Annabel Weeden, Partner at bpe search, investigates what’s behind the latest statistics, and counsels leadership to put balanced boards back on their agenda.
I’ve had many conversations with female leaders in my time in executive search, both as part of the job and when I’m ‘off duty’. And although I do hear stories where the accepted outward dialog of a company is at odds with what women actually experience day-to-day, most women who are ambitious for senior roles are positive, proactive and practical about how to get there.
Which, let’s face it, they need to be. In my experience, it’s often women who still take time off to deal with family issues – whether that’s children, parents, illness or any other life event. But it’s also my experience that enlightened hiring managers don’t stand in the way of the right hire, and that’s why I’m interested to see that the percentage of women in senior roles has stagnated over the past couple of years.
What’s behind this? According to a recent article by Sarah Steinberg, Head of Global Public Policy Partnerships at LinkedIn, women’s share of new C-suite hires was at 20.2% in 2015, rising to 26.6% in 2022. Since then, it’s stalled at around 27%.
Not only that, but the research conducted by LinkedIn and the World Economic Forum suggests that even when women reach the C-Suite, there’s no clear path for them to the CEO or Board chair roles. In fact, it shows that only 19.1% of CEO roles are held by women and just 5.2% of Board chair positions.
There are some commonly-agreed reasons that explain this slowdown.
ED&I has fallen down the priority list
I think this is something we’ve all seen over the past two or three years. Businesses are facing considerable pressures from national and international economic headwinds. Organisations are focused on keeping the business stable using the most efficient routes, and, unfortunately, that is translating into less emphasis on cultures and policies that promote diverse leadership teams.
Bpe search’s focus on ED&I is clear. Our shortlists are always prefaced with a clear summary of the diversity of the candidates we put forward. We challenge hiring managers to consider diverse lists and take the time to find the best hire rather than the quickest.
And our own data backs this approach. On average, 45% of our appointments are female - well above that 27% overall statistic. But on an annual basis, we’ve also seen our numbers fall slightly, and it’s our aim to work with businesses in every sector to ensure ED&I is a positive pillar of the hiring process.
As Catherine Garrod from Compelling Culture, one of bpe search’s Partner companies, says:
“Unless you’re consciously including people, you’re almost certainly unconsciously excluding people.”
And she should know – Catherine led Sky to be the most inclusive employer in the UK, with 80% of teams increasing diversity during her time there.
There are fewer senior roles in general
Data from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation shows UK permanent and contract hiring has been in steady decline since 2022: the same year that women's C-suite statistic plateaus.
Businesses are constantly reorganising to make efficiencies, and the more expensive, senior roles often take the hit. The recent announcement by JLR is a great example of this, where it’s anticipated that many of its 4,000 job cuts over the next two years will affect salaried management positions rather than hourly production line workers.
Even where there aren’t significant workforce cuts being made, businesses are opting for stability over growth, and rationalising wherever possible. At the very least, this can mean a hiring freeze.
As bpe search Partner Andy Young says:
“Uncertainty is the one certain thing that we have right now. Where bigger companies can adapt to this new normal and either backfill roles that were previously cut, or look at new hires, mid-cap and smaller companies don’t have the cash to do it. For example, I have seen marketers take the biggest hits – and a significant proportion ofsenior marketers are women. That, to some extent, would suggest why we have seen a significant impact on the shift we’re seeing. Where those roles have been taken out of organisation’s structures and either replaced with more junior roles or removed entirely, a disproportionate number of women will be losing out versus their male counterparts. I would expect that to be a similar story with, for example, Chief People and HRD roles, which are also historically more likely to be held by women than men.”
It’s important not to ignore the general downturn in senior roles, and the potential impact on roles that are often held by women rather than men.
Return to office mandates affect flexible working
I feel this is a significant factor in the statistics we’re seeing. Post Covid, most people have looked for a better work-life balance. And the upcoming new generation of leaders expects it.
Over the past 12 months, we’ve seen an increasing number of businesses mandate at least three days in the office. Some, such as investment banks Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, mandate five.
An article published by HR specialist Thomas earlier this year reports that high performers disengage from this mandate first. These employees expect to be trusted and treated with respect, and feel that mandated office days erode that trust. It concludes: “Women and caregivers, who already face greater challenges balancing work and home, are hit particularly hard.”
This reflects my experience that mandated days are resulting in women making choices – more so than men, who have clearly also benefitted from flexible working options.
It’s often the catalyst for a decision: Do I want the job and the promotion prospects badly enough to commute to the office three or more days a week, with all the necessary cost and additional hours that brings? Or do I want to retain the flexibility and balance that I’ve already got, and forego the career opportunities I might otherwise have had?
The women I place into senior roles are just as ambitious as men. I have a huge amount of admiration and respect for them, and I will back any woman on that path 100% to succeed. Women are driven in lots of different ways, and we should respect their choices while supporting their ambition with flexibility and trust.
Imposter syndrome is still at play
Many of the women I speak to during a search and hire process have some element of imposter syndrome. That’s despite their achievements and successes.
Rachel O’Sullivan, bpe search’s partner specialising in retail, hospitality, leisure and travel, where there is often a higher concentration of women in the workforce, agrees.
“Women do have more impostor syndrome and question themselves, and generally speaking, are very honest and transparent about where they feel there are gaps in their ability. So, in some situations, they are counting themselves out of these opportunities when they could be succeeding in them. To combat this, I actively coach female clients to help them see where their strengths and achievements lie, so that they are making the very most of their skills throughout the process and are confident applicants. I rarely need to do this with men, who I think are much happier just to say they have the skills - even if behind closed doors, they’re not sure they do.”
