Jobs For The Boys

UK workers should be growing tomatoes, according to new research. Well, not exactly, but as the glass ceiling is still prevalent in most industries, it the suggestion is that we should at least be finding ways to make the most of it. Joking aside, new findings by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) have revealed that despite years of lobbying, policy and attitude changing and social pressure, women are still not sitting in many of the top seats in the UK.

Women make up just 10 per cent of the directors of FTSE 100 companies and not quite 20 per cent of parliament, according to 'Sex and Power: Who Runs Britain?' 2007; the EOC's annual survey looking at women in senior positions across the public and private sectors. At the very top, women from ethnic minorities are especially under-represented at only 0.4 per cent of FTSE 100 directors and 0.3 per cent of those sitting in parliament. Calculations have shown that of the 33,000 top spots in the public and private sectors, a further 6,000 women are needed if the UK wants to have enough pressure to put a few cracks in that glass ceiling. Jenny Watson, chair of the EOC, says: "These troubling findings show just how slow the pace of change has been in powerful British institutions. They suggest it's time not just to send out the head-hunters to find some of those 'missing women', but to address the barriers that stand in their way". Thirty years on from the Sex Discrimination Act, women rightly expect to share power. But as our survey shows, that's not the reality. But what difference could we see if more women filled the top jobs? Watson says: "We all pay the price when Britain's boardrooms and elected chambers are unrepresentative. Our democracy and local communities will be stronger if women from different backgrounds are able to enjoy an equal voice. In business, no one can afford to fish in half the talent pool in today's intensely competitive world".

The EOC is urgently calling for changes in attitudes and operations that would see more women being able to advance up the career ladder. These include the extension of the right to request flexible working to all and the availability of high-quality, well paid flexible and part-time work at higher levels. It also wants political parties to continue to take positive action to address issues before the next election and improve women's representation. Watson concludes: "As the EOC enters its final year, we are calling for change to make it possible for men and women to share power in the future. Asking for flexible working still spells career death for too many women in today's workplace and, as a consequence, women with caring responsibilities all too often have to trade down to keep working. Extending the right to ask for flexible working to everyone in the workplace would change that culture and enable more women to reach the top. And political parties need to continue to take full advantage of the laws that allow positive action to enable more women to be selected as candidates at national level to ensure that the progress made here doesn't go into reverse".