WOMEN WORK FOR FREE 1H 40M A DAY

The Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) in the UK have just released the details from their analysis of the 2015 National Management Salary Survey of 72,000 UK managers reveals that women working in equivalent full-time roles earn 22% less than men, meaning that they’re unpaid for 1h 40m a day – a total of 57 working days every year.

The CIPD have produced the following infographic - below which explains their findings.

New regulations coming into force in 2016 will require large organizations to report how they pay men and women. 

How does your company compare here in Alberta? Is gender equality in terms a reality or not? I'd love to hear your views.

Check out our range of Leadership Training programs at Bluegem Learning - Leadership Programs

Heroes and Inspiration

Jane gives her thoughts on women leaders and who inspires them .. "Maya Angelou was and continues to be one of my heroes.  She had a voice that made your ears feel as if they were being brushed by velvet and wisdom that made world leaders stop in their tracks.  It was my dream’s wish to sit at her feet and listen, like a toddler on the mat at story time, simply soaking in her words and basking in her presence.  Well, maybe I’ll get the opportunity in another life or another realm, who knows?

Maya Angelou’s death in May 2014 got me thinking about women leaders and who inspires them.  Who do the women aspiring to become the next leaders have to look up to?  Are there currently women in your organisations who you would like to emulate?  According to a UK survey conducted by the Chartered Management Institute there are very few current leaders, in their members’ organisations, which have inspirational qualities.  In fact the recent economic downturn, experienced by most western countries, seems to have given a rise to dictatorial rather than inspirational characteristics in the workplace.

Looking at popular press it would give the indication that young women, today, are more interested in getting a butt like a Kardashian rather than a mind like Maya Angelou.  I may be wrong and in fact I hope that I am, as it strikes me that women will need to take charge of changing the landscape of leadership.  Years of equality legislation has failed to secure the right for women to rise to levels equal in status and pay to their male counterparts.  Therefore, it will require women to develop more than just that, which indicates aesthetic appeal to achieve this goal.

So, I would like to ask all women, who are your inspirational heroes, whose feet would you like to sit at to listen and learn?  What can their journey teach you as a leader today?  Who are the great women ambassadors that have led the way that you can follow and in following their footsteps are you leaving behind you a path for other young women to tread?

As a potential influence on future females are you heading towards the legacy of a stunning butt, or a brilliant mind?  I know which one I would choose, if in fact a choice has to be made."

Overcoming Unconscious Bias

If you asked the average person were they biased or did they discriminate against others, most people's first answer would be a resounding "NO". However, if we explored this further and looked at whether they were unconsciously biased in their behaviour and as a result unconsciously discriminated against others the response may not be as certain or clear cut.

Neal R Goodman in his article "10 steps to overcoming unconscious bias" http://www.astd.org/Publications/Newsletters/ASTD-Links/ASTD-Links-Articles/2014/06/10-Steps-to-Overcome-Unconscious-Bias provides an interesting synopsis of the subject before going on to suggest ways to overcome this issue.

As Neal says "We all harbor prejudices whether we think we do or not, and everyone is subject to their own unconscious bias. Many of these prejudices that are deeply held in our unconscious can unintentionally influence how we act toward one another in our organizations."

If we don't already perhaps it's time for us to reflect on our own prejudices and how they impact on our work in our organization and wider community.