The economic importance of female leadership
Female leadership is more than a symbolic win, it carries great economic importance. Reports have backed this up, finding that FTSE 350 companies with over 33% female representation on their executive committees have a net profit margin over ten times higher than their counterparts without women on executive committees.
Beyond economic arguments, companies may also find themselves benefitting from the diversity of perspectives offered by boards with female representation, and the next generation of women may feel leadership roles are attainable as a result.
Learnings from the Labour Party Conference
I organised a meeting on “Women in Leadership“ at the recent Labour Party conference, and took part in a panel discussion, "Women and Equalities - Accelerating Gender Parity in Leadership". I was alongside eminent female speakers, including Lisa Hollins, Karen Blackett OBE, Vivienne Artz OBE, The Rt Hon Anneliese Dodds MP (The Minister for Women and Equalities), The Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP and Liz Stanley, CEO of the Pipeline.
It was great to see the government taking female leadership seriously, with Anneliese Dodds highlighting that the new government ‘recognises women as essential to a stronger economy’. This sentiment has been echoed outside of the Labour Party Conference as well. For example, last month, Rt Hon Rachel Reeves announced her support for the Invest in Women Taskforce, using her position as Chancellor to support women in business.
However, whilst there is clearly willing in Whitehall, and an acknowledgement of women’s crucial role in the economy, so far progress towards gender parity has been painstakingly slow. According to the 2023 Women Count report, 9% of FTSE 350 companies have a female CEO and only 18% of have a female CFO.
Tackling the root of the issue
Luckily there is light at the end of the tunnel. At the Labour Party Conference, the panel discussed clear steps that organisations can take in order to propel gender parity.
Some support structures organisations can put in place include development initiatives – this can take many different forms and could be anything from networking opportunities to sponsorship programmes.
As ever, accountability and transparency are key. This why it’s important to have measurable targets and for companies to regularly and transparently report on progress towards gender parity goals. On top of this, accountability can be increased at a leadership level by linking performance (such as executive pay) to progress on gender parity targets.
Beyond working structures and reporting, we must see a change in attitudes towards women’s health within the workplace. A recent study by The British Standards Institution found that nearly a third of women leave the workforce before retirement age due to health reasons. By incorporating women’s health priorities into standard workplace procedure, we could mitigate this issue – empowering and enabling women to stay in their careers on their own terms, knowing that they are supported in doing so.
Employers should look to expand their existing employee health procedures, setting aside resources to support women during their unique life changes.
I have also been pushing for an end to the ‘Woman Tax’, a practice where female employees are given tangential tasks, which male employees are not, thus taking their focus away from their key career development objectives.
Moving beyond representation
It’s important to note that the most recent cohort of MPs achieved a record-breaking 41% of female representation in parliament. Similarly, the cabinet has the most female ministers in history. Whilst I am always delighted to see strides being made with gender parity, it is critical that female leadership is not reduced to numbers. There is much more that can be done, and the primary consideration for organisations should be meritocracy, not meeting quotas.
Ultimately, women can unlock great economic power, but not without their career ambitions being comprehensively supported. It was exciting to discuss the crucial role women play in the economy, but this needs to be backed up by action from both the government and employers. Small changes such as starting development programmes, increasing resources for women’s health policies, or increasing accountability will have a powerful impact. By investing in female talent, and increasing support initiatives as well as just representation, we can secure a long-lasting pipeline of women leaders.
Professor Geeta Nargund is a Senior NHS Consultant, Co-founder of the Ginsburg Women's Health Board, and Chair of The Pipeline, a leading gender diversity consultancy.
