At Work Designing a Company Fit for the Future
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WOMEN AT WORK DESIGNING A COMPANY FIT FOR THE FUTURE 1 FOREWORD The sight of Carolyn Fairbairn and Frances O’Grady touring the TV studios with a joint message for the prime minister on the “national emergency” of a no-deal Brexit, was heartening – even if Theresa May was not listening. ‘These women are doing things differently,’ I thought, unprecedented as it is for the leader of the employer’s organisation, the CBI, to join forces with the head of the Trades Union Congress. I would like to think that women could collaborate and co-operate more like Mses Fairbairn and O’Grady if they were able to work in ways that came more naturally to them. This might give us a more sustainable, caring form of capitalism than the current winner- takes-all approach to the economy that has been fostered by men in charge. Deborah Hargreaves There are already many women out there who are attempting to Friends Provident do things differently. In the wake of the #MeToo movement lots Foundation journalist of women have been re-assessing their approach to work. They fellow are being helped along by a proliferation of writing about women and jobs, leadership and the economy. From retail consultant and broadcaster, Mary Portas Work Like A Woman where she writes about rebuilding her business on values such as collaboration, empathy and trust, to feminist campaigner, Caroline Criado Perez Invisible Women about a world largely built for and by men. We seem to be waking up to the fact that the female approach, women’s views and characteristics such as inclusion and empathy are just as important as those of men and it is high time they were recognised. This report is my attempt to ask women what a feminine corporation would look like; what they would change about work if they could and in doing so, make the economy work more fairly for everyone. I would like to thank freelance reporter, Jill Treanor, for helping with the interviews. Between us, we have spoken to about 150 women in the UK either individually, in groups or in online conversations. We have tried to cover a broad swathe of the economy, both private and public sector as well as academia and the arts. Our youngest interviewees were in their early 20’s and the oldest in her late 70’s. While everyone’s experience is different, there are some strong themes that emerged. My thanks also to Friends Provident Foundation for funding the project through their Journalist Fellowship and for providing valuable support. Lastly, a big thank-you to all of the inspiring women who have helped with this report. 2 CONTENTS 04 Executive summary 30 Longer weekends 05 Introduction 32 New ways of working 06 Where do women work? 33 New ways of living 08 What do women do? 34 Different values 09 Obstacles at work 36 Purpose in life 10 Working women 39 Women in the boardroom 12 Technology imbalance 40 Board quotas 14 Gender pay gap 41 More balance 17 Working nine to five 42 What’s stopping women from 18 Time off for new parents getting to the top? 20 Caring for children 45 Women in finance 21 Swedish lessons 47 Giving women a leg up 22 Breaking the long-hours culture 49 Running your own company 24 Caring for the elderly 50 Changing the status quo is hard 26 Flexibility at work 52 Biology - The last taboo? 28 Flexible rights 54 Conclusions: A manifesto for 29 Job rethink change 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY There are 71% of women aged 16-64 at work in Britain. vulnerable at work. Gender stereotypes: Women encounter prejudice about Conclusions: The feminine corporation would put caring at the roles they adopt: men are seen as leaders and women its heart and work would fit around it, rather than the other as assistants. Current career structures can encourage way around. My manifesto for change would see a more women to adopt male behaviour to get on at work. human face put on the workplace. The lack of representation of women in the tech industry is 1. The organisation would put caring for children, relatives a particular concern as it means the male outlook becomes and parents at its heart. embedded in the algorithms that increasingly run our lives. 2. It would offer a carer’s passport for all staff – including Pay gap: The difference between men’s and women’s agency workers. earnings remains 9.6% across the economy, often because of job segregation – women are most represented at the 3. The workplace would help provide affordable childcare lower levels. This means women are most exposed to the – either with an in-house creche or vouchers towards insecure employment conditions endemic for low-paid outside provision. roles. Childcare costs in England are the highest in the OECD at 40% of a couple’s after-tax income. 4. There would be a focus on agile working with a 4-day week, flexible rotas, home working and job-sharing Caring and flexibility: Women are the main carers for encouraged and facilitated at all levels. children, elderly parents or spouses which makes them more likely to work part-time, in job shares or flexibly. Flexible 5. The workplace would be inclusive and open to people working is foisted on some women in low-paid roles while from all heritages, disabilities and identities. those in better-paid jobs can struggle to squeeze full-time work into part-time hours. Job-sharing is one answer, but 6. There would be no gender pay gap and mentoring this is not for everyone. would be available for all. The right to request flexible working has been enshrined in 7. Equal numbers of men and women (with diverse law since 2014, although take-up has tailed off – women backgrounds) would be promoted to all layers of fear their careers will suffer. But some question whether management and senior roles. jobs have to be this big or whether responsibilities could be divided differently. 8. Similarly, the same number of men and women would be on the board of directors. Different values: Younger women and men are demanding more from the workplace; their motivations vary from those 9. The organisation would encourage a more ethical and of their parents. They are questioning the company culture sustainable way of working rather than a focus purely that puts profits and shareholder returns as the main on profits and growth. outcome of business. 10. Rewards would be based on the broad values of the Progression: Women often do not get noticed for promotion company rather than just individual performance. to the top of companies and organisations because their male bosses are not looking their way. Some organisations are introducing mentors and a chance to try a top role. Women running their own businesses are already taking a different approach. But many are told a prerequisite for raising finance is to install a male chief executive. Biology: Menstruation and menopause are two of the great taboos in the workplace. The failure of managers to recognise their impact can lead to women feeling 4 INTRODUCTION “Put simply, we women have had to These emotional rewards are more associated with women and if we value them, we need to correct the imbalance of fit ourselves ergonomically, physically, default men at the top of society and the economy. mentally and emotionally into a man’s As it is, women have been forced to squeeze themselves world of work. It wasn’t designed for into a male-driven culture. Society has certain assumptions of what it expects of women – both in behaviour and us much less for the next generation aspirations. This is not just about women bearing children, we are bringing up. I would argue it is but about entrenched views of what women should be doing at work and how they should behave. increasingly unsuitable for many men too,” More women are starting to question the current set-up and a new generation with different values is putting more says Yve Newbold, one of the UK’s first female company emphasis on a sustainable approach to the world of work. directors, now retired. I started this project to ask women to talk about their experiences at work, what they wanted from work and The workplace has been set up by men to fit a male career how they might do things differently if they could. I wanted pattern and while women have won major concessions, to know how this might lead to a new type of feminine there has been little fundamental structural change in the corporation run along more inclusive lines with new values. western world for over 100 years. Of course, there are many different answers and not Even though women enter the workforce in equal everyone wants the same things. But there were consistent numbers to men, they are not in the driving seat of most views on issues such as gender roles, caring, flexibility and organisations. Even the National Health Service – the UK’s values. biggest employer of women, is mostly run by men. Britain As Tracey McDermott group head of corporate affairs, has set the unambitious target of women holding a third of marketing and compliance at Standard Chartered Bank boardroom seats at big companies by 2020. But even this is says, work needs to change for a variety of reasons for both proving a stretch for some organisations. At the same time, women and men: parliament has record numbers of female MPs, but is some way from reaching parity.