A focus on equality

Mr Tosh and I have spent a very enjoyable 30 minutes watching Jeff Randell’s Christmas Dinner (well worth watching).  But the talking point of the interview was the discussion between Carolyn McCall and Stuart Rose.

I was interested in Carolyn’s perspective re flexibility for women.  She highlighted the need for women to be allowed flexible working as mothers.

My personal experience of women in the workplace is that flexible working often lets mothers down.  They want flexible working but they expect it all to be on their terms.  Flexible working is a success when it is treated as a 2-way relationship.  If you agree with your boss to come in late/leave early then there may be times when you need to change that to reflect the needs of your office and this is when your other half comes into play.   Fathers of children also have responsibilities.  If both parents choose to work then deals need to be made that work for all parties concerned.  My big annoyance is the assumption that it is always the mother who will make the sacrifice and never the father.  I believe that this working assumption is the biggest cause of discrimination in the workplace.  It is this misplaced view that can end the career of an ambitious woman.

I always present a different perspective when I am told ‘aaahhh but men can’t manage like us women…’  WHAT??? It was this type of argument that denied women the vote and resulted in segregation in the US.  But women can now vote and we have a black President.  By denying men the opportunity to properly manage the combined demands of children and work because we don’t think they are able to cope is just another form of discrimination.  Therefore – being a believer in the capability of men, we need to challenge this and allow them the opportunity to succeed.

Finally, Bob Diamond shared that the last 2 appointments to Barclays board were female appointments.  Having spent time at Barclays, they are a successful organisation and one of the reasons that they are successful is that they judge on merit rather than on preconceived views.  Perhaps there is something other firms can learn from bankers!

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