It would appear to be an unhappy problem with a solution happily close to hand. Skills shortages, immediately apparent across digital, technology, finance and engineering, are becoming increasingly evident across many sectors. With the focus from Government, employers and the economy firmly on growth, an inability to source talent appears somewhat unfortunate. However, the plight of women in the workplace, very well documented over the last few weeks, largely as a result of International Women’s Day, suggests that rather than making use of talented individuals – one obvious solution to the skill shortage problem – organisations continue to fish from a restricted chromosome pool.
Some of the metrics supporting this view are statistics which are as revealing as they are depressing.
According to law firm Slater & Gordon, one in seven women were made redundant during their maternity leave, 40% returned to a job which had changed and more than 10% were replaced in their role by the individual who had covered their maternity period. Just this month, the UK dropped from 13th to 18th in PWC’s Women in Work Index for developed countries. And comparisons by salary appear no less concerning – figures from the Chartered Management Institute suggest that the average male in a managerial/executive role earns £40.3k, whilst the same figure for a woman is £30.2k. And from Google exec, Sheryl Sandberg’s very recent book Lean In, comes the findings from Princeton University alumni that just 40% of professional women return to work on a full time basis, having taken time off to raise a family. Finally, again from PWC, since 2002, there has been a 40% fall off in women employed within senior management roles.
To suggest this is counter-productive would seem to be underestimating both the impact and the affect on both UK plc and the women concerned. A quick glance across the Channel makes this point very clear. Geneva University has estimated that companies within the French CAC Index (the Gallic FTSE 100) with a board comprising at least a third women, have provided a 30% better stock market return than those more male dominated organisations over the last six years. And, closer to home, Barclays Wealth suggests that UK female entrepreneurs earn up to 17% more than their male counterparts.
If some organisations seem to struggle perennially to both recruit and retain women, others seem to have less of a struggle. And Google appears to fall into the latter category. Sandberg’s book talks about a long-hours’ culture but also a working environment that has an enthusiasm for childcare, that provides senior female mentors for early career female joiners, role models and genuine engagement. Key components, then, of an employer brand.
This, for TMP, is critical. An employer brand and its keynote employee value proposition do not (or should not) represent simple slogans and headlines, fine for influencing recruitment communications but of little other strategic use. Rather they should act as the articulation of a genuine and integrated commitment to the engagement, development and encouragement of great people. All employee touchpoints – remuneration, development, appraisal, communications, etc – should play their role in enabling great individuals to thrive, to belong and to engage, regardless of their gender, sexuality, disability, ethnicity or age. This has to be an employer commitment born out of authenticity, sustainability and delivery.
With great employees being fundamental to the sort of growth that continues to elude many organisations, the continued inability of some employers to engage enthusiastically and sincerely with great female talent appears baffling. Sheryl Sandberg is far from alone. With Angela Merkel maintaining a huge prominence across the EU, Vladimir Putin having installed Elvira Nabiullina as Russia’s next central bank chairman (the first woman to head a Group of Eight monetary authority) and Theresa May an increasingly intriguing next leader of the Conservative Party, then ambitious women do not lack for role models. The question is whether today’s employers are reaching out with sufficient enthusiasm, empathy and authenticity to persuade women that they represent fitting environments for their talent. It may be insightful for many employers to engage with both internal and external talent audiences to establish whether their current employer brand is viewed as female friendly or quite the opposite.
The key point emerging here for TMP is whether employer brands of certain organisations are currently gender biased and whether a re-engineering and re-articulation of the value proposition and its messaging, across all touchpoints, can start to render those organisations as a more obvious career destination for both genders.
Getting to the heart of your employee mindset 