Olivia Farrell/ Q10114505 /CCA503
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Olivia Farrell/ Q10114505 /CCA503
Collective Bank
By
Olivia Farrell Q10114505 Management Communications Public Relations & Communications
Olivia Farrell/ Q10114505 /CCA503
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
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1. ABSTRACT SUMMARY
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2. INTRODUCTION AND TERMS OF REFERENCE
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3. LITERATURE REVIEW
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CHAPTER 2 4. METHODOLOGY 5. RESULTS 6. DISCUSSION/ADVICE
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CHAPTER 3
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7. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
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9. REFERENCES
16-18
10. APPENDICES
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1| ABSTRACT SUMMARY
This report is an investigation into different gender roles within the senior management within banks; to help devise a strategy for Collective Bank- a medium sized retail bankto get women to consider a career in senior management. Many different theories looked at within the report discuss women and equality within the workplace. To find out primary and secondary information, two surveys and two interviews were undertaken. The results show that men and women aged 16-21 have different views on the barriers to promotion for women in the workplace. Women feel there are more obstacles they have to overcome before considering working their way up. The two women who have previously worked within the banking industry stated having women’s groups or forums have been a huge success. Therefore a women’s initiative scheme implemented within Collective Bank is vital and will help women become more motivated with a drive to become a senior manager. It will help Collective Bank battle their on going ‘embarrassment’ within their male dominated senior management team.
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2|INTRODUCTION AND TERMS OF REFERENCE.
Collective Bank PLC- a medium sized retail bank that operates within the UK have been battling their on going ‘embarrassment’ within their senior management team, with the key issue being within the organization it has too few many female senior managers. With the ever growing, fast paced industry, they are looking to recruit more women, from a diverse range of backgrounds, who have the potential to become senior managers. This report is therefore an investigation into different gender roles within senior management within banks. The report will be focusing on why women aren’t driven to consider a career in senior management or any career at all within the banking industry and what strategies could be used to overcome this. Using primary and secondary research the objectives of the report will be overcome and a strategy will be formed. The objectives of this report are: •
To find out if there is a reason women aren’t considering a career in senior management in banks.
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To create a strategy that will encourage more women to consider a career in senior management.
There are however, many limits to this report. Due to their not being enough time to carry out a longer investigation, the results given will only be from the previous four months. Other limits include the survey group being quite small and not being entirely targeted within the banking industry.
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3|LITERATURE REVIEW
There are many different views on gender within the workplace, and management roles as a whole. Dividing sexes into different occupations and specific jobs is one of the most common features within the workplace, Jacqueline DeLaat stated: “It is also clear that sex segregation persists in the workforce. The stark occupational data confirm that women and men are still segregated into distinct careers”. (Gender in the workplace, DeLaat, J, 2007) This quote from DeLaat- a Professor of Political Science and Author- can be backed up by the statistics that show that sex segregation is still heavily profound. The BBC News states that “Women still earn 14.9% less on average than men for the same job” and that women also heavily lose out around bonus time, receiving less than half the average £7,496 that men receive. The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) 2012 Gender Salary Survey also discovered that the pay gap average stands at £10,060. (BBC News, 2012). Where the banking industry is involved, Marisa Drew (Credit Suisse Group AG)’s most senior female investment banker in Europe, states: “It will take at least five years before women start to gain a greater share of senior positions in the industry” (Bloomberg, 2013) Marisa Drew’s opinion is proven true to some extent as the The BBC News Article on The European Central bank, explains “There are currently no women on the ECB’s six-
