Women in Leadership

It's no great secret that due to many different factors, the gender pay gap is still alive and well.

In reality though, what does this mean? Factors such as maternity leave and the prevalence of part time work amongst women often mean the gender pay gap is significantly increased but, in some companies, the fact that the so-called glass ceiling is also alive and well plays a more significant role in the pay gap.

According to Catalyst – an NPO working globally on creating "workplaces that work for women," women are under-represented in management positions across the world and when it comes to executive positions, the numbers are extremely low.

Last year, the proportion of women in management roles globally was 29%; this is the highest number ever recorded. That may sound encouraging – it is certainly an improvement on previous years however, it would appear that the further up the corporate ladder you go, the less impressive the situation.

Mercer's 2020 research of about 1,100 companies globally suggests that the breakdown of women’s positions in those organisations looks like this:

• Executives: 23%
• Senior managers: 29%
• Managers: 37%
• Professionals: 42%
• Support staff: 47%

Given that women account for just under 50% of the world's current population, this does seem entirely disproportionate. A look at health and social care in the UK, however, tells a somewhat different story – Skills for Care’s last report showed that a staggering 84% of registered managers were female although executive roles still remain dominated by men. Within the NHS, 45.5% of chief executive roles are held by women although the figure varies significantly between different health boards and departments. Unfortunately, the target of 50:50 representation by 2020 has not been achieved, it is a more encouraging balance than many other industries.