Chris Parke

Another strong A-Level performance for girls – where does it go wrong?

Chris Parke, CEO of Talking Talent shares his opinion on the relationship between education, the workplace, men and women.

Thousands of A-level students collected their exam results recently, with girls out performing boys in many regions, including Wales. This good news is in sharp contrast with recently published ‘Sex & Power 2011’ from the Equality and Human Rights Commission about women failing to get the top jobs in Britain which was a stark reminder of the gender inequalities that sadly still exist in today’s workplace.

The report which measures the number of women in positions of power and influence across 27 occupational categories in the public and private sectors revealed that 5400 women were missing from senior posts in Britain.  Worse still, according to the current rate of progress, it will take around 70 years for there to be an equal number of men and women directors of FTSE 100 companies and the same period of  time for there to be an equal number of women MPs in Parliament.

Not only will many of today’s female A-level students get better results than men, they will outperform their male counterparts at university, graduating in higher numbers with better degrees. But whilst they compete on a level playing field with men in their 20s, they will be overtaken by men in their 30s. More men will become managers and senior managers and many women will get stuck in lower ranked jobs, possibly for the remainder of their careers.

This trend hasn’t changed for many years.  Women typically tend to have families in their late 20s and 30s and this is a time when many companies lose valuable female employees.  It doesn’t have to be this way. Studies have shown that outdated working patterns where long hours are the norm and inflexible organizations are a barrier to women’s progress, however, these are all elements that a progressive employer can change.

If the numbers of women in authority in the UK are going to change, it will be down to companies managing and supporting women through pivotal career points such as maternity and by offering them greater work flexibility. They also need to proactively progress their female talent to ensure women do not become trapped in lower to middle management roles. The recent fantastic A-level results should remind businesses of the vast pool of female talent and potential that exists in the UK – let’s not waste it!

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www.talking-talent.com