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member executive board” and they have only had one woman who was a member from when it was founded in 1998. In the article, British MEP Sharon Bowles of the Liberal Democrats explains: “The European Council President Herman Van Rompuy has promised nothing, not even a road map, for appointing women to the ECB board in the future”. (BBC NEWS, 2012). This might also link with Collective Bank who states they are ‘embarrassed’ by their lack of female senior managers and think their situation clearly needs addressing. Sir Alan Sugar states the main reason women are put off working their way up is because companies generally don’t want to appoint women to a high occupational role. This is because when women start a career they’re generally in their middle age; this is also when women plan on starting a family. “Employers are not allowed to ask women about having children- so they would just not employ them. That’s the bottom line, you’re not allowed to ask so it’s easy- just don’t employ them. It will get harder to get a job as a woman” (Sir Alan Sugar, 2008) Sir Alan Sugar is stating that women have to think about their career before deciding they want to work their way up. The 1997 ‘Gender, Careers and Organisations’ book writes: “Men do not need to be ‘agentic’ if they want to climb the ladder. Women, by contrast, do need to plan if they seek to rise to senior positions, but such planning may not necessarily be to
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the advantage of their careers.” (Susan Halford, Mike Savage, Anne Witz)
This is discussing that a woman’s family life comes heavily into their career options and relates to Sir Alan Sugar’s statement of not employing women because all women want a family, however until companies stop looking at women in this perspective, women will not be able to work their way up because they won’t be given a position for a chance to in the first place. This statement can be backed up by the shocking statistics found when looking heavily into secondary research regarding Female Senior Managers. Within Lloyds Banking Group, the senior team has 12 men and only 2 women, Nationwide has 23 men and 6 women and Barclays has 7 men and 1 woman. However Barclays Bank PLC, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society, Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander UK PLC all made it into the ‘Top 50 places women want to work’ (Where Women Work, 2013). Therefore if women want to work in these particular banks, the real question is why aren’t they working their way up to the senior team? According to Noria Corporation, 25% of women report discrimination and unfair treatment at work. They state there are many different reasons as to why women aren’t working their way up to the senior management team, for example women will forever want to be treated fairly at work and feel like their accepted and are being treated with equal respect, and that they can not only help themselves but also help others climb the ‘promotional ladder’. Women like to feel they have a good form of communication with their colleagues and receive great levels of teamwork. If they don’t receive this it may make women feel inadequate and make them not want to go for promotion and work their way up because they lose confidence in themselves as leaders. (Noria Corporation, 2013)
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In 2005 David Sirota, Louis Mischkind and Irwin Meltzer wrote ‘The Enthusiastic Employee’, which included Sirota’s ‘Three Factor’ Theory. According to Sirota’s research, there are three factors that together, build enthusiasm. The three factors are Equity/Fairness which states that people in the workplace wanted to be treated fairly, Achievement which states that people want to be recognized for important and useful work, and Camaraderie which states people want to enjoy good relationships with their co-workers (Sirota, 2005). These three factors represent the statement above that women want to feel they belong within the workplace, without this theory in place might be a reason women aren’t considering a career in senior management. According to Forbes (Kathy Caprino, 2013) there are many different reasons as to why in which women might not be working their up into senior manager roles, for example the differences between men and women are not fully understood or valued, and marginalizing of women is more common than people would want to admit, meaning that women are still being diminished, sidelined, suppressed, without having anyone to believe in them will affect a woman’s ambition to work her way up. Being believed in, as a woman is part of the satisfaction you get within the workplace. In 1959 Frederick Herzberg discovered a theory called The Motivation-Hygiene Theory. Herzberg’s findings revealed that certain characteristics of a job are consistently related to job satisfaction, while different factors are associated with job dissatisfaction. By looking into the ‘Satisfaction Factors’ it is obvious that this theory is heavily related to women. The ‘Satisfaction Factors’ explain that people within their job want recognition, responsibility, advancement and growth. (Herzbrg, 1959) Women are constantly told that they can’t do particular jobs, Sheryl Sandberg’s book ‘Lean in: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead’ explains “We (women) hold ourselves back in both ways big and small, by lacking self-confidence... We internalize the negative messages
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we get throughout our lives- the messages that say it’s wrong to be outspoken, aggressive, more powerful than men. We lower our own expectations of what we can achieve.” (Sheryl Sandberg, 2013) Being told you can’t do something automatically lowers ones self-confidence and you start to believe in what others are saying. Sheryl goes onto explain that Women may not pursue careers in management because they feel there are too many obstacles and there is no one to help them overcome these. It is obvious by looking at all these different theories and statistics, especially Sheryl Sandberg and Forbes, that women won’t start considering careers in senior management in the Collective Bank until they know have people on their side who will help them overcome those barriers or obstacles- those who believe in them, believe in their growth, their ambition, their success and their advancement within the company.
