40 roundtable: women in business ... continued from previous page
D’Abreo pointed out that in diversity and equality terms the UK was way behind the US, but way ahead of Japan. “This business debate would probably not be happening in either country, but you have to respect their very different cultures.”
Peterkin felt diversity and inclusion was improving, particularly within newer businesses and enlightened corporates. Having spent a decade working in corporate retail and seen stereotyping and poor management practices, she ensured her 50 nursery staff were all treated differently and with respect.
Maria Hoeritzauer
Llorens agreed that customer empathy was a strength in her male-dominated world, although she was not normally treated any differently within the industry.
“It should always be about the best person for the job,” stated Smith. Yet, how many boardroom tables are surrounded by white 40-50 year-old males, who all, coincidentally, are the best people for their job, she queried. “They may well be the best, but we should probably examine that, especially in industries where perhaps 70% of workers are female.”
Personality profiler Simon Pasco agreed that empathy and emotional intelligence were common female characteristics. “Successful women often have these qualities but know when to modify their behaviours, perhaps become more assertive, in certain business situations.”
Smith: “There’s a well-known book: Nice Girls Don’t Get The Corner Office.”
Pasco: “How do you build people’s confidence to fight on a level playing field, while not turning them into something that they are not?”
Shimmin focused the discussion on two key challenges:
• How to make women more competitive in the current workplace
• The longer game of how to make the workplace properly inclusive.
Individuality is a human trait and boardrooms had to realise that “... the way you deal with 45-year-old Joe is different to how you deal with 27-year-old Kate. A strong board will have people with adaptive strategies, ensuring that they get the best out of everyone.”
Wilson: “If you treat everyone as the same, your business will eventually struggle.”
Are generations of stereotyping changing?
Wilson: “The diversity statistics show that we are not making enough progress fast enough, and as a result we are missing a big opportunity.”
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In her experience, male-led meetings tended to stick to a fixed agenda. Her all- female management meetings “... covered all the points needed in depth, but went from tangent to tangent, from P&L to Poldark. I like that, and think it’s a much healthier working environment to be in.”
Llorens felt barriers to women were slowly being overcome, but would need continuing support for change from upcoming generations.
She believes most schoolgirls do not aspire to be engineers “... because their parents tell them it’s not a girl-thing to do.” Also, engineering is not promoted enough as an equal opportunity career within schools.
Society had accepted such stereotypes. “It starts at home in a family when children are given certain toys to play with, then when you go to school and higher school. My friends would say to me: ‘Engineering, really?’ I would say, ‘Why not? I like to achieve solutions for problems’.”
Peterkin: “It’s already happening at graduate level. A lot of my friends are choosing not to go to certain companies because they don’t provide a good career package for women, or don’t have women on their board.”
Shimmin: “Businesses need to listen to that, or they will lose the best people.”
Maria Hoeritzauer highlighted change at early employment levels, eg London group Women in Law specifically formed to network and support junior solicitors. Her firm Crossland Employment Solicitors, now also provided mentoring programmes. “It is slowly but surely changing, but it has to be at all levels, from families and schools right up to boardrooms.” More publicity of high achieving women as role models would also help.
“Sunlight is the best disinfectant?” queried Smith, noting that the legal world has the professional obligation of impartiality behind its well-publicised drive and required reporting on its employment diversity. “Has anything changed?”
Hoeritzauer: “It has made a big difference since I qualified as a solicitor almost nine years ago. Anytime that a sector or organisation has to open up to potential
criticism, to be accountable, means that things are looked at more closely.” Noting more women are now entering the legal profession.
Lawyer Shimmin agreed. “We now have a challenge recruiting men. When we do our training assessments we often find that female applicants significantly outnumber the men. We have to work hard to achieve a balanced intake."
The confidence to start your own business
The Shattering Sterotypes research revealed that women who left corporates and started their own businesses were more entrepreneurially ambitious, created faster growing companies than women starting up their first businesses.
Rai: “Perhaps that’s understandable bearing in mind the skills, knowledge and contacts they will have gained working within a corporate. But, how do we encourage other women to develop fast-growing successful businesses?”
Hoeritzauer: “Surely, it’s about confidence, and having the tools to access support and resources.”
Peterkin admitted that she could only have launched her business before she had her children. Without maternal ties, she left a well-paid job, put up her home as funding collateral, googled her business plan advice and “took a massive calculated gamble, that has paid off so far.” Since then, she has moved house four times in three years and become a mother of two.
Ross Wilson
“If I was starting now, having to take out a big loan, I wouldn’t do it, particularly as I now know that two-thirds of nurseries and pre-schools just break even or go under in their first year.”
Starting a new business after a corporate career might actually be too late for some women, Peterkin felt.
Rai: “What helped you most when starting up?”
“Naivety,” jested Peterkin, then mentioned advice from friends, work contacts, and her
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MARCH 2016
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