As we celebrate International Women’s Day, it feels appropriate to reflect on the achievements since the first Women’s Day took place in 1911, when over one million people across Europe rallied for women’s rights to end discrimination; to vote; to hold public office, and to work
There have been many ‘wins’ for women in leadership since. However, the Spring Budget was a reminder that there has never been a female Chancellor. Wales also has yet to elect a woman as First Minister.
The recent , an independent, business-led framework that receives support from the 海角视频 Government, found that there is still some way to go to ensure gender parity in business leadership. According to the report, there are only 10 FTSE 100 chief executives – and there has been only a small upward swing in the number of FTSE 350 female CEOs over the past 12 years.
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In Wales there is Admiral CEO, Milena Mondini de Focatiis, but we lack female business leaders.
In October last year, CBI Cymru launched the Women’s Leadership Network and Working Group Wales with the aim of making a difference for females progressing into leadership positions in businesses across Wales. It came shortly after the closure of the Chwarae Teg equality charity, which had worked closely with the Welsh Government since the early 1990s.
We have almost 50 members, including stakeholders from the Welsh Government who provide policy alignment and support. Rachael Flanagan, the Network’s Chair, founded the Mrs Bucket Cleaning Services business which employs over 350 people.
Speakers at the group’s meetings have included Jane Hutt MS, Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip, Carole Green, the ITV Wales correspondent, and Sharon James, the Principal of Cardiff and Vale College. CBI CEO Rain Newton-Smith will be giving a presentation at our women’s leadership lunch in April. We’re also grateful to leading firms such as fibre broadband provider Ogi, the Principality Building Society, Bute Energy and Hugh James for hosting the meetings.
However, the group is not only about providing a safe space for women in business. We have five male members of the working group, chaired by Lisa Hands, the Group HR Director at Ogi. The working group encourages everyone to join the meetings. By having allies and not just leaving gender equality to women, we can focus on making real progress.
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The group is in the preliminary stages of establishing a research survey that will provide a baseline around how Welsh firms develop and implement gender equality.
Childcare costs remain a major obstacle for women to succeed in work. Having an extended family network that can provide support means parents are more likely to stay in their jobs, but this is not an option for all women. The CBI has been campaigning for a review of the 海角视频’s childcare system and how we can reduce the cost for parents, maintain high quality childcare provision and build a sustainable funding and employment model.
We’ve been asking the 海角视频 Government to ramp up funding for the existing system as childcare provision is a costly enterprise so that working mothers and fathers can go back to work.
We want provision extended throughout the 海角视频 for children to go into pre-school nurseries. In 2022, the Welsh Government made a start by introducing an extra 3,000 free places in pre-school centres for two and three-year-olds.
Companies have made strides towards supporting women, with firms offering on-site creches, contributions toward the cost of childcare, flexible working offers. For example, Admiral allows both parents and primary caregivers – if they work for the insurance company – to share the 16-weeks of parental leave. This gives flexibility to one of the parents/caregivers to return to work earlier if they wish, and the other parent can pick up the remaining weeks of parental leave on full pay.
The battle for women’s equality is far from won – and job descriptions, particularly for more senior posts, can put women off applying for posts. Women can still struggle or give up on give up on their career ambitions, through no fault of their own.
On International Women’s Day 2024, there is a long way to go to achieve gender equality with barriers still to address. Changing a culture can take more than one lifetime.
- Katie Spackman is associate director of CBI Cymru.