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4|METHODOLOGY
Two surveys were conducted to find out the research needed to devise a strategy as to why women aren’t working their way up to senior management within bank. One survey was for 10 Women regarding Management and another for 10 Men regarding Management. 10 questions were devised for each survey in order to keep the information concise and controlled, from these surveys the right amount of information can be collected and evaluated, a strategy can then be formed. Two interviews were also conducted- one face to face and one via the phone. One with a Woman whose previous job was a Bank Manager, and another whose job role is currently Leadership Performance Coach, and also conducts a ‘Women’s Initiative Network’ which is a forum that supports women within banking. The full list of results and transcripts can be found in the appendices.
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5|RESULTS
By looking at the first survey carried out, it is clear to see that 75% of men aged 16-21, of a White British ethnic background haven’t considered a career in banking because they feel they aren’t suited to the job. When asked questions asked on the subject of equality, there were no definite answers, most were answered with statements such as ‘I think it depends on the company’ as well as ‘I feel that men senior managers see themselves as far more superior, some women get treated as if they are not as good’. The other survey carried out was for Women regarding management, the results show that 50% of my participants, who were White British women aged 16-21 have considered a career in banking. However 8 out of 12 women feel that there are barriers to promotion for women. An interview was carried out with Helen, a 42-year-old woman who works in Lloyds TSB Bank, in the Slough branch. Helen used to be a branch manager however is now a Central Support Assistant. Helen explains that when she came back after having her child she went part time. The final interview was a phone interview with Colleen who’s job role is a ‘Leadership Performance Coach’, she also runs the ‘Women’s Initiative Network’. Colleen works at Barclays Bank, in the Yateley branch. Colleen explains that Barclays try hard to make sure there are no equality issues and that within the banking industry she feels that women and men are on par, that there are no barriers or glass ceilings.
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6|DISCUSSION/ADVICE
By analyzing the survey it is clear that men are not fully aware of the barriers for women as when asked ‘What is your overall view on women working their way up to senior management level?’ there are answers such as ‘No real view, it’s the same as a man working their way up’ and ‘I think that there shouldn’t be a judgement on sex. It shouldn’t make a difference, management should be based on suitability for the job, not whether they are male or female’. Although some of these answers are in women’s favour, some of these opinions cannot necessarily be backed up BBC News showing statistics of the difference in the pay gap, which shows that men and women still are not equal in the work place. By analyzing the second survey carried out all 12 women said they would want to work their way up because they want to develop their skills and want to be on top. This is an interesting statistic considering there are hardly any women senior managers; therefore more research needs to be undertaken to understand the reasons behind why women aren’t working their way up to senior management level. 8 out of 12 women feel that there are barriers to promotion for women, many state that it’s because women want to have children, and due to the public perception of women and possibly a woman’s appearance. ‘Do you feel women get treated equally within the workplace?’ received very open answers such as ‘Depending on the workplace’, or ‘To a certain extent. But I think there are still some men in the workplace, who feel women are inferior’, as well as ‘No because men are still a hugely dominant stereotype that controls the workplace’. These answers show that women do still feel inferior within the workplace which might be a reason as to why they’re not working their way up to senior management level, because they feel that men see themselves as superior and that they aren’t treated as equal.
