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The stumbling blocks for female CEOs in UK large Organisations

By:

Diana Carvalho

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Table of Contents

Executive summary 4

List of Figures: Women on the board in selected EU member states 4

1.0 Introduction 5

1.1 Research Aim and Rationale 6

1.2 Research Questions 7

1.3 Research Objectives 8

1.4 Theoretical Underpinnings 9

1.5 Significance of the Research 10

1.5.1 Purpose 11

1.6 Scope and limitations of the Research 12

2.0 Literature Review 12

2.1 Introduction of Literature Review 13

2.2 The stumbling blocks for female CEOs in UK large Organisations 18

2.3 Conclusion of Literature Review 19

3.0 Methodology 20

3.1 Research Process 20

3.2 Research Philosophy and Approach 21

3.3 Research Design 22

3.3.3 (a) Sources of Data 23

3.4 Sampling 24

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3.5 Validity and Reliability 25

Chapter 4: Findings (data analysis and presentation) 26

Chapter 5: Discussion (data interpretation) 27

Chapter 6: Conclusion, recommendations 28

6.1 Conclusion 29

6.2 Recommendations 30

References 31

Bibliography 32

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Executive summary

Our society has shifted from the cultural view of the man as the breadwinners and the woman

bringing up the children at home. However, women's position has not really improved

significantly compared to 40 years ago. Women should fight to get to the top as a man would

but they should not have additional barriers just because they are women. Although they are

modeled to give birth, their biology does not need to be changed in order to make the

workplace fair, where it would be easier to the workplace to change in order to reflect the fact

that half the people working are women. Even though companies are addressing the issues,

they are acting fast enough in the UK.

In this modern Britain, it has become ever more important to maintain and expand the values

of equal opportunities and to put measures in place to protect them. Equal opportunities in

this study are in reference to equality of opportunities at the workplace. Safeguarding these

values is important because the concept of equality encompasses the need to put legal

measures in place to safeguard the rights of the minority and those who may be subject to

discrimination. However, a balance must be struck between equality of opportunities and

business judgement. Policy makers and equality movements must respect the fact that

businesses make economic choices that may sometimes mean gender or age discrimination

could be justifiable.

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1.0 Introduction

This study looks at the barriers to women’s advancement into executive roles in companies.

A plethora of academic and government commissioned research points to a large gap

between women on executive boards as compared to men in UK companies. This has become

a very topical issue with laws such as the Equality Act 2010 being driven forward by the need

to create greater equality in the workplace by removing barriers to opportunities and

protecting employees from discrimination. However, the issue of equality of opportunities

goes beyond legal frameworks and business decisions, it is also influenced by culture.

Women’s role in society as breadwinners has only been realised in the past 50 years, thus

women undertaking top positions in companies are a relatively new phenomenon. The impact

of culture on women’s progression in the workplace was summed up by the distinguished

Lord Denning MR in the case of Langston v AUEW [1974] ICR 180 “A parallel can be

drawn in regard to women's work. Many a married woman seeks work. She does so when

the children grow up and leave the home. She does it, not solely to earn money, helpful as it

is: but to fill her time with useful occupation, rather than sit idly at home waiting for her

husband to return. The devil tempts those who have nothing to do.” Thus, the issue of

women’s position in the workplace and that of career development and opportunities has

been subject to increasing debate in the past 50 years.

The study contributes to research literature by investigating the barriers to women’s

progression into executive positions in companies. Thus the issue of culture, business

judgement and the legal framework will be examined at length and supported by statistical

research.

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1.1.Research Aim and Rationale

This study aims to explore the position of women on boards of companies in the UK. In order

to carry out this research, a range of sources will be used, this includes journals, databases,

that would provide information on the current state of female executive managers in the UK.

Thus, the aims of this study are three forward: First and foremost, it will explore the legal

status of equality of opportunities in employment in order to explain the current status of

women in the workplace and the challenges they face. Secondly, it will review research

literature along with primary research in order to obtain information on the status of the

challenges faced by female Chief Executive Officers (CEO) in elevating to those positions.

This will consist of interviews with two CEOs of UK companies which was published by the

British Broadcasting Corporation in 2009. Thirdly, after conducting both primary and

secondary research, the recommendations to prospective female executives would be

provided.

The rationale behind this thesis is to explore the reasons behind the low number of women in

executive positions within the UK companies. This has been highly topical in recent years

and as evident by the number of documentaries and academic research aimed at explaining

the challenges faced by women in top positions within large companies. This study will

provide insights on the barriers to women’s advancement into executive position in

companies and suggest potential solutions to the problems they encounter. Aforementioned,

women no longer stay at home, they have graced to positions in the workplace and continue

to challenge men in also aspects of social life such as education. However, despite this

change, women’s leadership is often undermined and they find it more difficult than men to

break through the glass ceiling and attain top positions in companies. Thus, the findings of

this study would help to shed light on these challenges in order to inform a vibrant body of

academic researchers, business professionals and female managers on the barriers to career

advancement into top executive positions in companies. Providing information on the legal

framework and the various protections women enjoy would serve some of the goals of this

thesis. Thus some of the recommendations that would be made in this study would include

legal reform as well as strategic business recommendations in order to improve the changes

of women in accessing top positions. The findings of the study would provide government

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and organisations some directions whether to promote and invest in training and development

of women to pursue to executive positions in companies. It will also help female managers

gain insights in ways of overcoming the barriers in order to access the top executive positions

in the workplace.

Furthermore, as an HND female student, I intend to pursue further education and eventually

end as an executive in the future. Thus, this research will inform me of the challenges faced

by women in the workplace and how in the future I could overcome them in order to attain a

top executive position in the company.

1.2 Research Questions

This research is designed to find answers to some specific questions relating to barriers to

female managers becoming executives.

The main focus of the study will be to find out,

• What is the current stage of the legal framework on equality of opportunity in

employment?

• What is the perspective of female CEOs on the challenges faced by women

from becoming CEOs?(Culture, status, family planning, etc)

• How can the problem of low female executives in UK companies be overcome

After answering these questions, recommendations would be made.

1.3 Research Objectives

This research will investigate empirical evidence linking the low number of female CEOs in

UK companies to short folds in equality law and also the perception of women. So this

explains why culture and the legal status can add two factors that are behind the low number

of females CEOs in UK companies. In law and management literature, the challenge is not to

test the theories already tested, rather “the challenge seems to be one of constructing,

adapting, extending and refining theories, tasks for which the case study is particularly well-

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suited.” (Dubois and Araujo, 2007: 177)1 The research fits this construct by aiming to shed

light on the barriers to becoming a female executive, either by challenging existing theory or

adding a layer of knowledge on the topic.

