Accountancy is top sector for supporting and retaining female talent

Research shows that women feel most supported in accountancy and education sectors, while advertising, marketing and media have high levels of discrimination

Overall, 44% of women say their gender has hindered their career, or believe it will in the future.

Accountancy is the best sector for working women, according to research from the career coaching company Talking Talent.

The research, which surveyed more than 1,000 professional women and working mothers, asking about their experiences of discrimination and prejudice, then asked them to rate their employer on how well they support and retain female talent. Accountancy came out on top, with 94% of female accountants saying that their company is supportive of women.

The education sector performed particularly well when it came to attitudes to working mothers and acceptance of the need for work/life balance. Mothers in this sector also see the lowest level of prejudice and discrimination (25% compared with 34% overall). Interestingly, women working in law also rated their profession higher than average when it comes to supporting working mothers.

In contrast, women working in engineering and manufacturing feel the least supported at work and only 11% feel positive about their employer’s ability to retain talent. Women in this male-dominated sector are also the most likely to say that their gender has hindered their career.

The advertising, marketing and media industry also came out badly, with more than half of women working in this sector (51%) reporting some form of prejudice and discrimination in the workplace. Women in this sector also rate their industry poorly on attitudes to working mothers, attitudes to flexible working and acceptance of the need for work/life balance. They were also most likely to say being a working mother had hindered their career progress.

Overall, 44% of women say their gender has hindered their career, or believe it will in the future. For 12% of respondents, this meant losing out on a promotion because of their gender.

“Employers need to promote a culture where professional women are comfortable voicing concerns about barriers to their careers. The level of prejudice and discrimination towards women and working mothers, and the fact such a large proportion have been passed over for promotion due to their gender is shocking,” said Chris Parke, CEO of Talking Talent, commenting on the research findings. “If employers fail to stamp this out and to introduce measures to support women particularly through maternity, they will miss out on a huge section of their top talent.”

So what can employers do to improve conditions for working women and better support mothers and families? According to the research, flexible working is the single biggest factor: 38% believe it is vital to career progression.

A third felt that seeing more role models, particularly working mothers, in senior roles is the best way to change the culture of the workplace and help other women to progress. However, the vast majority did not support reaching this goal through positive discrimination and quotas: only 7% of respondents agreed with quotas for women in senior leadership positions.

This article was originally published on  The Guardian Thursday 22nd May 2014 Read the original article

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