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When asked what would encourage them to work their way up to senior management level, many women explained they would like to see more financial incentives, more benefits such as sick pay, performance related pay and increased holiday, and bonuses. Although many banks such as Lloyds Bank, do offer financial incentives, private medical care, Free BUPA online health assessment, and flexible working. However there are still only 2 women in senior management and 10 men. When interviewing Helen, 42, she explained that she went part time after returning from having one child. “The demand for me was very high and I didn’t get any support while having children as I was doing a full time job, in a part time position. After a while they told me I couldn’t continue with my job and I therefore changed roles, I went into the network supporting more operationally, as a Central Support Assistant”. Even though Helen states that in her opinion there are no barriers or ‘glass ceilings’ to promotion for women, she also expresses that there is a stereotypical view on women within senior management. ‘Everyone assumes they will have a family, leave and never come back, so people are of course hesitant when hiring women in their middle age. Unfortunate but true”. When Helen was asked if she thought any reward schemes or certain benefits would entice women to pursue a career in senior management, she described a ‘Return to Work’ financial incentive the bank had in practice 12 years ago, which worked very well and was a huge benefit to her especially. “I feel if that was around now people might want to come back, but todays pressures are a lot different to what they were back then, you have a lot less support now and working hours are different”. “There is also a ‘Women’s Initiative Network’, which help women within the banking industry, if there were more things like these forums or groups I think that would really help women, help them feel the support and definitely give them the drive to work their way up into senior management roles”.
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Throughout this interview Helen is repetitively stating women need support. This might be something that the Collective Bank could put into practice, which might make women want to peruse a career in senior management. When evaluating the final interview with Colleen she explains there are no equality issues and that within the banking industry she feels that women and men are on par, that there are no barriers or glass ceilings. When asked ‘Do you think there is a reason not many women pursue a career in management’ Colleen states that its down to the individuals themselves, some women are career driven and some aren’t, however the Women’s Initiative Network that she runs is relatively new and she feels that women might not have received the support they needed during their work. Colleen expresses her opinion that giving out more financial incentives and certain benefits might not necessarily help because many banks offer them as it is and there is still not many women pursuing a career in senior management. However Colleen says that in her opinion women should always be treated equal in the workplace and if they’re not that needs to be revised. She also states that one strategy she would like to see is more networks just like the one she currently runs. “People still need to realise that many people have strong views on banking being a ‘mans occupation’ so these groups are necessary to make sure all women comfortable in their job and position.” If Collective Bank were to run networks, forums, or groups, this might have a huge impact on women considering careers in senior management.
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7|CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATIONS
From all the research undertaken, surveys, interviews, and the literature Review, it is clear to see that women feel they need support to help them overcome the obstacles and possible barriers that they might face when considering a career in senior management. When looking at points such as Frederick Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygeine theory, Sheryl Sandberg, and Forbes, it is made clear that women constantly want to feel involved, a sense of belonging and self satisfaction within the workplace. According to The Wall Street Journal (Sue Shellenbarger, 2013) more than 3 in 4 employees say they have no desire to move up in their organizations because they’re comfortable and suits them, therefore they have no motivation to work their way up. If women become to comfortable they won’t want to work their way up because they will be worried about what could happen to them, and the consequences if they begin to struggle. In order for women to consider a career in senior management within Collective Bank PLC it is recommended that Collective Bank start a Women’s Initiative Scheme, which will be run weekly for women who work within the bank. With a Women’s Initiative Scheme’s implemented in Collective Bank, women may become:
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More motivated
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More confident in their own abilities
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Aware of the support and help that’s available
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Able to receive help and advice they need to move up within the company.
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More driven to become senior managers.
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A Women’s Initiative Scheme being held in place will help Collective Bank battle their on going ‘embarrassment’ within their senior management team.
