20
|
THE INVESTOR
analysis
women in business
H
ow are women faring in
the business community
in terms of making money
and managing it?The
signals are conflicting:
while the news on pay rates is disappointing,
there are some positive signs.
Equalising the labour force between men
and women by increasing the number of
women in work could see our national output
rise by up to 10% by 2030, according to the
Women’s Business Council. It says there are
more than 2.4 million women who are not
in work but would like to be, and a further
1.3 million who would like to increase the
number of hours they work.The council says
it is promoting female participation in the
workplace, not just to do the right thing by
women, but to make the British economy as
productive and efficient as possible.
Two other areas have been in the spotlight
for some time: pay inequality and the
number of female directors on company
boards.After four decades of equality groups
trying unsuccessfully to encourage pay parity
for the sexes, women still earn 18% less than
men, according to government statistics.
Lord Davies’ report,
Women on Boards
, set a
target for women to hold 25% of directorships
of FTSE 100 companies by 2015.With just
under a year to go, that goal looks unlikely to
be achieved. In contrast, Helena Morrissey,
founder of the 30 Percent Club, has moved
away from concentration on such targets.
She is also the chair of Opportunity Now,
whose current Project 28-40 is examining
what happens to women’s pay between those
ages.At the lower end of that age range there
is little difference between male and female
earning levels, but the disparity starts in the
30s.Their previous research shows that by 45
women earn an average of 28% less than men.
But whatever happens on pay and in
boardrooms, it seems that some changes are
taking place behind the scenes. If we look at
the micro level of how households manage
their money, it appears that 2007 was a crucial
year for women – the global financial crisis
put many families under financial pressure and
women began to play a more important role.
‘Families became more reliant on what
women inthe
spotlight
The UK may be behind its targets of more female directors on company
boards and pay equality, but the future does offer signs of optimism
By Neasa MacErlean
80%of the new
self-employed
starting out
between 2008
and 2011 were
female
