Diversity champion, INvolve, has released its annual HERoes Women Role Model Lists 2019, supported by Yahoo! Finance. Now in the third year, these lists celebrate business leaders breaking down barriers at work and using their positions to empower and celebrate female talent.
Despite gender pay gap reporting launching last year there has been little improvement in closing the pay gap with only a 0.1% decrease from 2018 to 2019[1]. A survey of women business leaders in the INvolve network shows that 41% still think it will take over 20 years to eradicate the gender pay gap. The survey also found that 85% look at an organisation’s gender pay gap information prior to choosing a new employer, making it even more important for employers to take measures to empower women in the workplace and close the pay gap in order to hire the best talent.
Number one listers
Nicola Mendelsohn, Vice President for Facebook EMEA, ranks first on the HERoes 100 Women Executives List. Nicola has been instrumental in publishing the annual diversity report at Facebook, now in its fifth year. This award recognises her fantastic work both at Facebook and externally promoting gender diversity.
Nicola says: ‘I’m absolutely delighted to be included in the HERoes list alongside so many inspiring women. I know there will always be work to do but it is vital that we continue to boost the representation of women so that young women like my daughter can have the same opportunities as my sons.”
Kemi Adetu, Associate, Client Manager at Standard Chartered Bank, tops this year’s HERoes 50 Women Future Leaders List, which celebrates the world’s next generation of women business leaders. In recognition of her fantastic work for diversity at SCB, she was recently invited to join the Diversity & Inclusion Council for SCB Americas.
Kemi says: “I am honoured, humbled and grateful to be labelled as a role model, alongside so many phenomenal women as global change agents. Working in a diverse, inclusive environment has allowed me to be authentic every day. A gender inclusive environment has allowed me to feel, comfortable expressing myself, comfortable expressing my opinions, and ultimately confident that my reward, compensation and performance review is based on merit, not biased by my gender. I believe that by being more inclusive, we create an environment for our colleagues to bring the best version of themselves to work every day, leading to more efficiency, improved productivity and better physical and mental health”
Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet plc, is number one on the HERoes 40 Advocate Executives List. This list recognises senior leaders who are advocates for women in business and dedicated to creating more diverse and inclusive business environments for women. Having more senior male executives to support women in business is, according to INvolve’s research, something that 100% of those surveyed want.
Johan says: “I am honoured to be recognised as a HERoes Advocate for 2019. At easyJet, our people are a key priority, and we are committed to placing Diversity and Inclusion at the heart of our business. Promoting an inclusive and energising environment helps us to attract and retain the best talent and we look forward to making easyJet even more inclusive in years to come.”
The current landscape for women in the workplace
- Research by INvolve found that only 6 FTSE 100 companies have female CEOs with women making up just 29.8% of company boards in the UK
- ONS data indicates that there is a 9.6% median gender pay gap in the UK
- Eight in ten UK firms pay men more than women
- Research by INvolve and Cebr shows gender discrimination in UK workplaces costs the economy £123billion every year
- Research from Monster.co.uk shows that a quarter of women have experienced or witnessed gender inequality in the workplace in the past twelve months
Suki Sandhu OBE, Founder & CEO of INvolve, says: “These lists have been created with one aim – to create gender parity in workplaces across the globe.”
“The role models we’re recognising aren’t just those who have achieved success themselves – they’re those who are committed to lifting others with them as they climb, and ultimately fuelling the female talent pipeline.”
“Despite gender pay gap reporting being introduced well over a year ago, there has been virtually no improvement in closing the gender pay gap. Indeed, our own research shows that 41% of people think it will take over 20 years to make the gender pay gap zero. Evidently, the quest for workplace gender equality is not complete. All of our role models are inspiring the next generation of women to push through the glass ceiling. Through these lists, we hope to encourage individuals and businesses to work together to drive change, not just in workplaces, but across society as a whole.”
You can see the full list of winners here.
