There are two types of sexism at work, and “friendly” is the worst for long-term equality March 10, 2015 Just because a man smiles at a woman and is keen to engage in conversation with her, it doesn't mean he isn't harbouring sexist views, scientists have found. There is a particular type of sexism associated with overly friendly behaviour in men, which has been labelled as “benevolent” or “friendly” sexism by researchers at Northeastern [...]
International Women’s Day 2015: Four shocking facts about gender equality at work and in business March 8, 2015 On International Women's Day, and 20 years after the Bejing declaration on women's rights, the UN concluded that "despite marginal progress, we have years, even decades to go until women enjoy the same rights and benefits as men at work." Here are five shocking facts about gender equality in work and business. 1. The gap [...]
The Oscars are over, but popular culture is still a driving force behind inequality February 24, 2015 The Oscars have come and gone for another year. Winning an Academy Award is very often the basis for either making a fortune or turning an existing one into mega riches. Jack Nicholson has an estimated net worth of over $400m, and stars like Tom Hanks and Robert De Niro are not far behind. Even [...]
Bigger firms do better at board gender equality February 22, 2015 The UK’s glass ceiling may be showing signs of cracking after new research revealed women now hold directorships in just over a third of UK businesses, with larger firms leading the way, according to consultancy firm Procorre. The new figures suggest Britain’s SMEs have a lot to learn from their bigger counterparts after the data [...]
From Greece to Scotland via BT and EE: What got us talking this week February 6, 2015 It was all Greek to us this week Specifically, Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, who visited London as part of a Europe-wide charm offensive to support his plan for solving the small matter of the country's giant debt. Free market think tank Adam Smith Institute gave its backing to his debt restructuring [...]
Female representation: FTSE 100 companies edge towards 25 pc target – but some fall behind February 4, 2015 The UK's biggest companies are making progress when it comes to having a greater number of women on their boards. Or at least, some of them are. Old Mutual was today named the FTSE 100 company that made the most progress in having female board representation in the last four years. The investment firm increased [...]
Why we must end damaging stereotypes and get women back into trading January 29, 2015 When I started work at BP as an oil trader in the 1980s, I joined a team of five female and four male oil traders. This was in the days before Diversity and Inclusion was even invented, let alone taken seriously by many organisations. It was a successful and high performing team doing its job [...]
Advertising has an image problem: Apprenticeships will help us boost diversity January 29, 2015 With 98 days to go until the general election, David Cameron has pledged to reduce the annual benefits cap to fund 3m new apprenticeships. Is this what business wants? It is clearly a good thing, economically and socially, to spend less on welfare and to encourage more people into work. To date, however, the creative [...]
Higher expectations are stopping women getting top jobs, not family commitments and motherhood January 15, 2015 The lack of female leaders and top executives in business isn't down to the reason you might think. Research has shown that more women are needed at the top of business, not just on principle, but to make businesses better, and it's motherhood which usually gets the blame as the main reason preventing women from [...]
Which countries have the most women on boards? Norway, France and the United Kingdom January 13, 2015 The number of women on the boards of British companies has transformed from a mere smattering into a solid number in recent years, but how well is the UK doing compared to the rest of the world? Britain came sixth out of 20 in a new international census, which looked at women on the boards [...]