We must not let hybrid working disadvantage women
Opinion
The pandemic has accelerated flexible and hybrid working, much to the benefit of women. But there is a risk that women, once again, will be excluded from key conversations made in the office.
As we celebrate the platinum jubilee of our second Queen Elizabeth, I find myself once again drawn to reflect on the 45-year reign of our first Elizabeth Regina. A woman who operated in a brutal man’s world and commanded significant power, who was regarded as having made a success of it. Yet even she, in spite of being arguably the most powerful person in the country, found it necessary to comply with the masculine leadership ‘norms’ of the time to be accepted.
For example, in the face of war, she had to reassure people of fearlessness in spite of her sex; “Though I be a woman, yet I have as good a courage answerable to my place as ever my father had.”
We can only speculate as to how being a woman helped or hindered her in her role. We know she famously toyed with various European princes by using the prospect of marriage to her as a key part of her foreign policy and peacekeeping efforts. She certainly felt compelled to remain single to retain authority. Whilst the two other long serving Queens, Victoria and Elizabeth II, both married and enjoyed family life neither of them made their husband’s ‘King’. Presumably so as not to diminish their own authority.
Management remains a male preserve
In spite of making up half the population it still remains extraordinary, rather than ordinary, proposition for women to lead. Recent analysis by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) has found that 41% of management roles in the UK workplace are held by women.
The figure falls to 38% when examining the number of women in senior business leading positions. Most striking was the fact that in the last decade the number of management roles held by women across the UK workforce has only increased from 40% to 41%. An increase which we can all agree represents glacial progress.
Lack of progress risks undermining further advances
So here we are, in the 70th year of our modern ‘Elizabethan age’ and still treading water on gender equality in management positions. Coinciding with a decade in which there has been a positive shift in attitudes with respect to flexible working and shared parenting practices it is particularly disappointing.
Add to that the attention given to the reporting of the gender pay gap, the arrival of the ‘me too’ movement and the amount many companies have invested in training, mentoring and sponsorship programmes designed to accelerate the progress of women in their workplaces, it is frankly frustrating.
I am not naïve. Whilst frustration in the face of slow progress is understandable, we are also witnessing a bit of fatigue with the subject which has its roots in resistance. From the ‘can we stop going on about D&I all the time’ brigade, to the rather less edifying, ‘things have gone too far’ people.
Unfortunately, the political and media landscape has become increasingly hostile to ideas of inclusion and acceptance too. There are those who use their platform to mock ‘woke’ organisations and brands, preferring to promote the idea of ‘culture wars.’
As we know, it is seen as rich territory to create clear blue water between political parties as well as a way to make money through audience engagement and clicks.
Leaders have a big role to play
Once again, we can take inspiration from Queen Elizabeth I. She inherited a country from her sister ‘Bloody Mary’ which had been encouraged to indulge in a state sponsored and intensely cruel era of conflict between Roman Catholics and Protestants.
Determined to avoid persecuting her subjects for their deeply held religious beliefs Elizabeth’s attitude was reported as ‘not liking to make windows into men’s hearts and secret thoughts except the abundance of them did overflow into overt and express acts or affirmations’.
In other words, people were entitled to think and believe whatever they liked but would be judged on their actions (which were expected to be peaceful and law abiding). She understood that ‘culture wars’ were harmful to economic growth and her own security and that finding common ground and encouraging tolerance was a more sensible path forward.
Organisations don’t want staff at war with one another
What gives me hope, is that organisations do not want ‘culture wars’ in their workplaces and far prefer to foster cultures where people work alongside each other in an environment of mutual respect and dignity. It stands to reason that a happy and motivated workforce will be more creative, productive, and loyal and not waste energy either locked in conflict or navigating oppressive practices.
I would be the first to admit that ideas around inclusion surface conflict as well as promoting harmony. But just because it’s difficult, and some people feel they are penalised unfairly because they enjoy innate advantages, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t continue to aim for gender equality. How can we be content that men hold 60% of leadership and managerial roles?
Gender equality benefits men too
Policies and practices that have encouraged women to take their full and proper place alongside men have benefitted everyone. We can see that equal parental leave has flowed from the necessity to have maternity leave. Flexible working options emerged from the imperative to allow women to better manage their time and availability to work.
The notion of ‘equal pay for equal work’ has meant more transparent polices and approaches around pay awards for everyone. Challenging decision-making within ‘the old boys’ network’ has improved governance and helped break down the privileges of birth and education across the board.
Gender is too big a category
As far as I am aware, the main criticism of the progress made by women in the workplace has been that not enough attention was given to the importance of intersecting inequalities. Great emphasis has been placed on ‘gender’ as a majority categorisation, rather than also considering the additional disadvantage of women who were black, lesbian, disabled, older or working class, which were downgraded as ‘minority’ concerns.
As a result, changes in the gender balance of management and leadership roles, tended to favour white middle-class women with the education and confidence to take advantage of changing attitudes. So, perhaps one of the reasons we are a bit stuck is because we have not been paying enough attention to the different inequities experienced by women who we know are a diverse group.
Hybrid working may not help
It is fair to say that it was the pandemic, not D&I initiatives, that accelerated the take-up of home-working arrangements. Perhaps the most dramatic wholesale change to the acceptance of flexible working we will ever witness. But already we are warned there could be a downside because hybrid working arrangements may disadvantage women.
There is evidence that women are more likely to remain hybrid workers and may find themselves once again excluded from key conversations and decisions being made in face-to-face settings. This on top of considerable evidence that the burden of parenting and caring responsibilities fell heavily on the shoulders of women during each wave of lockdown, and disproportionately impacted their careers compared to their male counterparts.
So, we need to be on alert. Not only may we not make further progress, but there is also actually a risk of going backwards. Our next monarch will be a King and in future it will not be the eldest male, but the first born who will succeed.
Thus, building in a kind of gender-neutral policy to succession, although it will still not be based on ability. For the monarchy such modernisation may seem radical, but in business we must do much better than that.
When leadership opportunities are open to everyone with the skills and aptitude to do the job, we will all be better off.
Jan Gooding is one of the UK’s best-known brand marketers, having worked with Aviva, BT, British Gas, Diageo and Unilever. She is now an executive coach, chair of PAMCo and Given. She writes for The Media Leader each month.
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