8 | In short, women’s participation in the UK labour force is halted at the point of entry. This is particularly stark in innovation-intensive contexts, as highlighted in LUMS research on Inclusive Innovation. Women’s participation and pay is also affected disproportionately in the public sector. Mary-Ann Stephenson (Director of the Women’s Budget Group) presented her view as to why women are hit hardest in the public sector at an event we held with our partners in November 2022. Firstly, women are more likely than men to work in the public sector, and therefore more likely to feel the negative impact of public sector cuts. Secondly, women are more likely to use public services than men, for themselves and for the people they care for, and therefore cuts will affect the extent to which they can access support. Thirdly, women are more likely to fill gaps in care with unpaid work when public sector services are cut back. ADVANCING INTO LEADERSHIP ROLES Whilst more women are today in work, they continue to be underrepresented in key leadership roles. LUMS research as part of the international TARGETED-MPI project investigating gender equality in business and management schools (see P30), finds that women experience promotional processes differently, and is looking at how organisational factors affect women’s delay in going for promotion. Women of colour are particularly underrepresented in leadership roles. Figures from the Fawcett Society’s 2022 Sex and Power Index, for instance, show women comprise just 8%of FTSE 100 CEOs, with no Black and minority ethnic women. Lopa Patel, MBE, entrepreneur and chair of Diversity UK (see P10), noted women are often told they need to be more assertive in asking for promotion or a pay rise. However, when women do so, especially women of colour, they are often deemed aggressive or having a chip on their shoulder, with attempts at progression met with the mentality of “you should be grateful for the job you have, you should be grateful I am asking you to take on more responsibility”. Pointing to the need for organisations to take responsibility for helping women progress, Lopa recalls her own personal experience of unfairness in the system that calls for women to prove themselves over and over again. What can organisations do to address this issue? Dr Doyin Atewologun (Director, Delta Alpha Psi and Dean of the Rhodes Scholarships at the University of Oxford) called on organisations to think how they can compensate people – many from underrepresented groups – for their time and insights that are instrumental in enabling organisations to develop more inclusive practices. According to Doyin, organisations capitalise on many employee resource groups, including women’s networks; black, Asian and minority ethnic networks; and LGBTQ+ networks. These networks gather information, advocate for social equality within the organisation, and give guidance on what is going on with customers. Much of this labour that benefits organisations is left to members of underrepresented groups who ordinarily do not have power. An important challenge for all organisations, including corporates, the public sector and charities, is to identify how they can quantify that labour, and to start thinking about compensating people engaged in this additional work that often lands on women’s shoulders. MANAGING THE PERSONAL AND THE PROFESSIONAL Overall, the pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities between women and men, rolling back on the hard-won achievements of the past years. This is particularly so in relation to childcare demands for women in the UK, which WOMEN REMAIN JUST 8%OF FTSE 100 CEOS AND THERE ARE NOWOMENOF COLOUR
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