Article by Sharon Peake, founder and CEO at Shape Talent.
In the world of business, one of the most devastating long-term impacts has been on gender equality – where we have seen recent momentum regress significantly. So much so in fact, it is now estimated that the time it will take to close the gender gap has widened from an already depressing 99 years in 2020 to an alarming 135 years this year (2021).
The frustrating truth is that Covid-19 has exacerbated the barriers that already existed to women’s progression in business. While we may all be desensitised to the issue of gender equality with all the communications around diversity, and now ESG, there is no denying that inclusion and gender balance continue to be major issues for business and society generally.
In addition to the moral and ethical imperative that should be felt by all progressive leaders, the benefits of gender equality for businesses are huge. Curtin Business School reports that an increase of 10 per cent or more in women’s representation in key executive roles directly leads to a 6.6 per cent increase in market value. Yet, despite the many benefits, it is currently going to take until the year 2156 to achieve equal representation of men and women in leadership.
Before we can solve any gender equality issue, we need to first understand the root causes. And we have done just that by analysing over 70 studies reporting the latest authoritative research for our white paper entitled; Three Barriers to Women’s Progression and What Organisations Can Do. The barriers can be broadly grouped into: Societal, Organisational and Personal.
These barriers result from the subtle and often unspoken cultural cues and messages that reinforce the ways that men and women ‘ought’ to think, behave and feel. More than ever before, mothers face the very real double burden of paid and unpaid work, and all women still face the weight of gender stereotypes, penalising us when we act in ways deemed to be ‘masculine’, such as taking leadership roles. Then there are women in the ‘sandwich generation’ who care for both aging parents and dependent children – perhaps while also battling menopause.
Though many dismiss this area, citing equal pay legislation and the fact that so many more women are in business, the reality is only around 20% of executive roles, and only around 8% of CEO roles are held by women across Europe. The huge hurdles encountered in the workplace are a combination of systemic obstacles, cultures and norms that disadvantage women. Women face everyday sexism, microaggressions and bias and many women also struggle to access the right networks or get sponsorship from powerful leaders that men are 25% more likely to receive. Others look at the ‘always on’ culture and think ‘I just can’t do that and still be a good mum/carer/friend’.
Some of the most unseen and insidious barriers are those on the inside. The reality is, sometimes women hold themselves back. Some women don’t feel able to put themselves forward for opportunities until they are “ready”, and thereby risk missing out on the visible, high-profile assignments that are often the building blocks for career progression. Others prefer not to engage with the inevitable politics of the workplace, don’t push to be heard in meetings, or try to replicate ‘male’ models of leadership which just aren’t authentic. Others struggle to negotiate an equitable division of household responsibilities with their spouses, with the resultant double burden limiting the time available for professional progression.
Some also have to contend with additional layers of bias and barriers. Women of colour. Women in the LGBTQI+ community. Women with a disability. Women with any combination of ‘minority’ characteristics. For these women the barriers are cumulative. And they are oppressive.
All these invisible pressures need to be acknowledged by organisations, and the leaders within them, as a prerequisite to being able to address them.
The barriers to women’s progression in leadership are not insurmountable, and organisations that are serious about gender equality can, and indeed are, making great strides. The more leading organisations that focus in on the real issues, create a climate for change and undertake programmes that deliver sustainable results, the more we will collectively breakdown the three barriers and accelerate gender equality.
Here are eight guiding principles organised into questions that company leaders can ask themselves to counteract these barriers, and ensure the step change needed for a more unified and engaged workforce:
As a leader, ask yourself: Are our equity, diversity and inclusion efforts inextricably linked to our business strategy? Is there a clear line of sight between our overall purpose and business priorities and what we are trying to achieve with our diversity programme? Think productivity, customer retention, time to market, risk management and other key business performance measures.
As a leader, ask yourself: Are my actions and behaviours signalling the importance I place on gender equality? If we look at the decisions and outputs of the leadership team recently, do they reflect our diversity messages? Are we individually and collectively walking the talk?
As a leader, ask yourself: Are our processes, systems and metrics geared towards gender equality, diversity and inclusion? And are our front-line leaders equipped with the skills and motivation to lead inclusively?
As a leader, ask yourself: Do we have a good handle on the barriers to women’s progression? Are there particular hurdles borne out of our industry, heritage, or culture? What is the data telling us? What are our women actually experiencing? Are we basing our approaches on what has been proven to work?
As a leader, ask yourself: Have we done enough to bring our male colleagues on the gender equality journey? Do they understand and appreciate the barriers? Have we helped them internalise the many positive roles they can play accelerating equality? Are our diversity efforts inclusive of all, and not alienating anyone?
