Although the thought
of Trump as president chills my blood, it was actually Lady Barbara’s comments
that caused me far more offence. Lady Barbara is the current Chairman of the
Institute of Directors (IoD). The IoD website proudly states that their new
chairman was ‘once described as the best-connected woman in Britain, …… has had a long
and very distinguished career in law and banking before becoming the IoD's
first female chair’ Oh dear - it does bother me when any report uses the phrase 'first female' - when will the powers-that-be rate an individual on who they are and not the number of X or Y chromosomes they sport?
I am a member of the
IoD and am also proud to be in their Policy Voice group which is canvassed
regularly for views on current legislation, business issues and working practice.
These views are shared with the relevant government ministries and I gain great
satisfaction from knowing that my opinions are noted in the corridors of power.
Never does the questionnaire ask me my gender – as quite rightly this simply is
not significant.
The article in the
Daily Telegraph was reporting on Lady Barbara’s keynote speech at The Wealth Management Association’s
Women in Wealth Forum when she claimed that she took just 12 days maternity
leave when her son was born. She should be neither proud nor ashamed of this
fact but grateful that she had choice. And this is the key point – despite Lady
Barbara’s view that maternity policies in the UK mean that women may ‘come off
the tracks’ – paid maternity leave gives mothers choice. They can choose to
take the paid benefit, they can choose to extend the period of leave further
and they can then choose to return to work. This choice is not always driven by
financial need but also an emotional and personal decision. Yes of course any
absence from a job for any reason has its risks –the highest being that the
absentee may not have the appetite to return to their respective coal face.
However in my experience, although re-integration can be challenging and the
pull of a small person at home heart-rending, many women return from maternity
leave with a renewed vigour for their role and a pragmatic approach to business
that can have the net effect of improving performance.
The article goes on
to report that Lady Barbara believes that American law where companies with
more than 50 employees are only obliged to pay 12 weeks of unpaid leave is
better than the British system. Lady Barbara may believe that current
employment law allowing up to a year off, with 39 weeks paid absence is
over-generous to women but is she really advocating that we go back to those
dark days when a woman had to choose between being a mother or having a career?
As she is the ‘front man’ for the IoD, I truly hope this is not the case.
It is interesting to
note that the Women in Wealth Forum, where this controversial view was aired,
make no mention of these comments in their press release outlining Friday’s
event. Instead and perhaps even more surprisingly, they focus on Lady Barbara’s
comments regarding appearance: “70 per cent of first perceptions is based on how you look, 20 per cent is how you sound
and only 10 per cent is based on what you say. When you walk into a room, you
can't make a second first impression and so you want to take charge of other
people's impressions’. I have seen and heard this charismatic, intelligent woman
speak and she gives off an air of wealth and privilege, which in itself is not
necessarily a negative thing, but she also possesses the sheen of a bygone era
and sadly it would appear that her views echo this impression.
I admire Lady Barbara’s
courage in voicing a potentially unpopular view but feel that this does not
help the case for family friendly workplace policies. The biggest challenge
facing most businesses is finding and retaining the best skill mix to keep the
business moving forward. Appropriate employee benefits and fair workplace
practices are absolutely crucial in maintain this skills base with their
associated intellectual property.
Interestingly again –
the Wealth Forum’s purpose is stated as ‘Perception, tackling unconscious bias and creating a flexible culture
discussed as key issues for Women in Wealth Management’. ‘Flexible culture’ resonates….
Apparently Lady Barbara quoted her mother
who, (in the 1950’s I suspect) said ‘When a baby is born it needs to be fed, bathed and diapered. An
18-year-old girl can do that. Your job is to get the money to pay the
18-year-old girl. When you have to be there is when the child gets smarter than
the nanny’. Ouch
I believe that the most important message for
any woman (or man for that matter) in business is to aim
high, do your best and believe that you can achieve anything you put your mind
to. This is irrespective of whether you take a career break for whatever
reason. This was the message that my mother gave me and the one I have passed
in to my daughter.
I very much hope that the progress that women
have made over the last few decades in achieving work life balance, raising
families and pushing through the glass ceiling (yes – I admit it still exists)
will not be hindered by the archaic views of a minority.
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