1.4 Theoretical Underpinnings

This research will be underpinned by contemporary academic theories and knowledge.

Research into women’s advancement into executive positions in companies impinges on a

number of fields of study such as sociology, law, management and psychology. This is

because it involves an understanding of cultural, social and economic variables which may

influence the decision to promote female managers into executive positions. Thus, this

research will be underpinned by three significant areas of academic study. Firstly, it will be

relevant to business management, because it will explain some of the challenges faced by

women in reaching top positions in UK companies. Secondly, it will be influential in the of

employee relations and employment law, because it will give an indication of the limitations

of the equality Act 2010, which among this many aims was to give equal equality to men and

women at work. Thirdly, it will be influential in sociology, because it will explain some of

the cultural and perceptions towards women which may impact on their ability to be

promoted and access higher positions in companies. Research in all three fields of study

would be used to test the conclusions reached in this study and to expand knowledge on the

topic. It will inform a vibrant body of legal scholars, human resource managers and business

executives on the barriers to women’s progression.

Apart from research literature from a range of subject areas, this study would be underpinned

by appropriate research design and methods. This study would use empirical data as well as

rely on documentaries of female executives who have expressed concern over the low

number of female executives in UK companies and their recommendations on increasing the

number. Thus the design is both conceptual and empirical, which would give a good balance

of information in order to tackle a topical and highly controversial topic of female executives

in UK companies.

                                                                                                                         1  Dubois,  A.  and  L.  Araujo  (2007.  "Case  research  in  purchasing  and  supply  management:  Opportunities  and  challenges."  Journal  of  Purchasing  &  Supply  Management  13(3):  177  

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1.5 Significance of the Research

The majority of CEOs in UK companies are men. This study aims to explain why there is a

shortage in female CEOs. This is an implication for prospective female CEOs because it

provides an account from successful CEOs of how to overcome the barriers and the various

strategies they must employ in order to successfully become CEOs. It has implication for

research literature in the field because it will add to the available body of new research

information relating to the challenges faced by women and recommendations based on

empirical research on how to overcome the barriers to become CEOs for prospective female

CEOs.

1.5.1 Purpose

This research will examine the challenges to women’s advancement into executive positions

in companies. It will rely on the data from government reports, academic research and

documentaries from senior female executives in UK companies on the barriers to women’s

advancement. It will explore the legal framework in place to ensure that there is gender

equality in the workplace as well as the challenges faced by women in realising equality such

as cultural and business judgement matters such as maternity leave.

As a result, recommendations on improving the low number of senior female executives in

UK companies will be made as well as provide insights to prospective female executives on

the challenges ahead and how to overcome them. The overall aim of this research is to find

ways of improving equality of opportunities in executive positions which are dominated by

men.

1.6 Scope and limitations of the Research

This is a small study conducted in a period of two months. Thus, a lack of time has meant

that interviews with female CEOs of large companies like Morrisons PLC and Royal Bank of

Scotland was very difficult since it takes on average three months to arrange a booking to see

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them. Furthermore, given that this is an HND research project, the degree of research and

analysis needed was not to a standard necessary to go far and beyond as it would be in a

Masters of PhD thesis. Secondly, obtaining research literature is a difficult procedure since

very little research has been conducted in this area and few researchers have dedicated

considerable attention to researching the positions of women in large organisations. Despite

that, the results of this study can be replicated and applied generally in other countries such as

America and Australia where women experience similar challenges as in the UK. It was

difficult to study women’s progression into executive boards in other countries such as

America or carry out a comparative study due to a lack of time and access to relevant

databases. However, a study of UK companies and the female executives will be of influence

in these countries.

2.0 Literature Review

2.1 Introduction of Literature Review

Record numbers of women are working mothers, more than 65% of moms work nowadays

compared to less than 1/4 40 years ago but women have not swept into senior roles at the

same rate as men (Martison, 2001). In addition, women outshine men in education and

outnumber young men at University level, therefore what happens to promising graduates

once they are out in the workplace? The men hold 70% of middle management jobs in the

UK’s top companies, whereas women hold only 30%, even at this level women are failing to

be promoted into this role at the same rate as men (Crownresume.com, 2010). There are a

number of reasons contributing to women leaving when they get into middle management

positions. For example, women still do the great majority of child care in the country, as well

as also often looking after older relatives, in addition to the UK long working hours culture,

and even though there has been a significant shift of women into the workforce, it has not

really changed to reflect that fact.

However, the proportion of women decreases even further at senior management, executive

and board level, which in roles that wheels real power 83% of jobs are filled by men

(Feminist.org, 1993). There are particular issues at this level where there is a very small pool

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of mostly men, whom then appoint who they know which is other men and the old boys

network overshadows a fair career opportunity in business.

The inefficiency of a system, which largely promotes from within ½ of its intake, in other

words businesses are losing a shocking amount of sheer talent from the business sector,

which is bad for the women, the economy and business. Subsequently, with the UK spending

£21 billion a year on recruitment, it is also a serious drain on resources, as the cost of

recruitment and training is phenomenal to any organisation, so the more employers retain

women skill set the more business can retain its talent the more businesses will prosper and

flourish (Ivr.org.uk, 2008).

2.2. Stumbling blocks for women CEOs

In the past, arguments in favour of improving women’s working lives were based on equal

opportunities. Campaigners in the 1970’s fought for equal pay and against sex discrimination

in recruitment and promotions, but now the case for women is supported by evidence which

shows that companies with a mixed gender in leadership positions make better decisions and

are better run. According to Mr Claude Mukenge (President of Western Union Camden),

companies with the most women on their boards to those with the fewest indicates that more

mixed leadership tends to deliver higher sales and higher returns on equity and invested

capital (Mukenge, 2013). Therefore businesses need more women at the top.

For example, Western Union the world’s biggest money transfer business, which have

transformed the prospects of their employees, they decided to be very proactive in a way of

retaining their female talent and helping them up the corporate ladder. Twelve years ago none

of the companies’ most senior managers or directors were female and company bosses

realised they had to take action and today the company has an even mix of men and women

replicated at every level (Mukenge, 2013).

According to the Vice President, Western Union in Camden, HR department contacted

women who had left to find out why they had gone and it turned out they were not at home

with children (Mukenge, 2013). They had physically gone and sough for another job. In

addition, the problem looked even more serious when they analysed the business results of

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their teams. Teams that were all male and teams that were all female did not perform as well

as teams with a gender balance which performed 5% better (Mukenge, 2013) an advantage

worth millions of pounds in profit. Hence Western Union made some fundamental changes in

a bid to hold the exodus of its women. All staff were trained in how to appreciate the

difference between masculine and feminine styles of behaviour and it was communicated that

staff could opt to work flexibly and still climb the corporate ladder, which the company

benefited by retaining its women saving on recruitment costs and making greater profit.

