter.