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8|REFERENCES
BARCLAYS. 2013. Corporate Banking- Senior Team. [Online] [Viewed date 05/11/13]. Available from: http://www.barclayscorporate.com/why-barclays/our-people/seniorteam.html BBC,2012. Gender pay gap ‘at risk or worsening’, says campaigners [Online] [Viewed date 05/11/13]. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20223264 BBC,2012. MEP’s reject nominee Mersch over men-only ECB board [Online] [Viewed date 05/11/13]. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20083702 DELAAT, J. 2007. Gender in the Workplace: A Case Study Approach. Second Edition. California: Sage Publications Inc. DREW, M. 2013. Credit Suisse’s Drew Sees More Women in Senior Bank Jobs [Online] [Viewed date 12/10/13]. Available from: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-02/credit-suisse-s-drewsees-more-women-in-senior-bank-jobs.html GRANT THORNTON, 2013. More women making it into senior management roles- but mature economies lagging behind [Online] [Viewed date 05/11/13]. Available from: http://www.internationalbusinessreport.com/pressroom/2013/women.asp
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HALFORD, S. SAVAGE, M. WITZ, A. 1997. Genders, Careers and Organisations. Hampshire: Macmillan Press Ltd. HERZBERG, F. 1959. Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory (Two Factor Theory) [Online] [Viewed date 06/11/13]. Available from: http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/herzberg/ LLOYDS, 2013. Our People- Senior Team. [Online] [Viewed date 05/11/13]. Available from: http://www.lloydsbankcommercial.com/Who-We-Are/OurPeople/Senior-Team/ MCGREGOR, D. 1960. Douglas McGregor- Theory X Y. [Online] [Viewed date 30/10/13]. Available from: http://www.businessballs.com/mcgregor.htm NATIONWIDE, 2013. Management- Senior management team. [Online] [Viewed date 30/10/13]. Available from: http://www.nationwide.co.uk/about_nationwide/corporate_governanc e/management.asp NORIA CORPORATION. 2013. 25% of women report discrimination, unfair treatment at work. [Online] [Viewed date 03/12/13]. Available from: http://www.reliableplant.com/Read/6967/25-of-women-reportdiscrimination,-unfair-treatment-at-work SANDBERG, S. 2013. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. United Kingdom: WH Allen, Ebury Publishing. SIROTA, D. MISCHKIND, L. MELTZER, M. 2005. The Enthusiastic Employee. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.
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SUGAR, A. 2008. Why I have to think twice before employing a woman. [Online] [Viewed date 12/10/13]. Available from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-513264/Sir-Alan-Sugar-WhyI-think-twice-employing-woman.html WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2013. Would You Refuse a Promotion to Stay in a Job You Love? [Online] [Viewed date 25/11/13]. Available from: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324348504578 609762637492762 WHERE WOMEN WORK, 2013. 2013 Top 50 Awards [Online] [Viewed date 30/10/13]. Available from: http://www.wherewomenwork.com/top50/2013.asp#.Ull8PBbvx1N
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9APPENDICES
Appendix 1- Transcript of Helen’s Interview. 1. What bank do you work in? Barclays- Slough Trading estate, my job role now is a Central Support Assistant. I was a Branch Manager.
2. How many women are in the branch? I’m going to say it’s about 16.
3. How many women are on your level? There are levels of management, in junior management levels women are pretty well represented- I wouldn’t say it’s 50/50 but there aren’t any barriers. It’s very based on how good and strong your performance in. In more senior management roles it’s much less common for women, I’d say it’s probably about 30% women, 70% men.
4. Do you think women get treated equally within your level? From what I’ve seen yes
5. Do you think men feel they are superior within your branch at your level? I wouldn’t say that, no, I mean some men do have a bigger ego than some women but I think it’s down to the individual.
6. Do you feel it is harder being a woman, to be recognized for your ambition to become a senior manager? Not at all, there is no ceiling or barriers.