However, questions were raised if the advantages of mixed teams could be replicated in other

businesses and to support it, an experiment was conducted to investigate why mixed teams

perform better and hoping to show why many women find it difficult to succeed in a male

dominated environment (MIT Sloan Management Review, 2012).

The aim of the experiment was to look at the language the way people speak and interact and

to ask whether there is one very important reason why women are still failing to make it to

the top. The experiment consisted of three teams of six members, all men, all women and a

gender even mix, they were told they were taking part on a competitive task to build a paper

tower which would be judged on height and appearance (Mukenge, 2013).

In the Mens team there was a clear leader who took the initiative from the start and came up

with the right design, there was a quite hierarchical organisation, typical of male teams. Four

members looked at the leader for his approval. However, there was an element of

competitiveness between the leader and a second team member, the typical male interaction

was the fact that they were competing over who had the best design, rather than debating for

alternative ideas. The men fell in behind the second leader as their new leader and adopted

his unstable design and whilst building the tower, the men kept issuing instructions which

the outcome was a tall but unstable tower.

In the women's team, a leader emerged straight away who asked if everyone was happy to go

along with her idea, which it suggested that she was trying to invite other members of the

team to share her idea. Very often women use a rather more cautious type of language

defined as “double voiced discords” and it conveys to the colleagues that they are less

confident about their viewpoints and possibly less decisive (Mukenge, 2013). However, then

another member chipped in and had to cut across what the leader was saying, which was the

only way she could get her voice heard and put forward the best solution but her teammates

carried on brainstorming and talking over her, and in order to make herself heard she had to

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continue talking and make a judgment call, whether it was more important to get the right

idea across or to feel involved as one of the team. Women tend to be much more egalitarian

in the way they communicate, all want an equal say and all want to be included. Whilst

building the tower all women continued pitching in with ideas and the outcome was a stable

but short tower.

In the mixed team there was a different atmosphere, there was a lot of laughter, joke and

almost flirtatious. It could sensed that the opposite gender dynamics kicked in, which there

was a lack of competition and it seemed as if the best was being brought out from both men

and women. While building the tower they kept smiling and the team were clear winners.

(Mukenge, 2013).

As well as showing the advantages of the gender balanced team, the experiment revealed why

women might struggle to make a mark in a male dominated workplace and by learning how

men operate in a male team and women operate in a female team. It was demonstrated about

what the norms of interaction are and that might help me to explain why women find it

difficult to go into a men’s team when the way that people engage with each other is

different.

Based on the experiment, It was can concluded that the business benefits of increasing

diversity and Western Union was right to transform its male dominated corporate culture, by

recognising the problem, finding the solution and making the solution stick, which will go

from strength to strength because it is now engendered with the company ethos and culture

which they have the workforce and capital to keep implementing the strategy.

On the other hand, questions were raised whether or not the same type of solution could be

made to work in small to medium enterprises in the UK, which cost and human resource

matters because they have to sweat their assets, which are not just operating equipment, is

their human resource. For many small to medium enterprises, the cost of boosting the

number of female employees in key roles might outweigh the benefits, this could be

damaging Womens’ career prospects.

For example, in Excolsior Coaches most coach drivers are men but in the office 30% of

employees are women. Although the director is a woman who would like to employ more

women, unfortunately multiple maternity leave would have a great financial and work

dynamics impact in the company. Even though the company is able to claim 92% of their

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employee's maternity leave, there are recruiting, training and other additional costs attached

to it, which would be detrimental for the business as the costs would outweigh their profits.

However, their policy requires to employ the right person for the right job and complying

with the law against sex discrimination, therefore they do not have the choice but to ensure

their process is fair by interviewing a pregnant woman or a woman of childbearing age

despite the undeniable costs if they were to employ them.

Excolsior Coaches is not the only employer who is frank about the impact of maternity rights,

in big organisations where more than half are women, it also has an impact although

significantly less than in small business. The issue of maternity leave is impacting greatly on

female talent but is also impacting greatly on the commercial world, which it is undeniable

that a couple pregnancies in a small business could bring about its demise.

However, illegal discrimination is an issue but another important factor contributing to the

lack of women in jobs at top level, is the fact that not enough women are coming forward to

apply for those roles in the first place, preventing them from getting into key roles.

Consequently, the wording in job ads may be putting women off before they even got their

foot in the door, male words, not only communicate to the candidate but also communicate to

the people involved in the selection process who will be biased towards a male candidate.

(Mukenge, 2013). Unconscious biased choice of words limits the pool of candidates, but it

could affect recruiters too as the language starts to orient recruiters to what they are looking

for, where the type of language in masculine sounding jobs is stereo typically more

associated with a man and softer language with a woman, hence recruiters will be therefore,

more inclined to select a man and they will less likely to see those qualities in female

candidates. Furthermore, confidence issues is another limiting the amount of women up the

corporate latter. Kate Blossom is a professional head hunter who specialises in identifying

female candidates for senior jobs and frequently sees women eliminating themselves from the

recruitment process ( Blosson, 2013).

Undoubtedly, the biggest challenge of all that stops women from staying at their jobs and

rising through the ranks is motherhood. In the UK today at least 2/3 of mothers work at least

part-time, but many find the challenge of juggling work and family commitments affects their

confidence and career progression (Mrs Mukenge, 2013). The several hours spent planning

and organising each morning before leaving the household, which it makes it even more

difficult when both parents work at a professional level, where time management is

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concerned. Furthermore, the practicality of household chores, the oganising of the children's

lives and the ability to arrive at work on time is a challenge (Mrs Mukenge, 2013).

Moreover, as the family keeps growing, in most cases, the rapid progression up the career

ladder before having children usually slows down, hence for many achieving a satisfying

work life balance means they compromise on seniority and pay.

Subsequently, more than 4 in 10 mothers with degrees said they have taken a job for which

they are overqualified in order to secure a part-time working arrangement (Nasirpipour,

2013). On the other hand, 2.2 million women have made the choice of staying at home and

looking after the children instead of returning to work.

The work life, family balance and emotional attachment are the few of the factors the 2.2

million women decide to step away from their flourishing careers (Whataboutmenews.info

n.d). Essentially, the most important factor affecting women returning to work is the cost of

childcare. The UK childcare costs are among the highest in the world, with fees for a 2 year

old in daycare costing 1/3 of the average net income of two working parents (BBC News,

2013).

