Women leaders need to ‘achieve more than men’ to reach same jobs

Women leaders in the top British firms are three times more likely to require qualifications from a prestigious university than men in the same positions, according to new findings. The Leadership 10k report by Green Park revealed that 76% of the top FTSE 100 employees to graduate from a Russell Group university were women, indicating a qualification from the likes of Oxford and Cambridge to be over three times more important for women to be considered for a board position.

The study has raised concerns over how diverse the current work climate is, and how accepted women are in the workplace. Further findings from the report show that while there is an increase in the number of females in non-executive directorial positions, there has been a decline in executive directors in a board position for women. 90% of executive directors are men, while 65% of men take up non-executive director jobs in the top companies.

“The fact that the vast majority of leaders with an education from Russell Group or Ivy League universities were women shows that female leaders need to achieve more than men before they even start their careers,” said Raj Tulsiani, co-founder and CEO of Green Park. “We must work harder to improve holistic gender equality in business.”

Observing the top positions of each of the FTSE 100, the 100 companies with the highest market value on the London stock exchange, utilities companies were seen to be the most female friendly sector, with large growth in the number of female employees. Conversely, the health industry has seen a decline for a second year running. Some critics believe that the research shows that many top companies are out of touch with the way of the world, and need to set the standard to represent the UK in 2017.

“It’s vital for FTSE 100 companies as our largest, most successful businesses to recognise that it’s vital for them to address the diversity agenda,” founding partner MHBC LLP, Antonia Belcher commented. “Whether that concerns gender, LGBT+, race or any minority, recognising the problem is just the beginning; a complete change in attitude is needed for anyone running a business in the 21st century.”