Does the glass ceiling still exist for women?
DOES THE GLASS CEILING STILL EXIST FOR WOMEN?
Vanessa DiCuffa, head of employment at the Birmingham office of solicitors Freeth Cartwright, gives her view.
Women are still substantially underrepresented at senior level in City firms, according to new research by leading law publication Legal Week, with more than half of partners believing the profession has a poor record at retaining female lawyers.
The survey of over 200 partners in legal firms found more than two thirds of respondents (67%) felt representation of women at a senior level was either ‘poor’ or ‘could be better’.
In contrast, only 5% thought the level of women making it to senior roles was ‘excellent’. Thirteen percent thought it was ‘good’ and 15% judged it to be ‘OK’.
This research is fascinating, not only because it appears to highlight a perceived inequality between the sexes, but also because it really is not a true reflection of what is happening outside the City of London.
I firmly believe, particularly here in the West Midlands, that women lawyers broke through the proverbial glass ceiling years ago, and that the legal profession offers some outstanding career opportunities, regardless of gender.
At Freeth Cartwright, for example, we are seeing greater numbers of high calibre women showing an interest in top-level professional vacancies across all our specialist fields. There is absolutely no questioning the fact that men and women contend equally for these positions and, in this enlightened age, it is an insult to suggest otherwise.
But whilst the local legal profession is making strong headway on the gender issue, it is apparent that not all business sectors are quite so forward-thinking.
The Guardian newspaper has just published its annual survey of boardroom pay. One of the key findings is that only one in 15 boardroom seats in the FTSE 100 is occupied by women, who mostly hold part-time roles as non-executive directors.
Steps are being taken, though, to reverse this woeful trend. Witness last month’s launch of Women for Boards, a broadly-publicised scheme that aims to increase the number of high-quality women on the boards of FTSE 250 and FTSE 350 companies.
It plans to pair potential female candidates with mentors such as the former newsreader Anna Ford, now a non-executive director at Sainsbury’s, and Helen Alexander, president of the CBI business lobby group and non-executive director of Rolls-Royce and Centrica.
Arguably even more groundbreaking than this equality initiative are the steps being taken by computer company Dell. Senior male workers within the organisation are being mentored by female colleagues in a pioneering move aimed at highlighting the problems women face in the workplace and helping them get into the top jobs.
Such schemes are to be supported and will, I hope, achieve their commendable aim. Indeed, I am sure that some of these approaches could be of benefit to the Midlands legal profession to underpin its forward-thinking attitudes.
On a wider basis, though, they are absolutely essential if the proverbial glass ceiling is to be banished from UK businesses. Whilst steps are being taken to eradicate it, it does still exist. It appears there is some way to go before all UK businesses can acknowledge and make the most of the talents of our female workforce.
If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this article, please contact Vanessa at vanessa.dicuffa@freethcartwright.co.uk or telephone her on 0845 634 2584.
ends - 6 November 2009