2.3 Conclusion of Literature Review

Overall, motherhood is the biggest challenge preventing many women from progressing in

the business sector, the dilemmas posed by maternity leave, childcare and part-time work

creates a clash of financial, emotional and practical factors for women and businesses, which

is a big contributor to women leaving the workplace and disappearing from the corporate

ladder. Females go into the commercial world and it takes them several years to be

recognised as board material, however, then the biological clock starts to tick, they then leave

to have children and all too often that female skill set is written off preventing them to

continually grow professionally. Although a shared care would assist them, men still have

90% of what they need at home to allow them to do their job whereas women do not when

doing the majority of the care.

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3.0 Methodology

3.1 Research Process

To achieve the aims of this research, a method that can capture dynamic processes and allow

different levels of analysis was necessary. This is because the study involves interviews in

which CEOs talk about the barriers they faced and those facing prospective female CEOS.

3.2 Research Approach

Thus an exploratory approach was deemed appropriate. The exploratory designed is aimed at

discovering possible relations and testing them. By relations I mean the barriers to becoming

a CEO and their effect on female managers. Qualitative methods are well suited to study

dynamic processes such as career advancement.2 Qualitative process studies are a way of

finding out how something happens, and the emphasis is as much on how the participants

perceive and interpret what is happening, as on the outcomes of the process.3

The study focuses on explaining how the barriers affect the changes of female CEOs through

a case study methodology. Interviews are an appropriate research approach when the question

under scrutiny is a “how” and “why”. Thus the interviews are the most appropriate tool for

appreciating the complexities of an organisational phenomenon such as a career advancement

which balances the interests of managers. 4 Yin defines a case study as “An empirical inquiry

that: Investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when

the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident.”5 Yin distinguishes

between exploratory, descriptive and explanatory case studies. Exploratory case studies are

aimed at exploring the existence of a phenomenon, descriptive case studies are aimed at                                                                                                                          2  Maitlis,  S.  (2005).  "The  social  processes  of  organizational  sensemaking."  Academy  of  Management  Journal  48(1):  21.  

3  Patton,  M.  Q.  (1990).  Qualitative  evaluation  and  research  methods.  Newbury  Park,  Sage.  

4  Eisenhardt,  K.  M.  (1989).  "Building  Theories  from  Case  Study  Research."  Academy  of  Management  Review  14(4):  532.  

5  Yin,  R.  K.  (1984).  Case  Study  Research.  Design  and  methods,  Sage  Publications.  P.3  

xii    

providing a clear description of a phenomenon, and explanatory case studies are aimed at

explaining the existence of a phenomenon. Explanatory and descriptive case studies are not

ideal for discovery or unearthing new theory but confirming or reiterating an already

established phenomenon.

In law and management literature, the challenge is not to test the theories already tested,

rather “the challenge seems to be one of constructing, adapting, extending and refining

theories, tasks for which the case study is particularly well-suited.”6 The research fits this

construct by aiming to shed light on the barriers to becoming a CEO, either by challenging

existing theory or adding a layer of knowledge on the barriers to becoming a CEO. Thus this

research employs an exploratory case study approach.

This study involves multiple interviews. The study follows a replication logic which allows

me to compare and contrast across answers. This makes it a powerful tool for developing

theory because it provides varied data as compared to a single case.7. By using multiple

CEOS, I am able to create theoretical constructs and propositions from case- based empirical

evidence. All the information collected in the documentaries will be used to capture what

correct CEOs consider to be the stumbling blocks to becoming a female CEO.

There are limitations on conducting research under a qualitative case study: “The case

research logic relies on finding causal relationships within each case rather than by

selecting, measuring and comparing a number of attributes on each case.”8 However, the

relationships are not confined to one case but will be compared cross cases to test their

validity. Thus I will be able to compare and contrast emergent findings to see whether they

are replicated in other cases or simply a one-off phenomenon. Furthermore, as I am

examining interviews of CEOs from in different organisations and in different sectors, the

findings will not be idiosyncratic to a particular organisation or sector, which will also

support theory creation. 9

                                                                                                                         6  Dubois,  A.  and  L.  Araujo  (2007.  "Case  research  in  purchasing  and  supply  management:  Opportunities  and  challenges."  Journal  of  Purchasing  &  Supply  Management  13(3):  177  

7  Eisenhardt,  K.  M.  and  M.  E.  Graebner  (2007).  "Theory  building  from  cases:  opportunities  and  challenges."  Academy  of  Management  Journal  50(1):  25-­‐32.  

8  Supra  37  p.175  

9  Stake,  R.  E.  (2006).  Multiple  Case  Study  Analysis.  New  York,  The  Guilford  Press  

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3.3 Research Design

The explorative design of this study allows flexibility to inquire deeper into outcomes that

appear to be more contentious or likely to yield greater understanding of the barriers to career

advancement.

To answer the research question, I need fine-grained and rich data that will give me an insight

into the treatment of top female managers in the UK. Gaining sense of the organisational

processes and how they affect career advancement beyond analysing data. It requires an

understanding of the organisation from the perspective of the people within it. To achieve this

purpose, data needs to be contextual and specific. To understand a process that involves the

whole organisation, I need the perspectives from CEOs. For this, longitudinal data gathering

is suitable because it reveals patterned activities and interpretations.10

The feelings of some CEOS are not easily obtainable because it is difficult to get hold of

them. To obtain this information, I relied on documentaries in which in-depth interviews

were carried out on the topic. As a qualitative research design is used, this allows needed

flexibility and agility.11

3.3.3 (a) Sources of Data

This study includes several sources of data. The most important sources of data are archival

data. This includes published and unpublished material and documents of various kinds

(annual reports, newspaper articles, intranet articles, internal documents and memos made

available to the researcher).

I employed triangulation of data sources by including interviews and analysis of secondary

sources in my research. This method allows the comparison what was said about female

CEOs, what was written in documents, and what was eventually done in the company.

                                                                                                                         10  Barley,  S.  R.  (1990).  "Images  of  imaging:  notes  on  doing  longitudinal  field  work."  Organization  Science:  A  Journal  of  the  Institute  of  Management  Sciences  1(3):  220.  

11  Maxwell,  J.  A.  (2005).  Qualitative  research  design:  an  interactive  approach.  Thousand  Oaks,  Calif.,  Sage  Publications.  

xiv    

After conducting the research, the data will be conceptualised to form a theory and then

presented. Each answer to the questions is examined and information is drained from it to

make recommendations.

3.4 Sampling

The sampling follows the criteria for theoretical sampling by Eisenhardt and Graebner..

