Women more likely to face “slippery ladder” than a “glass ceiling”

A new report, entitled 'Cracking the Code', by executive Search and
board advisory consulting firm MWM has found a "massive loss of talented potential leaders" from among the pipeline of many leading companies. The authors claim that "the common characterisation of the problem as a 'glass ceiling' is a misnomer; the issue should instead be seen as a 'slippery ladder'. Women do not rise to a certain point and then get stuck; rather, attrition is higher at every step of the pipeline. "

Whilst women represent over 40% of the Non-Executive Director appointments to FTSE 100 Boards over the last year, the proportion of women on executive committees across Europe and the US is barely into double figures and has been increasing far more slowly. Attention needs to be refocused on how to accelerate the progress of women through the executive ranks.

MWM  led a major research study to explore this issue involving more than 70 leading companies from Anglo American and BP to Unilever and Vodafone, as well as detailed discussions with over 20 high-performing female executives. For the companies in their research, in lower-and-middle management, 38% of roles are filled by women. That figure that shrinks to 11% among the executive committees. That not only leads to top teams which can lack diversity of thought but also represents a massive loss of talented potential leaders.

This is caused in part by issues of 'supply', with many women deciding that the working norms and expectations of big corporations are simply incompatible with the other demands on their time; they therefore choose to step off the corporate treadmill to pursue alternative options. This is reinforced by issues of 'demand', where those women find it much harder to climb the ladder - whether because of unconscious bias in evaluation and development systems, less active mentoring and sponsorship or challenges faced in assembling the career experiences expected for certain senior roles.

MWM's research lays out a practical blueprint to address these issues, with three key elements. Firstly, Chief Executives must visibly champion the benefits of more diverse senior teams, setting measurable targets and imposing clear consequences for failing to make progress towards them. Secondly, companies need to create an organisational 'ecosystem' that gives women the best possible chance to flourish. Changes required include competing aggressively for the best mid-career female talent, ensuring active sponsorship of high-potential women, embedding much more flexible working, rethinking career development planning and ensuring more robust evaluation systems. Lastly, and most crucially, a fundamental change in mind-set is required to address the unconscious cultural biases that hold women back. Behaviours need to change to create a fully level playing-field; women who succeed should seek actively to become role models for the next generation; and companies should both celebrate and communicate their success more visibly.

Click here for the MWM 'Cracking the Code' Report.