Under-representation of women in senior positions is a serious issue

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development responds to a statement from the Hitchenor Wakeford Group

Dianah Worman, CIPD Diversity Adviser says, ìThe new CIPD report, Women in the boardroom: the risks of being at the top, is not intended to be patronising, nor is it an ìinterpretationî it is simply reporting the facts as they stand and the perceptions of the senior people interviewed.

ìWe are certainly not damning every business leader or recruiter and we absolutely recognise that there are many organisations with excellent and unbiased recruitment practices in place, nor are we saying people donít want to work for companies facing difficulties. We wanted to draw attention to the under-representation of women in the boardroom, investigate why and explore what needs to be done to trigger changes that will benefit both businesses and women.

ìA PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report published earlier this month supports the research conducted by the University of Exeter on behalf of the CIPD ñ it finds only 22% of senior management level posts in FTSE 350 are occupied by women, compared to 38% in 2002. This fall will leave business leaders at a real disadvantage and facing problems recruiting future leaders. Business leaders need to widen their talent pool by opening their doors to women if they are to overcome the current leadership shortages.

ìIndeed there is a myriad of both qualitative and quantitative research that confirms the challenges senior and experienced women face in the workplace ñ both at the recruitment stage and once in post. This is a complex issue in which many factors are at play ñ cultural, historical and indeed discriminatory. By stimulating debate, further thinking and freedom of expression around this extremely sensitive issue the CIPD is working towards ensuring that businesses consider the full implications of their recruitment decisions and bring on board the talent that boosts performance in every sense.î