Eisenhardt and Graebner explain theoretical sampling: “Theoretical sampling simply means

that cases are selected because they are particularly suitable for illuminating and extending

relationships and logic among constructs. (…) cases are sampled for theoretical reasons,

such as revelation of an unusual phenomenon, replication of findings from other cases,

contrary replication, elimination of alternative explanations, and elaboration of the emergent

theory.”12

Ten questions were asked to eleven CEOS of UK companies

Q: Are there enough women with the right skill sets and experience to fulfill these top

roles?

Clare Hill former trainer and assessor of nursery managers

Q: Is it the company to find ways in managing round women career bricks?

Chis Bull – CEO, McBride PLC

Q: Why did you decide to step away from your career and become a full time mother?

Clare Hill former trainer and assessor of nursery managers

Q: How did having children impacted your confidence and career progression?

Paula Leach

Q: How did motherhood impacted on your career?

Lauren Baley

                                                                                                                         12  Ibid  p.  27  (get  the  websites  sorted)  

xv    

Q: What is the difference between men and women on self promoting themselves for a

job? Managing Director, Saphire Partners

Q: From a commercial perspective how does the company cover reduce work schedules?

Geraldine Gilron – Vice President, West Driving

Q: To small to medium enterprises is it detrimental to employ females of childbearing

age?

Kathy Tilbury – Managing Director – Excolsior Coaches

Claude Mukenge – Western Union Camden Chairman & CEO

Q: Why were female with highly skill talent leaving the business?

Geraldine Gilron – Vice President, West Driving

Q: How would business benefit if the female brain drain could be stopped?

Mr Mukenge – Western Union Camden Chairman & CEO

Time and resource constraints affected the inclusion of other CEOS. However, I believe this

will not affect the results, and the information rich answers will serve the replication logic

and yield the information required to gain a greater understanding of the barriers to becoming

a female CEO.

xvi    

3.6 Validity and Reliability

A fundamental question to answer in conducting any kind of research is ‘how may I be

wrong?’ This refers to the “correctness or credibility of a description, conclusion,

explanation, interpretation, or other sort of account.”13

In quantitative research, validity refers to the degree to which the researcher has constructed

instruments that measure what they are supposed to measure. However, in qualitative

research, the researcher is the instrument, and validity thus refers to the skills, competence

and rigor of the person doing the field work. Thus the two important threats to validity in

qualitative research are researcher bias and reactivity. There has presented a danger of

research bias which can threaten the validity of the findings where the researcher selects the

data that fits with his or her preconceptions. To deal with this, I tried not to impose my

conceptual framework to any of the research aims and questions pursued in the study.

Interviewing different individuals increased the chances of uncovering spurious associations

and provided the opportunity to develop alternative hypotheses.

External validity in case studies refers to whether or not the findings in the study can be

generalised beyond the case. Generalisation allows the testing of established theory and this

is something multiple case studies are well suited to do. Case studies rely on analytical

generalisation which evolves from the development of concepts and theories that can be

extended to other cases. This development contributes to knowledge on the topic. However,

in qualitative studies that involve a single case, generalisation of findings is rarely accepted.

However, in studies that involve many cases, there is no reason to believe the conclusions

could not be applied more generally. Thus in my study, there is no reason to believe that the

findings on female CEOs in UK cannot be applied to other countries.

Reliability is problematic in qualitative studies because of the issue of conceptualising

information in order to reach adequate conclusions. The reliability issues concern whether

“the process of the study is consistent, reasonably stable over time and across researchers

                                                                                                                         13  Maxwell,  J.  A.  (2005).  Qualitative  research  design  :  an  interactive  approach.  Thousand  Oaks,  Calif.,  Sage  Publications.  106  

xvii    

and methods”.14 It refers to whether a different researcher could have reached the same

conclusion. Asking open ended questions would allow respondents to mention important

factors in regard to a certain outcome rather than my pre-conceived notions of important

issues. I cannot assume that any researcher will reach different conclusions to mine but

differences in factors such as age, experience and background could lead to different

conclusions.

Measurement problems are rarely dealt with in the literature on qualitative research. In

qualitative research “the mapping, inferences, and validity claims have much in common with

the measurement.”15 Measurement in qualitative research refers to the sense-making and

tracking back and forth between the conceptual and the empirical levels. This takes the form

of mapping the data to the existing knowledge base.

                                                                                                                         14  Miles,  M.  B.  and  M.  A.  Huberman  (1994).  Qualitative  Data  Analysis.  An  Expanded  Sourcebook.  Thousand  Oaks,  SAGE  Publications.  p.  278  

15  Ghauri,  P.  and  K.  Grønhaug  (2005).  Reserach  Methods  in  Business  Studies.  A  Practical  Guide  .  Harlow,  England,  Prentice  Hall  P.  89  

18    

4.0 Findings and discussion

The legal evidence clearly shows that laws are in place to protect women such as maternity

and parental leave. These laws have been recently strengthened by the Equality Act 2010.

The aim of these laws is to overcome one of the main barriers to accessing equal

opportunities at work, which is mainly maternity leave. Employers tend to be reluctant to

provide women the option to become CEOs because when they have children they may not

be able to maintain the standards necessary at work. Thus, the law is in place to remedy this

problem by protecting women’s right to maternity leave as well as parental leave. However,

despite the protection, little has been done to enforce law.

The interview questions yielded a lot of information on the barriers to become a CEO for

women. The answer given by Clare Hill former trainer and assessor of nursery managers on

whether there is enough women with the right skills and experience to challenge men for the

top position, was as expected. She recognized that women have the requisite education

standards and the experience, but there remains a shortage of skilled women able to challenge

men for top position. This is largely due to inequality of opportunities in various aspects of

career development. Chris Bull, CEO, McBride PLC was asked whether the company has a

duty to ensure that women manage around career breaks. He pointed to companies offering

women incentives such as childcare costs to enable top female managers to avoid taking

breaks from work. However, they recognized that the state also has a role to play in

developing policies geared towards helping women manage career breaks without distracting

their career advancement opportunities. The question of stepping away from work and

becoming a full time mother was asked to Clare Hill former, trainer and assessor of nursery

managers. She said it was an emotional step which was also necessary because a mother has a

greater inclination to be around their child than a father. Another CEO, Paula Leach was

asked how having children affected her career advancement. She emphatically responded that

it greatly affected it as she lost out on many development opportunities that would have

enabled her to rise up the career ladder faster. Hilary Baley summed up this great sacrifice by

stating that she went back to work a few weeks after giving birth and she was not the same at

work as she felt the need to be around her child. Apart from career opportunities, Kate

