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Video: smashing the glass ceiling

10 February 2012

0 – none of the ten largest social enterprises on the RBS SE100 index have women CEOs.

When I started out I thought that the representation of women in the voluntary sector was great, and I wanted to pull something together that really showcased this. But along the way I came across some uncomfortable truths, and, quite frankly, I was disappointed.

Poor representation, pay gaps and sexual harassment are just some of the problems facing women working in the voluntary sector, reports Jessica Stacey.

Many assume that the voluntary and social enterprise sectors are leaders when it comes to equality. A report by Clore Social Fellow Rowena Lewis has shown otherwise. 

Close to Parity, challenging the voluntary sector to smash the glass ceiling shows that only 43% of charity leaders are women, with the figure falling to 27% in charities turning over £10m or more. Furthermore women at the top can expect to earn 18% less than their male counterparts.

The SE100 data report shows similar trends within social enterprises: 43% of senior management teams are women. In the ten largest social enterprises only one in three senior managers were women and all of the CEOs were men.

As the report launched, Jessica Stacey found out how this state of affairs came to be and how these imbalances are being addressed.

Report author Rowena Lewis explained: ‘When I started out I thought that the representation of women in the voluntary sector was great, and I wanted to pull something together that really showcased this. But along the way I came across some uncomfortable truths, and, quite frankly, I was disappointed.’
 
Rowena’s research revealed that the representation of women in leadership roles declined steadily as the roles become more senior. Furthermore, women that did make it to top positions experienced a wide pay gap when compared to men in equivalent roles. 
 
‘One thing that really surprised me was that a lot of CEOs didn’t realise there was a pay gap. We really need to confront this by talking about the problem out in the open,’ said Rowena.
 
Another uncomfortable truth was the fact that the voluntary sector is falling behind the public and private sector in its approach to addressing gender inequality. 
 
‘The difference between the voluntary sector and the public and private sector, is that we don’t seem to be doing much about addressing this inequality,’ said Rowena. 
 
‘The private sector has the Lord Davies report, the public sector has the equality act, but the voluntary sector has a complete absence of champions. We all need to take responsibility for this.’ 
 
Rowena’s research also revealed that women continue to experience sexual harassment in the workplace, even at a senior level. 
 
Rowena said: ‘The most distressing thing I uncovered was the taboos around sexual harassment. I was really surprised by the number of CEOs that had encountered sexual harassment. And these women felt they had nowhere to turn.’
 
However, according to Dame Mary Marsh, director of the Clore Social Leadership Programme, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
 
‘I think this is a generational issue,' Dame Mary said. 'I think we will see a change now that we’ve got to the stage that 50 per cent of graduates or more are women. There is a change coming and we will see a dramatic shift. But we can’t let this gap continue for much longer. The change will happen if people push it, and everyone encourages and supports it,’ she said. 

 

To download a copy visit: www.cloresocialleadership.org.uk/rowena-lewis.

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