Recessions make women turn to well-paid, maths intensive careers August 4, 2015 There's nothing quite like a recession to close the gender pay gap. According to a study published by Germany's Institute for the Study of Labour, economic downturns cause a greater proportion of women to follow maths-intensive, well-paid career paths. Read more: The gender pay gap can't be closed while the Tories have their heads in [...]
FTSE 350 boardroom diversity is up as women made up four in ten new directors appointed last year August 3, 2015 More women than ever are being appointed to UK boards, as four in 10 of new non-executive directors last year were female. The composition of boardrooms is changing dramatically, with the percentage of women joining boards quadrupling over the past seven years, from 11 per cent in 2007 to 39 per cent in 2014, shows [...]
To stay ahead in a digital economy, we must dismiss the myth that digital skills are only for a certain few July 31, 2015 To stay ahead in a future digital economy, leaders of any business need to culturally prepare for radical change. Today, the digital skills that underpin the success of our future economy lie in the hands of a small group of people. How many business leaders can confidently say they understand what goes on behind the [...]
Gender pay gap: About time to name and shame businesses who don’t promote women July 16, 2015 News that UK firms will be required to publish gender pay audits is to be applauded. Gender diversity in the workplace has been ignored for too long by UK companies and it’s about time businesses that fail to employ, support and promote women are named and shamed. Why am I so passionate about this topic? [...]
Ten reasons why gender pay differences don’t prove discrimination by employers July 15, 2015 We can all agree that gender pay discrimination is wrong, but there is also too much gender pay disinformation at present. Gender pay differences neither prove nor disprove discrimination. There is undoubtedly a significant difference in the full-time hourly pay of women compared with that of men, even though this gap has narrowed over [...]
Women’s confidence in fair pay plummets as fewer women than men expect a pay rise July 15, 2015 Women are far less likely than men to expect a pay rise in the next year. Just 27 per cent of women feel “confident” that they will get a raise within the next 12 months, compared to 40 per cent of men, according to a new survey from careers website Glassdoor. Overall, expectations of a [...]
Gender pay rule gets lukewarm City reception: Focus should be on getting “more women into senior executive positions” July 14, 2015 The government's plan for companies to reveal pay differences between men and women received cautious backing from the business world yesterday, yet critics insist it will not improve equality in the workplace. Feelings from major City firms were mixed after David Cameron announced that large companies will be required to hand over data on [...]
Will Cameron help women in the workplace by forcing large firms to disclose gender pay data? July 14, 2015 Vicky Pryce, chief economic adviser at CEBR and author with Stefan Stern of Why Women Need Quotas (Biteback, 2015), says Yes Voluntary arrangements have not worked and forcing organisations to publish pay differentials is now essential. Interestingly young women do better than young men in their 20s. But thereafter the trend changes and the pay [...]
Gender pay gap: Why Cameron’s announcement is good news for the economy July 14, 2015 Like David Cameron, I want to look back at the gender pay gap in the same way we look back at women not voting and working – as something archaic, delusional and fundamentally wrong. Cameron’s announcement that large firms will have to disclose the average salary for both male and female employees will highlight the [...]
Top UK firms to reveal wages for male and female employees as David Cameron vows to “end gender pay gap” July 13, 2015 Large companies will soon be required to publish what they pay male and female employees, under new rules to be announced by Prime Minister David Cameron today as part of a commitment to “end the gender pay gap in a generation”. The rules will apply to companies with more than 250 workers. A consultation with [...]