19    

Grussing – Managing Director, Saphire Partners pointed out that men tend to appear more

confident when talking about career progression in interviews and women tend to me more

reserved on the matter. This can partly be seen as a fear of undertaking too many

responsibilities whereas men welcome it as they see nothing much in the future that may

interfere with their work patterns. Kathy Tilbury, Managing Director – Excolsior Coaches

and Claude Mukenge – Western Union Chairman & CEO Camden were asked whether it is

risky to hire female employees of childbearing age. They agreed that it can influence their

decision but at the end of the day a candidate is often chosen on merit. However, they both

agreed that small business would be less willing to hire them given the costs they would

endure in finding a replacement within a short period of time to cover for maternity and

parental leave. Geraldine Gilron – Vice President, Western Union Camden summed up that

the majority of females is leaving the business due to family commitments. Thus the biggest

hurdle facing prospective female CEOs is family commitments after giving birth which

employers are reluctant to accommodate despite the availability of a legal framework to

protect women. However, Sir Roger Carr – President CBI believes that infusing more women

in the workplace and promoting them in top position would benefit businesses in UK. The

mere fact women perform better than men in education can be replicated in the commercial

environment which would result in economic growth.

5 Discussion (data interpretation)

The legal framework and inequality in the workplace

Equality is a concept that can receive different interpretations. There is a tension at the root of

anti-discrimination law, arising from competing views as to the nature of equality which law

can or should achieve. There are at least three models of equality which inform legal

provisions. First, there is the formal equality model, based on the starting point of the abstract

equality of individuals. If all human beings are equal or similar, then they should be treated

similarly. Another way of describing this conception is to think of equality as meaning

consistency, flowing from the Aristotelian idea that likes should be treated alike. The second

and third models both aim to achieve a type of substantive equality. A second model is that of

20    

equality of outcome or of the results, which goes further than the principle of equality of

treatment, permitting inconsistent treatment in order to achieve equality of outcome. E.g. by

the imposition for instance of quotas to ensure an equal result. It is linked to indirect

discrimination prohibition (the aim is to ensure that in fact, a traditionally discriminated

group will receive an equal treatment). A third way of interpreting the equality principle is

the equality of opportunity, which is concerned with equalizing starting point, and is midway

between the above two models. The idea beside this approach is that we do not have the same

starting point and that equality laws must ensure that we can still compete equally. It does not

go as far as to aim for equality of results, but it proposes to solve the problem of institutional

discrimination. Notice that not all models are however compatible with each other.

More recently, the Court has pronounced the idea of equality as a fundamental human right.

In the case of Deutsche Telekom AG v Schröder [2000] ECR I-743, the European Court of

Human Rights repeatedly held that the right not to be discriminated against on grounds of sex

is one of the fundamental human rights whose observance the Court has a duty to ensure.

Kilpatrick (, 490) argues that being a member of the European Union, the UK has a greater

responsibility in tackling gender inequality.16

Empirical evidence of discrimination against female employees in UK

Inequality faced by women in the workplace was investigated in a government commission

study into equality in UK. The 2010 report on equality in UK found that Many barriers within

employment are breaking down, with, for example, a growing proportion of managerial and

professional positions taken by women (EHRC, 2010).

                                                                                                                         16  C Kilpatrick, ‘Emancipation Through Law or the Emasculation of Law? The Nation-State, the EU, and Gender Equality at Work’, at 490.

21    

Figure 1: Women on the board in selected EU member states

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18187449

However, the British labour market continues to be characterised by a high level of

occupational segregation. Women make up 83% of people employed in personal services and

over 40% of female jobs compared to 15% of male jobs are in the public sector, making

women particularly vulnerable to public sector cuts. Occupational segregation continues to

feed pay differences, especially in the private and voluntary sectors were at age 40 men are

earning on average 27% more than women (EHRC, 2010: 25).17

Gender pay gap

A report on the changing balances between men and women as full-time academic staff in all

UK institutions found that:

“In 2009-10 the proportions of women in full-time posts had increased to 38% (45,195 out of

117,930). However, it is important to note that women remain in relatively subordinate

positions relative to men, and have not increased their share of senior positions. For

                                                                                                                         17  EHRC,  Fairness  and  Freedom,  The  Final  Report  of  the  Equalities  Review  –  Executive  Summary  (2010).  

22    

example, less than a quarter of women are (full) professors (2905) out of a total of 15,320

and proportionately more are on fixed-term rather than open-ended or permanent contracts.

There remain far more women on part-time contracts than men, almost two-thirds or 34,705

out of 63,665. Thus, over the last 15 years, whilst the proportion of academics in UK

institutions has barely increased, women have increased relative to men, although largely

remaining in subordinate roles.”18

In terms of education, the report found that women now do better than men in every aspect of

educational qualification but the pay gap between men and women remains. After falling

continuously for the past 30 years, progress seems to have halted (EHR, 2010: 27). The report

found that the gender pay gap (as measured by median hourly pay excluding overtime)

narrowed between 2008 and 2009. The gender pay gap for all employees decreased to 22% in

2009 from 22.5% in 2008; the full-time gender pay gap fell from 12.6% in 2008 to 12.2% in

2009. The part-time gender pay gap fell from 39.9% in 2008 to 39.4% in 2009 (EHRC, 411).

Gender segregation

Vertical segregation describes how, within the same occupation, women are concentrated

lower down the salary range; for example the vast majority of those in clerical occupations is

women, yet over 80% of higher paid clerical positions are occupied by men. Women tend to

be paid less than men within occupations, not climbing the career ladder to the same degree

as men. This is known as vertical segregation and the barriers to moving up in a profession

are also referred to as the “glass ceiling” (Women and Work Commission, 2006: 11)

Occupational segregation is the term used to describe the fact that women and men tend to do

different jobs. Horizontal segregation refers to the concentration of women and men into

different types of occupations; for example men in agriculture, engineering, construction; and

women in health care, cleaning, catering and other service sector related jobs, which are

usually found at lower levels of industry and attract lower rates of pay.

                                                                                                                         18  UK Higher Education Statistical Authority (HESA) and other Government sources. http://www.genderandeducation.com/issues/factsfiguresfutures/

 

23    

The Women and Work Commission report entitled “shaping a fairer future” of 2006 found

that women are more concentrated in lower-paying occupations than men (Women and Work

Commission, 2006:10-11).19 Nearly two-thirds of women were employed in 12 occupation

groups: the five ‘c’s – caring, cashiering, catering, cleaning and clerical occupations – plus

teaching, health associate professionals (including nurses), and “functional” managers, such

as financial managers, marketing and sales managers and personnel managers. They found

that only a third of managerial jobs were taken by women. By contrast, men were employed

in a wider range of jobs. Two-thirds of men were employed in 26 occupation groups

including more professional, managerial and technical roles than women, for example,

functional and production managers, transport drivers, engineers and information and

communication technology professionals.

