Something to ponder on this International Women’s Month…
Over 50 years ago in 1969, we sent man to the moon, but we still can't achieve gender equity in 2023.
In 2020 we got whole workforces working from home in a matter of days, yet, despite the introduction of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 here in the UK some 48 years ago, in 2023 we still can't get gender equality right.
It was 20 years ago that I became a Diversity Champion in the organisation that I worked for because the need to increase diversity had recently become a 'thing'.
I remember thinking at the time that it shouldn't be an add-on, but integrated into everything that we did, and that these diversity roles wouldn't last long.
But the 2022 Diversity and Inclusion Global Report by Research and Markets shows how much this is not the case. Because the global diversity and inclusion market, estimated at US$7.5 Billion in 2020 is projected to reach US$17.2 Billion by 2027. Diversity and Inclusion has become an industry in and of itself.
We have seen some improvements here in the UK which we should acknowledge and celebrate, such as:
- 40.2% of FTSE350 Boards are women, up from 9% in 2011
- 33.5% of FTSE350 leadership teams are women (Exec Committee and direct reports) and on target to reach 40% by 2025
- However, ONLY 8% of CEOs and 19% of CFOs of FTSE350 are women
(as reported by FTSE Women Leaders)
- In 2021, 54.2% of the Civil Service were women, with 47.3% of the Senior Civil Service being women (as per the Civil Service diversity and inclusion dashboard updated May 22)
Whilst some strides have been made, we've still got a long way to go, particularly when it comes to intersectionality.
Globally, the Global Gender Gap Index from the World Economic Forum (which benchmarks the current state and evolution of gender parity across four key dimensions, namely Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment) reported that it will take another 132 years to close the global gender gap.
They reported that as crises are intensifying, women's workforce outcomes are suffering, and the risk of global gender parity backsliding increases.
So why is it that we can’t get gender parity right?
We can’t get it right as long as some people don’t want to.
First published on LinkedIn.
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