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7. Have you ever dealt with male colleagues finding it difficult taking orders from yourself or any other senior management team? Sometimes, depends how good the individual is, it’s about respect, if someone’s got credibility and a track record and they’re the right person for the job, then there is no issue. Age does come into it however; it’s never easy for someone who is 20 years younger to tell you what to do, adding the female twist it does make it harder as well. 8. Do you think there is a reason not many women pursue a career in management? If you’re young, you’re on an equal foot in, if you start a familyit can be difficult to juggle both. The demands are very great and your work home life balance can be affected, when I came back after having a baby and went part time, they said I cant continue to go full time, I most probably could have fought it but I thought I wouldn’t. The demand for me were very high and I didn’t get any support while having children as I was doing a full time job in part time, I did it for 10 months, and it then got to the point where they said ‘we think to do the job you need to be full time’. Therefore I changed roles- I went into the network supporting more operationally, 3 months then review, bank reviewed al management positions- they then create an assistant manager role. Which I then went for which allowed me do it part time and then my hours were fine and I didn’t have that pressure. Looking back yes possibly wrong but it suited me at the time. Men tend not to make the family choices that women do, there is still a legacy that the man will go to work and the women will stay and look after the child. From experience, once women do have children they come back and think ‘no I don’t want to go full time; We see that all the time, I don’t know if there’s a domestic pressure which makes them chose that, there’s certainly no business pressure.
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9. Do you think more reward schemes and certain benefits would entice women to pursuit a career in senior management? 12 Years ago they had a ‘Return to work’ financial incentive, which was a huge benefit and worked very well, which would go across each level. I feel if that was around people might want to come back but todays pressures are a lot different to what they were back then, there’s not much support and working hours are different, it doesn’t matter if you’re at work or at home now a days because you have your iPad, your iPhone, everything, so the working day is extending, you bring more work home with you on a digital basis. The bank has become much more centralized; the head office for Barclays is in Canary Wharf. If you want to be successful and get to the senior management level, if you’re ambitious and very strong-minded, you need to be able to have access to get to the city. If you’re living in the welsh valleys you need to be able to relocate and sacrifice your home and that’s a huge thing for women.
10. Do you think there are any strategies that would get more women to consider senior management? There has been a change within HR during recent times, which I don’t like, its ridiculous- if you successfully apply for a job and its because you were previously good at another job, if you go into that new job and you struggle and you find it difficult, that’s the end of the line for you, the bank will help you but you cant move on you’re stuck, unless you leave the company itself. That’s a huge disadvantage and if there was something that could be done with that would be great. Like I said, the bank try and help but there’s not much support. There is also a ‘Womens Initiative Network’, which help women within the banking industry, if there were more things like these forums or groups I think that would really help women, help them feel the support.
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11. What are seen as the barriers to promotion for women? None of that at all, it’s mostly based on you as an individual- if you have a strong representation then there is nothing to stop you. The barriers aren’t from within the bank, the barriers are within the person themselves.
12. Do you think there is a stereotypical view on women within senior management? Oh yes of course, but then again isn’t everyone stereotypical? Everyone assumes they will have a family and leave and never come back so people are very hesitant to hire women in their middle age because they assume they’ll have to pay their maternity leave and then they risk they don’t come back. Unfortunate, but true.
13. Do you think there is a reason women don’t want to work their way up to make it to the senior management team? It’s all about families, if you want to have a family and actually get to see your kids, then the chance are you’ll work part timepeople don’t tend to work full time and have children because most people make the decisions that actually ‘yes I want to have a family’ although there are those people for example my old manager had children however she was very career minded and her husband is now a house husband, the roles have completely reversed in her life anyway. The bank will always offer them their position back if they have left for a family however, if you go up for promotion its very different. If they go up for a promotion and actually they struggle they can’t go back to their old job- you can’t go down the ladder It’s also very unlikely people work their way up therefore people get very put off. People also come into a job and see it as a ‘temporary’ thingmostly just to get money after they’ve graduated or something, then they leave. Most people that do end up working in Senior Management have pretty much all left their position, gone to a different job as a different position, worked their way up there, and then came back and gone into a higher role.