There have been numerous reports commissioned by the UK government, and at EU level on

women and work and on unequal pay in particular. In 2001, the Equal Opportunities

Commission in the UK published a report of the Equal Pay Task Force, which had

investigated the causes of unequal pay.20 It used to be possible for employers simply to pay

female workers less for doing the same work as men: many workplaces had separate pay

scales for men and women. The Equal Pay Taskforce concluded that there were three main

factors which contributed to the gender pay gap: occupational segregation, the unequal

impact of women’s family responsibilities and pay discrimination but the focus of concern

was discrimination; the Taskforce believed that this accounted for between 25% and 50% of

the pay gap. Pay discrimination is only one of the factors contributing to the gap, but the

evidence suggests that when other factors are discounted, between 25% and 50% of the

gender pay gap is due to discrimination (Equality Opportunities Commission, 2001:2).

This view is applicable across the EU and is supported by most academic studies (Soumeli

and Nergaard, 2002). As can be seen from the report on Gender Equity in Europe, it seems

that most academic studies conclude that, there is an unexplained difference in wages, which

is presumed to be due to discrimination. Studies show that a wide - though narrowing - pay

gap persists between women and men in all European Union Member States and in Norway,

                                                                                                                         19  Women  and  Work  Commission,  Shaping  a  Fairer  Future,  February  2006  

Department  of  Trade  and  Industry,  www.dti.gov.uk  (UK)  at  pp  10-­‐11  20  Equal  Pay  Taskforce,  Just  Pay:  Report  of  the  Equal  Pay  Task  Force,  Equal  Opportunities  Commission,  2001:  2  

24    

to the detriment of women. Although a variety of factors are cited to explain the existing

wage differentials between women and men, most studies conclude that, in addition to the

gap arising from these factors, there is an unexplained difference in wages, which is

presumed to be due to discrimination.21

Parental rights that protect women from discrimination

• Equality Act 2010 s.11

• Marriage, pregnancy/maternity and gender reassignment as sex discrimination

• Equality Act 2010 ss.4, 18

• Dekker v VJV Centrum – discrimination against a pregnant woman is sex

discrimination – ECJ

•

• Maternity leave: Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations 1999; as amended by ss 17

and 18 Employment Act 2002 and Work and Families Act 2006

– 26 weeks of Ordinary Maternity Leave and 26 weeks of Additional Maternity

Leave making one year in total. The combined 52 weeks is known as Statutory

Maternity Leave

– Notice to employer 15 w before ‘expected week of childbirth’ (EWC)

– SML can start any week from 11 weeks before ‘EWC’

– 2 weeks of ‘compulsory’ SML

• Maternity pay: Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1993 and related

regulations

– The qualifying period of 26 weeks (+1 day) of work before a week -15d from

‘EWC’

                                                                                                                         21  E  Soumeli  and  K  Nergaard,  ‘Gender  pay  equity  in  Europe’  Report  for  European  Industrial  Relations  Observatory  On-­‐Line,  2002  

 

25    

– Earning at least £102/week

– 6 weeks at 90% of full w pay

– + up to 33 weeks at £135.45 or 90% of full w pay (whichever the lowest)

– More if included in the contract/collective agreement

• Parental leave: Maternity and Parental Leave etc Regulations 1999, as amended

– Parents of child up to 5y (18 if disabled)

– Up to 13 weeks of unpaid leave (unless the contract of collective agreement

offers pay)

• Time off to care for dependants: s 57A and 57B Employment Rights Act 1996

• Right to request flexible working arrangement: s80F Employment Rights Act 1996

6.1 Conclusion

Competitiveness depends on the UK making the best use of the talents of as many people as

possible. Policy makers need to ensure that as many people as possible who want to work

should have the chance to do so and women are given the opportunities to reach the higher

echelons on business management. But work and parenthood can create conflicting pressures.

Parents, both men and women, need time with their children and time to create a supportive

home in which their children can thrive. When they are at work they need confidence that

their children are being well cared for so that they can concentrate on the job in hand.

Helping female employees to combine work and family life satisfactorily is good not only for

parents and children but also for businesses. To ensure that all parents are better able to

balance work and family life, voluntary measures need to be underpinned by a statutory

framework. The Equality Act 2010 has enhanced the protection afforded to female employees

but still inequality of opportunities continues. While parenthood is largely to blame for this

outcome, it cannot be eliminated and the business community must embrace it rather than

fight it. This means they must invest more in female employees and improve their changes of

attaining top positions.

26    

6.2 Recommendations

The first recommendation is to improve legal enforcement. Employers are able to deny

female staff the opportunity to become CEOs, even when they have merited the promotion,

largely to family commitments. Despite the enactment of the Equality Act, women continue

to be discriminated when it comes to equality of opportunities. Employers are able to justify

it based on business judgement and the court is incapable of interfering with business choices

unless they are in breach of law. On that basis, to improve enforcement of the law protecting

women’s rights in the workplace, a business culture needs to be fostered in which women are

given more chances to become CEOs. Thus the government must develop initiatives to meet

this recommendation.

The second recommendation is derived from the analysis of the interviews. It is clear that the

biggest hurdle facing prospective female CEOs is both an established perception that female

managers would choose family commitments above the business once they have given birth

and the high likability that once given birth, the female employee would take maternity leave

and be more concentrated on looking after the child than serving the business interests. On

that basis, most of the CEOs and executives interviewed agreed that the issue of childbirth is

the reason women are less represented on the company boards in UK. Thus, the second

recommendation is not necessarily to add another layer of laws to protect female employees

since the law has been already strong enough yet the problem persists. It is recommended that

companies are pushed by the government to put in place policies that enable at least one

female employee to sit on the board of the company. This, is a form of positive action in

which underepresented groups are given greater weight when it comes to development

opportunities. However, the proposal for positive action significantly shifts the emphasis of

discrimination law away from the right of the individual to be treated on merit alone, to one

where being a member of a particular group can determine a person’s employment

opportunities. This changes the whole logic and professional approach to recruitment that has

been emphasised since the raft of anti-discrimination legislation was passed in the mid 70’s.

If all individuals are deserving of equal respect and dignity then it is a flawed approach to

single out particular classifications of people and emphasise special measures to promote

their equality. I believe that we should not budge this fundamental principle to retrospectively

27    

try to sort out earlier problems with inequality of opportunity. On that basis, positive action

can improve the low female representation in executive positions but conflicts with the idea

that selection should be based on merit.

