By Angie Newland @ Angels Admin Support
There were two articles that came up recently that when I looked at the titles, I could immediately see there would be a common theme.
1. FTSE 350 female representation drops for first time
2. If the Menopause makes women quit work, we need to support their return
I said out loud to myself, “this can only be because there is still not enough being done” – we are not educating ourselves enough to know what needs to change, we are not making necessary changes, and firms will no doubt be losing valuable employees as a result of this.
On reading the articles, there is a clear message throughout that the struggle for women in the workplace is still not
improving, or if it is, not quickly enough. As a small business there are always things that you can do to make changes that will make an impact, however small, and that don’t need to cost the firm thousands of pounds. Why would you not want to try and make things better? Clearly women are leaving jobs because they are not getting the support they need, are firms talking to these women and listening to them, are they collecting data so they can do something to solve the issues?
If you are a Financial Services firm, you may well say “why should I worry about this, the FCA won’t care if I have women working in my business” well I believe that they will. Why? You may ask – Culture – It says a lot about a firm’s culture if ANY employees, not just women, are leaving and if this is happening frequently, the FCA will question why.
EDI – Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion – ensuring that your firm are employing a diverse range of talent, not just all male “30 something” advisers for example – showing that the firm are not treating EDI as a “tick box” exercise and considering all ages, ethnicity, and gender – including how many female employees you have.
Staff Conduct – Under Non-Financial Misconduct – Are Employers confident that all staff are aware of what is expected of them in relation to how they conduct themselves at work, with other employees and also when dealing with customers. Are women leaving due to sexual harassment or bullying for example?
Training – If employees were asked about training, even if just the topics we have covered here, would they be able to say they are trained and fully understand the firms’ policies and procedures around these subjects?
I could continue with other examples that would put a firm under the FCA’s radar should they get asked about them, but I think the message is clear, Firms still need to be doing more to keep female representation within their workplace, or to encourage more female applicants, work harder at keeping the women they already have working for them, and making their firm somewhere that women want to work.
Offering flexibility, as well as policies and procedures that take into account that we all have a life outside of work, whether that be care responsibilities for children or parents, or living with chronic illnesses and so on. There are many things that firms can put in place, there is not a one size fits all, but it doesn’t have to be complicated – sometimes the smallest changes can have the biggest impact!
How do you think your firm measures up to others?
When was the last time you spoke to, or gathered feedback from your female employees to see what they thought about what was currently in place, or what they needed to help and support them?
If you would like to see how we at Angels Admin Support can assist you with any of the points that have been mentioned in this blog, please do get in touch, we would love to hear from you.
Website: www.angelsadminsupport.co.uk Email: angie@angelsadminsupport.co.uk