A few weeks ago, I interviewed a woman who had just been appointed to a FTSE board about her experiences chiselling away at what sometimes seems to be corporate Britain’s shatter-proof-glass ceiling.
She told me some of the misogynistic, racist comments that had been directed at her over her career; she told me how much less she was paid than other men at her level; she told how many times people had said or implied she was only in her top-tier role due to tokenism.
Then she told me I couldn’t quote any of her comments on the record — “because everyone will know it’s me. I’m the only non-white woman in the boardroom in this whole industry”.
The gender gap among those running Britain’s biggest companies remains stark; add a check on diversity and it’s even worse. Latest figures show the pay discrepancy remains larger than we’d realised too. Only one of the 50 highest paid roles on the boards of Britain’s top blue-chips is held by a woman, according to a poll by PR outfit Mattison this week. (It might like to have a look at itself in the mirror too, having more blokes called John and Richard working there than women, according to its LinkedIn profile).
Women are being appointed to more boards, but mostly to lower-paid, part-time non-exec jobs, not the kerching ones running the company. Female FTSE 100 directors now earn 74 per cent less than men. What can we do about it? The old wait-for-change approach, that more women would start reaching the upper rungs over time, isn’t working.
Kids are mostly at the root of the issue. Until there’s more parity over parenting, and more state support for a childcare system that’s amongst the most expensive in the world, women will always struggle to hit the career peaks that men are reaching.
We also need more transparency over pay. Why should it fall to those who are discriminated against to speak out? Listed companies already have to reveal chief executive-to-employee pay ratios; why not demand the same of all companies with, say, 100 or more staff? Make firms reveal the pay range in job ads or interviews; give staff the right to access information on average pay, for men and women, doing the same work as them.
Pay is going to be a lingering hot topic in this summer of simmering wage rage. Those doing work of equal value should always have the right to equal pay.