As a leader, ask yourself: Are we attracting a gender balanced intake of graduates, or is our industry struggling to attract women? How might we take a long-term view and raise awareness of our industry at secondary and tertiary school level, to encourage more women graduates? Are our recruitment, career development, appraisal and reward practices designed to accelerate gender equality?
As a leader, ask yourself: What positive actions can we take to give under-represented groups an equal opportunity here? Are there acceleration programmes or targeted recruitment campaigns we could undertake?
As a leader, ask yourself: What are the two or three things we could do really well which would have the biggest impact on gender equity, diversity and inclusion? How might these priorities need to differ in the various geographies in which we operate?
As the corporate world continues to evolve from adding value for shareholders to playing an even more purposeful role in creating value for a broader range of stakeholders, we really believe that organisations can be a powerful force for equality. When we recognise and address the invisible barriers to women’s progress in business, our actions reverberate in our communities and in society generally. These actions accelerate gender equality and create a better world for our daughters and their daughters too.
Sharon Peake is founder and CEO at Shape Talent. Sharon is an experienced diversity and talent management leader with over 20 years’ experience in global businesses, leading teams of 100+ employees. She is also a registered psychologist and certified coach. Prior to founding Shape Talent in 2017, she held senior leadership roles in two FTSE20 business.
Born in Australia, Sharon has lived and worked in Australia and the UK, and her roles have given her experience working across 6 continents, delivering work in locations as diverse as Colombia, Romania, India, Uganda, New York, and Hong Kong. Her clients come from sectors as diverse as telecoms, consumer goods, manufacturing, publishing, medical devices, and financial services.
February
25feb09:0017:30International Women's Day Conference & Exhibition 2025 | ThinkFest IWD
25/02/2025 09:00 - 17:30(GMT+00:00)
Millennium Point - Birmingham
Curzon Street, Birmingham, B4 7XG
Join us for a kick-ass International Women’s Day Conference & Exhibition, celebrating and empowering women from all walks of life! International Women’s
Join us for an inspiring and empowering event celebrating women’s achievements and promoting gender equality. The International Women’s Day Conference & Exhibition will take place at Millennium Point – Birmingham. This in-person event brings together influential speakers, thought-provoking discussions, and a vibrant exhibition showcasing the talents of women from various fields. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect, learn, and be inspired by remarkable women from around the world. Come and be part of this incredible celebration of women’s accomplishments and the journey towards a more inclusive society.
The Event is split in two, a ticketed Conference and a free to attend Expo.
FREE TO ATTEND EXPO – This part of the event will feature a number of exhibition stands as well as seminar stage delivering content to individuals, small businesses and young females. This is completely free to attend and we have content running throughout the day.
For more for more information about all of the sessions we are running, please take a look at our website. www.IWDExpo.com
We look forward to welcoming you all there, don’t forget it’s not just for women, we need more men in the room to create a greater alliance for gender parity.
10:00 AM Welcome & Introduction
10:30 AM Motivational Networking
11:00 AM How to Start and Scale Your Business
11:30 AM The Magic of Writing Your Book
12:00 PM Funding Females
12:30 PM Mental Health & Wellbeing
1:00 PM Women In STEM
2:00 PM Women in Media
3:00 PM Empowering Girls for Career Success
4:00 PM Building Your Personal Brand
4:40 PM Monetise your Passion
5:10 PM Finish
PAID TICKET CONFERENCE – The content delivered at the conference will be targeted towards senior leaders across business and corporate as well as third-sector organisations. We will be exploring a range of different topics, looking at key issues that women face and what we can do to improve the experience for women in the workplace. A key part of the conference will focus on how we increase the number of male allies for females and have a dedicated panel of speakers discussing this. To top it all off we will be hearing from fashion entrepreneur Karen Millen OBE, founder of Karen Millen.
25feb10:3011:30The FTSE Women Leaders Review | Report Launch Tuesday 25 February 2025
25/02/2025 10:30 - 11:30(GMT+00:00)
We are delighted to extend to you a special invitation to the live broadcast launch of the FTSE Women Leaders Review report on Tuesday 25 February 2025 from
The FTSE Women Leaders Review has made remarkable strides, with the FTSE 350 achieving over 40% women’s representation on boards ahead of the target. However, our work is far from complete. Achieving gender balance and diversity on boards and leadership teams has never been more crucial to harness the wealth of experience, expertise and skills essential for business to navigate complex issues successfully.
With just one year remaining to reach our recommendations, realising genuine equality and enabling further progress will require a united commitment from us all to achieve the 40% women in leadership target and to drive more appointments of women into the ‘four key roles’; the Chair, Senior Independent Director, CEO and Finance Director.
