Women stuck in corporate slow lane as men dominate race to top

A man who starts his career with a FTSE 100 company is four and a half times more likely to reach the executive committee than his female counterpart, says research that questions many assumptions on which companies base gender diversity policies.

Companies need to rethink organisational cultures rather than make "piecemeal fixes" if they want to achieve gender parity, according to the study for the 30% Club, backed by the chairmen of 70 of the Britain's largest businesses.

It argues that, while many companies have diversity policies, these tend to involve helping women to adapt rather than making fundamental changes to corporate practices. It also identifies differences in the way men's and women's careers develop.

The findings come amid concern that women's progress in the workforce may be slowing or even stalling in some respects.

Women make up 19 per cent of FTSE 100 directors, up from 12.5 per cent three years ago, raising hopes that a government target of 25 per cent female board membership by 2015 can be met without mandatory quotas.

But recent data from the Office for National Statistics showed the overall female employment rate still lagged behind that of men. Women were more likely to work part-time and in middle to low-skilled jobs.

Moya Greene, Royal Mail's Canadian chief executive, is expected to join the three other women currently running FTSE 100 companies when her company enters the index in a reshuffle due to be announced on Wednesday.

The others are Carolyn McCall at easyJet, Angela Ahrendts at Burberry and Alison Cooper at Imperial Tobacco. Ms Ahrendts is due to join Apple next year, but the number will be bolstered when Liv Garfield joins Severn Trent from BT next spring.

Ms Greene has expressed support for quotas for women in the workplace, a rare view among British female executives, who prefer to see themselves as appointed on merit.

"If you want quotas, I am open to leading that discussion," she told a union conference last year. "There is something about the UK - for all its egalitarianism, women are not represented as they should be in society or companies."

The research for the 30% Club is being carried out by YSC, a business psychology consultancy, and KPMG, the advisory firm. Early findings were revealed on Tuesday.

"Men and women are different - equally intelligent but we behave differently and are motivated by different things," said Helena Morrissey, chief executive of Newton Investment Management and founder of the club, which aims to boost the proportion of women on boards to 30 per cent.

KPMG found that on average FTSE 100 companies had 21 per cent female representation on executive committees and that a quarter had achieved 30 per cent.

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YSC found that women's ambition, unlike men's, tended not to show itself until they reached executive level - and that companies should therefore not rule them out too early as candidates for top jobs. Women tended to make more sideways career moves, which could give them broader experience.

It found that women with young families were very dependent on the relationship with their line manager to find an arrangement to balance work and home life.

A modest investment in training line managers, therefore, could make as much difference as formal female development programmes, sponsoring, mentoring and executive coaching.

It urged companies to use wider performance measures, reflecting the fact that women were seen as stronger in "values-based leadership" compared with a more commercially-based male approach.

"It's not about what women need to do differently, it's about how organisations need to think about what needs to be done differently," said Rachel Short, a YSC director.

She added: "Women are assimilating and adapting to a male-oriented culture. They are doing that by working super-hard. They are seen as grafting, very ethical, organised and incredibly time-efficient."

Women felt under pressure to "network like mad" to get promoted, she said, when in fact many were already outperforming colleagues.

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