28    

References

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She does so when the children grow up and leave the home. She does it, not solely to earn

money, helpful as it is: but to fill her time with useful occupation, rather than sit idly at home

waiting for her husband to return. The devil tempts those who have nothing to do.” Lord

Denning MR in the case of Langston v AUEW [1974] ICR 180

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“The case research logic relies on finding causal relationships within each case rather than by

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and methods”. Miles, M. B. and M. A. Huberman (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis. An

Expanded Sourcebook. Thousand Oaks, SAGE Publications.

“The mapping, inferences, and validity claims have much in common with the

measurement.” Research Methods in Business Studies. A Practical Guide . Harlow, England,

Prentice Hall Ghauri, P. and K. Grønhaug (2005).

29    

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31    

Appendix

Interview of CEOs of UK companies

Q: How would business benefit if the female brain drain could be stopped?

A: “The loss of the talent pool is financially damaging for business, it is also damaging to the

health of an organisation, the common sense facts are, that businesses comprises customer

who are male and female, employees who are male and female, and shareholders are male

and female, and therefore to have a company that is run exclusively by one gender or the

other, you simply are not running the business in an appropriate manner. Women bring a

different life experience, and therefore they change the nature of the debate, it becomes more

positive or constructive, and ultimately leads to better decision making, of the UK, better

business with a better competitive edge it is utterly critical to our growth and that is important

to all of us. Businesses at all levels work better with a gender mix and most businesses see

that, they have already understood that it is not something to aspire to it is something they

need to grip very quickly because in today’s world you want all the competitive edge you can

get and women bring that” Sir Roger Carr – President CBI

Q: Why were female with highly skill talent leaving the business?

A: “People in the business tended to think that women were leaving the business for family

reasons, to have a baby or to stay at home with the children, and there was a thought that

maybe it is more suited to a male style because it is a pretty stressful environment. We

contacted those who had left and I was surprised that 95% of them had gone on to do another

job, so they have not left because of family circumstances, they resigned because they felt

that their style and work life balance would not work at P&G. ” Geraldine Huse – Vice

President, P&G

Q: From a commercial perspective how does the company cover reduce work schedules?

A: ”If we have reduced work schedules, for example sometimes we will need 10 team

members instead of 8 if we have a lot of people on reduced work schedules and we do not

believe that is cost overall because the benefit of retaining the top talent that we have. If we

think about the 10 years of training it takes to get someone to senior management level, it will

cost more if we lose the talent than if we retain it.” Geraldine House – Vice President, P&G

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Q: To small to medium enterprises is it detrimental to employ females of childbearing

age?

A: “Businesses have to think twice about recruiting women of childbearing age, we do not

have a choice because we can find ourselves in the employment tribunal just by refusing an

interview from someone who tells the employer they are pregnant. We have a policy within

our businesses of employing the right person for the right job but you have to think about the

impact of the business not just financially but in the day-to-day operation when you recruit

people. When my right hand sales and marketing manager took maternity leave, we had to

look at recruiting somebody, so there is a cost of about £ 1000 in terms of the recruitment, the

advert, the interview processes. There is then a week induction and training, so that is another

£650, there is obviously additional office equipment we need to provide that is in the region

of another £1000, then when the maternity leave finishes, there is potentially 21 days holiday

to take so that all comes at a cost to the business and although we recover 92% it will still

have a hit 8-10K on our bottom line” Kathy Tilbury – Managing Director – Excolsior

Coaches

“Was just as much as a problem for me when I was running a big business for somebody in a

key role to go off on maternity leave as it is for somebody at a smaller business, although I

accept that it could be quite a mission critical for a small business whereas in a big business is

a nuisance. Therefore, there no doubt that small businesses who therefore in their recruitment

process will shy away from employing someone who might get pregnant” Sir Stuart Rose –

M&S Former Chairman & CEO

Q: What is the difference between men and women on self promoting themselves for a

job?

A: ”When we approach a woman about a job, she will often tell me why she thinks she is not

suitable for the job, whereas men will point out why they are a perfect fit. Women are often

as ambitious but do not wear on their sleeve they way their male peers will.” Kate Grussing

– Managing Director, Saphire Partners

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Q: How did motherhood impact on your career?

A: “Three weeks after giving birth 20 years ago, I had to return back to work, as it was spelt

out to me if I did not get back into work quickly there would not be a job there for me. The

sacrifice is not hearing your child first word or seeing the first steps because you have to be at

work. “ Hilary Baley

Q: How did having children impact your confidence and career progression?

A: “Before I had children I was never late for anything but sometimes I really feel I am up

against it in terms of trying to fit everything and then make it to a meeting and not let people

down. I remember leaving the office to go and do the pick up from nursery and I would be

the first one to leave the office and as the manager of the department I felt I should be the

first one leaving the office even if I worked 3hrs later on that evening to catch up.

I would never have believed that I would have a dip in confidence, there is a another job that

you are learning to do, being a mum and sometimes I would sit in a meeting thinking if I

should be there. I have a choice of what I do with my life but work is important to me and I

have worked so hard to get to where I am and it would be a shame to get all the experience

behind me and then just step out. You never know what the situation would have been if you

have not had children, having said that I have not progressed through the organisation, I am

mum and I want to be around. ” Paula Leach

Q: Why did you decide to step away from your career and become a full time mother?

A: “Initially it was an emotional decision to stay at home, I just decided it was not a good

time to go back, I wanted to spend more time with my son, and another part of it, was the

financial side just due to the fact I would have to pay £185 a week on childcare fees, which

meant the a big chunk of my wage would go straight out on the childcare fees so I had to

weigh up what I was going to do and the career I would have to go.

I do love my life but I am also missing going to work and having my own income to support

the family, I am looking at possibly set up my own business where I can fit in time around the

children. I am itching to go back onto the corporate ladder but the childcare fees vs wages, it

does not add up.” Clare Hill former trainer and assessor of nursery managers

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Q: Are there enough women with the right skill sets and experience to fulfill these top

roles?

A: “Not today, that is in relation in terms of availability today but the pipeline is filling up

and is just a matter of time for the situation to get much better but today there is certainly a

scarcity.

Q: Is it the company to find ways in managing round women career breaks?

A: “I think companies certainly need to find a way around managing career breaks but

sharing the caring of children is also an option. Despite being a real challenge is not about

being completely black and white, if you create a more rounded approach that both males and

females have a responsibility for their family. I would plan my board room meeting around

the parents meeting, so I would still go to the parents meeting I would just plan ahead, is not

a crisis every day in business.” Chis Bull – CEO, McBride PLC