Diversity

32
Diversity
Table 1: Gender representation in the corporate pipeline in 2016
Entry level Manager Senior
manager
Men
So how do you get a mentor?
The same KPMG study quoted
above highlighted that nine in
10 women said they do not feel
confident in asking for a sponsor
and eight out of 10 lack confidence
in seeking mentors. Implementing
formal mentoring programmes and
leadership development programmes
aimed specifically at high-potential
women in an organisation is an
invaluable step on the road to
changing the gender balance of an
organisation.
Is the gender balance improving?
The number of females in
management roles and at senior
leadership levels in organisations
is slowly but steadily increasing.
The 30% Club’s recent Women in
Management study with Dublin City
University found that women now
hold 40% of positions at the lowest
level of management surveyed (three
steps down from CEO) and 17% of
CEO positions. The statistics do vary
by sector and organisation size, with
women more likely to feature in
Percentage of employees by level
VP
Senior
VP
C-Suite
54% 63% 67% 71% 76% 81%
46%
Women
37%
33%
29%
24%
19%
Percentage of women in pipeline in 2015
45% 37% 32% 27% 23% 17%
In 2010, when the European Commission first
put the issue of women in leadership positions high on
the political agenda, only 11.9% of board members of
the largest publicly listed companies in the EU were
women. This rose significantly to over 21% in 2015.
leadership roles in areas such as HR
and marketing, and less so in finance,
sales, operations or IT. Other recent
statistics show that in 2015, Ireland
had on average 18% female board
representation. That is up from 10%
10 years ago and 16% in 2014.
These findings are in line with a
2016 McKinsey study on women in
the workplace (refer to Table 1 above).
In 2011, the EU proposed that it
would introduce legislation requiring
all publicly quoted companies to
have 40% representation of women
on their boards by 2020. While the
council of ministers has failed to
get all member states to agree to
enact the legislation, it has had an
impact. In 2010, when the European
Commission first put the issue of
women in leadership positions high
on the political agenda, only 11.9%
of board members of the largest
publicly listed companies in the EU
were women. This rose significantly
to over 21% in 2015.
In the UK, the 2011 Davies review
recommended that the FTSE 100
leading companies should have at
least 25% female representation
on their boards. Some investment
managers are now mandating this
among their investee companies and
publicly saying they will vote against
board appointments that do not
contribute to meeting this objective.
26% of board positions in FTSE100
firms and 20.4% in FTSE250 firms
are held by women. There are now no
all-male boards in the FTSE100 firms
and just 15 all-male boards in the
FTSE250 firms.
Like the gender pay reporting,
a policy initiative is causing
organisations to take notice and act.
However, there is still a very long
way to go if we are to achieve gender
balance.
As a profession, what else can we do?
We know that work/life balance is
an increasingly key factor in career
choices – at all levels and for both
sexes. Initiatives such as intelligent
working arrangements, ramp up and
ramp down in career planning, and
greater maternity supports all play a
key role here.
Space is too short to delve properly
into this area on this occasion other
than to say that most of us now
work in a very mobile fashion. Does
it matter whether we are sitting at a
desk, on a train or in our own homes?
Should the measure instead not
be the quality of the output rather
than the location from which it is
delivered? However, it does challenge
the status quo of the presenteeism
concept that still pervades in many
areas.
As a country, we have made a lot
of progress in the past few years. Yes,
there is more to do. But by reporting
and commenting on the issues,
organisations are starting to put in
place positive strategies to effect
change.
We are realising that not only is
it the right thing to do, but it makes
good business sense too.
MICHELE CONNOLLY
Michele Connolly FCA is Head of Corporate
Finance at KPMG Ireland and a member of
the Institute’s new Diversity Committee.
ACCOUNTANCY IRELAND
APRIL 2017