November Edition 2020

13 As Fink adds: “This target was achieved on an entirely voluntary basis, without the need for legislation, fines or penalties. This appears to be an effective policy in encouraging gender equality in boardrooms, as opposed to enforcing mandatory obligations on businesses. The Government has already extended the right to request flexible working to all employees, introduced shared parental leave and commissioned a review to look at how we can remove the barriers preventing women reaching the pinnacles of their careers. It is taking action to reduce the gender Pay Gap that many women experience by requiring large employers to publish their gender pay gap and gender bonus gap; offering 30 hours of free childcare for working families with 3 and 4 year- olds; and encouraging girls to consider a wider range of careers, including in those higher paying sectors traditionally dominated by men.” As Lampert states: “there are numerous excellent FTSE businesses with good female representation, many of which are household names in the UK. While there are still a small number of female chief executives, women frequently occupy key roles in these companies, such as Financial Director, CIO, General Counsel, HR Directors and so on. But even this picture is mixed, with women making up nearly 70% of HR Directors, but only 15% of Finance Directors.” However, there are some sectors which have high female representation among leadership. “Examples are education, healthcare, social services, human resources, marketing, administrative services, legal services and the Third Sector – while others which continue to be very under-represented in terms of senior women – construction and skilled trades, manufacturing and production, and IT,” Lampert adds. ”There are only three industries where female corporate leadership exceeds 40%, being healthcare, education, and the non-profit sector,” says Fink. “For the FTSE 100, the top performers for gender balance on their boards include companies from sectors such as personal goods, media & entertainment, pharmaceuticals, financial services and general retailers. Conversely, women leaders remain underrepresented in sectors such as science, technology, mining, gas & utilities and industrials.” This may be no surprise when looking at the political landscape. “With 220 women MPs in the House of Commons, the UK has certainly reached an all- time high (34%) and the increase reflects an upward trend in representation since 1979. Only five ministers in the current UK Cabinet are women, which makes up less than a quarter, and the figure humbly puts the UK in 39th position in international rankings,” says Lampert.