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14. Do you think men senior managers are treated differently to women senior managers? I would say no, from my own experience I have never been treated differently and have never treated any of my managers differently based on gender.
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Appendix 2- Transcript of Colleen’s Phone Interview 1. What bank do you work in? Barclays, Yateley branch.
2. How many women are in the branch? In the whole branch, there are about 12
3. How many women are on your level? There are many different levels within Barclays, my level isn’t that special but I’d say there’s about 4 of us.
4. Do you think women get treated equally within your level? Absolutely, yes Barclays try very hard to make sure there are no equality issues.
5. Do you think men feel they are superior within your branch at your level? I wouldn’t say that, not from my own experience anyway. I mean of course there are some men that would feel that they are more superior, but I’ve never personally come across any.
6. Do you feel it is harder being a woman, to be recognized for your ambition to become a senior manager? Not in Barclays, there might be in general yes because sometimes women aren’t seen as equal, but within the banking industry I feel that women and men are on par, there are no barriers.
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7. Have you ever dealt with male colleagues finding it difficult taking orders from yourself or any other senior management team? I have seen some males find it hard especially when the manager is younger than them and a female, sometimes the males think they’re prides been hurt. Typical men hey. 8. Do you think there is a reason not many women pursue a career in management? I feel that if you’re a woman it’s not necessarily hard for you to get a career in management, it’s just the fact that women have children and I suppose people could think of that as a bad thing, but everyone is different, some women are very career driven and some aren’t. It all depends on the individuals themselves. Due to the fact I run the Women’s Initiative Network I see Women that come in and don’t necessarily have any ambition and I think that my group works well with women to overcome these, that could be an issue. Another one is that this network is relatively new, I’ve only recently started leading them and I feel that women might have not received the support they needed during their work.
9. Do you think more reward schemes and certain benefits would entice women to pursuit a career in senior management? Possibly, but many banks now a days offer quite a lot of financial incentives and schemes, so if they’re still not satisfied I’m not entirely sure what else we can do, we can’t just give away free money as much as we’d all like to. Everything comes at a price.
10. Do you think there are any strategies that would get more women to consider senior management? I work with a vast amount of personalities within work especially with women, some women are very about their home life, and others are very career driven. So I think it depends on the
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person themselves as to what they would want, stereotypically speaking I think that women should always be treated the same and equal and if they’re not then that needs to be revised. One strategy would be to have more networks just like the one I lead, even though people say that women and men are equal so why do we need it, people still need to realize that many people have strong views on banking being a ‘mans occupation’ so these groups are necessary to make sure all women are comfortable in their job and position.
11. What are seen as the barriers to promotion for women? I don’t believe there are any barriers or glass ceilings for women, if they have the drive they can do it, especially in Barclays, we praise any individual who has the ambition to work their way up.
12. Do you think there is a stereotypical view on women within senior management? Of course, everyone has their stereotypical view that men should always be higher, if a woman came to you and said ‘Im a bank manager’ and a man came and said the exact same, you’d think higher of the male, yes? I don’t know why, it’s just the way it is.
13. Do you think there is a reason women don’t want to work their way up to make it to the senior management team? I think like I said it depends on the individual, if a woman has a family as well that changes everything. They might not to work their way up because they will have too much to juggle. However some women aren’t like that, and would be happy to leave their children for long periods at a time, and get a nanny if they have to. Women might not to work their way up because they’re afraid, afraid of the perception they’ll receive, afraid of the pressure maybe.
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14. Do you think men senior managers are treated differently to women senior managers? I don’t think so at all, not from my own experience anyway, I’ve never seen anyone get special treatment because of his or her gender
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Appendix 3- Men’s Survey
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Appendix 4- Women’s Survey
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