We therefore warmly invite you to join us for the 2024 report launch, where we will share new and exclusive findings on the progress made in achieving gender balance during the year. We are delighted that the Secretary of State for the Department of Business & Trade and the Minister for Women & Equalities will be sharing their support for the Review, and we are excited to host a panel of distinguished guests who will share insights on how they are accelerating progress.
Our panellists include:
– Allison Kirkby, CEO BT Group Plc
– Lee Chambers, Business Psychologist, Speaker, Author
– Yetunde Hofmann, Non-Executive Director Cranswick Plc
– Mary Ann Sieghart, Author of ‘The Authority Gap’
Please confirm your attendance at this virtual event by completing this registration form. If you encounter any difficulties during the registration process, our team is available to assist you at [email protected]
This year, our event will be exclusively a live broadcast, and so we encourage you to share this invitation with your network.
27feb08:3014:00Clarity Connect International Women's Day Conference | Clarity Leadership Ltd
27/02/2025 08:30 - 14:00(GMT+00:00)
Bloomsbury Ballroom
Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1B 4DA
Ahead of IWD2025, please join Clarity Leadership as we hear from leaders and generate discussion around the key themes of gender equality. Ahead of International Women’s Day
Ahead of International Women’s Day 2025, please join Clarity Leadership as we invite you to join us for an open and inclusive morning of presentations and lively debate. To follow the IWD 2025 theme, #AcclerateAction, the speakers will be generating discussion and debate around female leadership, gender equality and the creation of an inclusive and more gender-equal world.
We will be joined by two exceptional leaders, Lee Chambers, Founding Director of Male Allies UK, and Riham Satti, Co-Founder and CEO of MeVitae, Creating Fairness in the Workplace. They will share their experiences, challenges, and the obstacles they’ve overcome in their efforts to create a more equal world.
We also invite you to hear research, experiences, and views from a group of leaders who identify as women from several leading organisations, including Pfizer, Microsoft, Vodafone, Reckitt, and Bayer. The speakers join us from all over the world and around the UK, providing a global perspective on their discussions. This is the culmination of six months’ work by 16 leaders who identify as women, who have been through our Women in Leadership Programme. The final part of their journey has been the design and delivery of this event.
This is an event for everyone and we look forward to welcoming you!
Free
27/02/2025 12:30 - 13:30(GMT+00:00)
We are delighted to be joined by Laura Bates, Best-selling Author, Keynote Speaker and Founder of the Everyday Sexism Project.
Laura will be setting out the existing and potential ways in which emerging technologies can have unintended negative impacts on women and marginalised groups, both in and outside the workplace. From the metaverse and deepfake technology to AI and adult robots, these technologies are fast becoming the building blocks of our future societies, so it is vital that we understand the risks and act now to prevent them from reinventing existing forms of inequality in our brave new world.
Laura Bates is a best-selling author, keynote speaker and founder of the Everyday Sexism Project. Her books include Everyday Sexism, Girl Up and Fix the System, Not the Women. Laura writes regularly for the New York Times, Guardian and others, and is a frequent media commentator and consultant for TV productions tackling issues around gender inequality.
She works closely with government, schools, businesses, police forces and bodies from the United Nations to the Council of Europe on sexism and inequality.
In recognition of Laura’s work surrounding sexism and gender inequality, she was awarded a British Empire Medal in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours List and has been named Woman of the Year by Cosmopolitan, Red Magazine and The Sunday Times Magazine. She is also an Honorary Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Please note, this event will be hosted as a Teams Town hall. Please register your place on Eventbrite and we will share the Teams meeting link.
We look forward to seeing you!
free
27feb18:0020:30Planning and Goals Workshop | WeAreTheCity
27/02/2025 18:00 - 20:30(GMT+00:00)
Nomura
1 Angel Lane, London, EC4R 3AB
Join Dr Vanessa Vallely OBE to discover why and how to create your career strategy and plan in order to
This interactive session is aimed at injecting the “va va voom” back into your career.
Dr Vanessa Vallely OBE, CEO of WeAreTheCity, will share why leaving your career solely in the hands of your line manager is no longer enough. Vanessa will provide insights on how to take charge of your career, create a strategic plan, and actively seek opportunities to propel your professional growth.
The workshop focuses on why and how to create a career strategy and plan, to unlock your potential and path to success. This session is not about theory, science or blue sky thinking, it is about a realistic look at what you want to achieve and actions to take in order to get where you want to go!
Session includes:
By the end of this session, participants will have the foundation of a career plan they can continue to develop and implement throughout 2025.
We will close the evening with networking and drinks/canapés.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Please note that on arrival at Nomura guests will be asked to provide photographic ID, a passport or driving licence.