As new research shows the number of senior business roles held by women in the UK has fallen over the past 12 months, the East Midlands office of financial and business advisers Grant Thornton says more work needs to be done to improve boardroom diversity if local companies are to reach their full potential.
Grant Thornton’s annual Women in Business survey found that the percentage of female senior managers in the UK has dropped from 21% in 2016 to 19% in 2017. This represents just a 1% increase on the 18% figure when the survey was first conducted in 2004.
The research also revealed the percentage of UK businesses without any women in top level management positions has risen from 36% in 2016 to 41% in 2017.
Chris Frostwick, partner and practice leader of Grant Thornton’s Leicester office on Regent Road, said: “Undoubtedly advancements in gender diversity have been made over the 13 years since our study began. This is seen at our own firm when two years ago, Sasha Romanovitch became the first female CEO of Grant Thornton. But it’s disappointing to see that in general, this progression still isn’t reflected to a high enough level across the board elsewhere.
“Diversity is central to shaping a vibrant economy where people and businesses thrive. It provides different ways of thinking which can open organisations to new perspectives and opportunities.
“We need to create an environment that is conducive to all which means a fundamental shift in what leadership looks like. The traditional model where the individual must be perfect and the job all-consuming is still extremely prevalent, whilst more collaborative and inclusive forms of leadership are often overlooked. This is a real concern as it suggests too many businesses are wasting the full potential of their people.”
The study, which covers 36 economies across the globe, found the UK has the fifth lowest proportion of women in senior business roles, ahead of Germany (18%), India (17%), Argentina (15%) and Japan (7%). The countries with the highest proportion of female leaders were Russia (47%), Indonesia (46%) and Estonia (40%).
Chris concluded: “Globally, the proportion of senior roles held by women has increased by 1%, hitting a 25% high. However, this is still only a 6% rise on 2004 figures, underlining that progress remains painfully slow.
“Too many companies are still run by male-only teams and they are in danger of myopia. In today’s fast changing and unpredictable world, businesses need to be resilient enough to sustain the yet unknown and the value of diversity should not be underestimated. We cannot let this message lose momentum.”
Nicola Morley, Senior Manager in the firm’s Leicester Tax team, added: “Diversity in the boardroom and throughout a workforce delivers a range of opinions, ideas, insight and understanding, which can only benefit an organisation and its performance. This is true at Grant Thornton that has its foundation in a supportive, all-embracing culture, and a diverse, balanced team, especially here in Leicester.
“The firm has a high number of women in senior positions, including of course, the CEO Sasha Romanovitch. They add value to the business, but also provide a great contribution as mentors and supporters of new starters and ambitious individuals. This supportive environment extends to a number of inclusive initiatives such as shared enterprise, coaching and development, and agile working, to name just a few.
“All individuals bring something different to the table, and gender diversity is a vital ingredient to overall performance in the rapidly changing business environment.”