Sometimes, this is based on a perception of barriers that aren’t actually there. For example, women are often concerned about career gaps on their CV – worried that taking a chunk of time off for family or to look after a parent can preclude them from being in the running for a senior role.
But many women have other roles during these breaks, and that gives them skills, understanding and experience that is extremely valuable to any senior team or executive board.
For example, Kirsty Spickett is CMO at a fintech firm, who took time off to spend with her young children. Now, she’s on a board of eight, where three C-level roles are held by women. She says:
“Like everyone – men and women – I’m navigating life. I’ve always worked in fintech, which is certainly a male-dominated environment, but there are opportunities if you want to take them. I absolutely suffer from imposter syndrome – even though I have succeeded in a number of CMO roles. I used my career break to work a bit differently, rather than having a ‘big’ job, so when I was ready to come back, I had a range of other skills on my CV that showed I was up-to-date and ready to contribute.”
“For anyone who has that sinking imposter syndrome feeling, I’d say – just be kind to yourself. There’s no such thing as the perfect balance, so stop beating yourself up because you think you’re not getting it right. There is no right. Give yourself a break, recognise your achievements, and be kind to other people. You can be kind and decisive, and you can be fair and strategic. You can be nice and be a successful senior board member!”
Rachel O’Sullivan notes:
“I think the confidence gap is more apparent for women than for men, particularly earlier in their careers. But by the time you reach senior executive level, I don’t think confidence or capability is the issue. The bigger question is whether women are getting the support, sponsorship and opportunities they need to progress. If we lose talented women at those earlier stages, then naturally we end up with a much smaller pool of women progressing into the executive and board positions.”
There are excellent opportunities for women who want C-suite roles
The strong and consistent feeling across the team at bpe search is that, while these figures are interesting, and clearly demonstrate a trend that we’d like to see reversed, there are plenty of positives for women looking for senior roles.
Sam Dixon, Global Marketing Director at tech strategy organisation, Equal Experts, thinks there are three important factors in women making it to the top.
“You’ve got to want to be there,” she says. “I’ve worked in senior marketing roles across a range of sectors, and the common factor in getting those jobs is my determination to be the best person for the role - and then being the best person in the role. You have to be prepared to work hard and deliver results.”
“It’s also really important to have what I call ‘sponsors’ - both inside and outside your working life. I was fortunate to have someone who believed in my abilities early on in my career. He took a punt on me, and he supported me to succeed. That, alongside support from family and friends, has helped me get to where I am now - with the confidence and strength of character that is beneficial to whichever business I’m working with.”
“And finally, it’s very important to recognise your privilege and use it to pay it forward with people in your team and your organisation. We have all held privilege at some point in our lives, and by acknowledging that, and using our position to influence and support the careers of others, we’re building a solid platform for women to succeed at the highest level.”
Paul Bendelow, our Founding Partner, puts it best:
“There are two clear points for me here. First, the businesses I work with want to hire the best people. So where those best people are women, they’re hired. And I always make a point of talking to hiring managers about ensuring they get access to the best candidates out there – our network ensures that we can get ambitious, experienced women on those shortlists.”
“Second, if businesses want to have the best people working for them and shaping their growth and success, they need to start from within. Both women and men need to have structured access to talent development, support and mentoring from early on in their careers. My advice would be to focus on executive pipeline development, so that when the demand arises, you have the capabilities and the people in place that you need. It should always be a proactive approach rather than a reactive panic approach. And that’s something where an approach like that taken by our Partner company, Open Reflexion can make an early and lasting impact.”
So, what are the three things that businesses can do straight away to help shift these statistics in the right direction?
1. Commit to female representation on shortlists.
In 2016, Stefanie Johnson, David Hekman and Elsa Chan published a study in Harvard Business Review. "If There's Only One Woman in Your Candidate Pool, There's Statistically No Chance She'll Be Hired” found that when a shortlist of four finalists has only one woman, her odds of being hired are statistically zero. Add a second, and the odds increase dramatically: 79 times higher where there were two in the pool. Those numbers are still statistically accurate 10 years later, and we always look for balanced shortlists where at least two women or other minority candidates are present on merit. It's a quick, easy, inclusive and productive change.
2. Support flexible working
We know from our own experience that in-office working has huge benefits - particularly for face-to-face meetings, and for mentoring and developing younger talent. We’d always advise organisations to find the best people and then work out the best way to manage their time, rather than mandating office time first. Mandation risks great candidates ruling themselves out altogether, whereas flexibility means they feel you can have a fair and transparent discussion about how they can best contribute to growth and success.
3. Identify talent within your business, and support it
This takes a commitment today and a strategic plan for the future. It’s particularly important to invest in transition coaching - specific support for people moving into management, SLT and executive roles. Research suggests that women generally receive less mentoring and coaching than men, so you may lose talent without realising it.
As one of our candidates said about our transition coaching offer from Open Reflexion:
"I was hugely impressed that Carlsberg Britvic had invested in transition coaching for my new role. The space to reflect, to sense-check expectations, and to talk through challenges without judgement made a real difference. It helped me show up as a better leader to my team."
At bpe search, we’re committed to ensuring equal access to SLT, executive and C-suite roles for every candidate. Our shortlist reports are always prefaced with relevant ED&I breakdowns, and we have proactive conversations with our clients to ensure they are open to balanced shortlists of the best available candidates.
Contact us today to find out how we can support your business to buck the trend.
