In this article Chevon Edwards of Moon Executive Search looks at the importance of, and current positive focus on, hiring a balanced workforce.  

The elevation of female employees into senior and leadership roles is something which needs to be driven at Board Level, and Chevon talked to Sarah Prichard, UK Managing Director & Partner at BuroHappold Engineering, Professor Jane Roscoe Pro Vice Chancellor & Executive Dean at UWE Bristol, Fran Woodward, Director of People & Culture at Good Energy and Vanessa Moon, Director of Moon

Creating a balanced workforce is important but it also needs to be done in the right way. Employees need to feel that they got there through their own skills and merits and that they haven’t been promoted in favour of somebody else or that there has been any positive discrimination.

Sarah Prichard, BuroHappold comments that not only do businesses need to encourage more women to apply for senior roles, but women also need to be offered the same opportunities, training, and experiences as men, so they have the tools to apply for senior positions.

Transparency is also key, employees need to know about the senior and leadership roles that are available and the pathway that they can take to reach that level. One of the things that can stop women from applying for promotions is that they don’t feel that they have the right skills or understand the skills they need for the appointment, comments Jane Roscoe, UWE Bristol.

But how do you make senior roles more accessible? Good Energy is a business, led by a woman which has over 40% of women at their Board and Exec team levels points out Fran Woodward, Good Energy.

“We have worked hard to identify where we can support women throughout the workplace. This means having gender-balanced shortlists during recruitment and promoting flexible working for both genders, recognising that many women’s careers will be enabled if men take an equal role in caring for dependants,” says Fran.

The need to create a balanced workforce is something that should underpin every hire. Not only in the way that jobs are advertised or how the staff who are recruiting are trained to think about their unconscious biases but also by those working with businesses to support them with their recruitment needs.

From a business and search perspective, gender is never an issue, we always strive to present a balanced shortlist and are always transparent about our shortlists and gender split, comments Vanessa Moon, Moon Executive Search. However, there are occasions where a contact is not being fair and balanced in their approach, and when this happens it’s important to remind them that this is not appropriate behaviour.

“We should all support each other and encourage everyone to succeed regardless of their background. I am pleased to say these past attitudes rarely surface in today’s world which is heartening and encouraging for the future,” says Vanessa.

However, particularly in the STEM area, employees need to be targeting women from a young age so they realise careers in this area are accessible to them. “We need to make sure that there are female, LGBTQ+ and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic role models who can empower the next generation to explore different careers, and we need to shout about the fact that we want to be an inclusive employer,” says Sarah Prichard, BuroHappold.

The need to engage at a younger age is also something which Good Energy have built into their business model comments Fran Woodward, through a partnership with the charity STEMettes and ensuring that there is a focus on development and career planning for women in areas of under representation.

Unfortunately, the rate of progress to achieving a balanced workforce is slow and the narrative needs to change. Instead of committing to having greater board diversity by 2025 companies need to think about their short-term plans. “There is a real impetus for change which is encouraging, but businesses need to start making small changes at every level. If they do this, the speed at which we move general inclusivity forward will become quicker,” says Jane Roscoe, UWE Bristol.

So in conclusion, to quote Bob Dylan ‘the times, they are a changing’, but there needs to be a conscious and continued effort to push forward an agenda of positive inclusion so that everyone can see that the ceiling is not made of glass, it’s made of paper, therefore easy to break through.

For more information about how Moon Executive Search can utilise our 20 years’ of experience to support your business, contact Simon Quinn, Director of Search simonquinn@moonexecsearch or +44 (0) 1275 371 270