Val Singh

Women Directors on Top UK Boards

Research suggests that more diversity in board membership could improve overall performance. This paper considers the business case for increased numbers of female directors, and the lack of female representation on UK FTSE 100 company boards in 1999 and 2000. It also offers a comparison to US data. In 1999, almost two-thirds of FTSE 100 companies had at least one female director, but numbers had dropped by July 2000 from 64 per cent to 58 per cent, paralleling the levelling-off at top level reported in North America. More firms having female directors are to be found amongst those with the highest turnover, profit and number of employees in the FTSE 100, again paralleling the findings from the US.

Sex role stereotyping and requisites of successful top managers

The issue of management style and women’s progression has been highlighted in the past, but women’s perceptions of successful management styles are important too, especially where women’s own preferred management style differs from their view of the top team. Such differences can lead to women not putting themselves forward for promotion. Reports a study of male and female managers in one very large insurance company. Uses the personality attributes questionnaire (PAQ) to identify the managers’ own management style, and their perceptions of the style of “the successful manager” who had reached the top team in their organisation. The PAQ identifies two dimensions of management from which four categories can be found. The survey of 363 managers revealed significant gender differences. The study provides further evidence of a shift in perceptions of leadership styles towards androgynous management, high on both instrumental and expressive traits. However, women are still thinking in “think manager, think male” mode, which may limit their confidence to put themselves forward for promotion.

Informal Mentoring as an Organisational Resource

Abstract Mentoring is a mechanism for supporting junior managers but until now little research on the benefits to the organisation has been reported. This paper reports on a survey of managers in a UK local government authority to ascertain their views of the benefits of informal mentoring to the organisation. Both mentors and proteges perceived mentoring as investment in a future pool of managers and a tool for the management of change. Mentoring was also seen as assisting in the transfer of knowledge, organisational learning and cross-departmental communication—in other words, as nodes in an information network. Further research is suggested into mentoring as a micro-level knowledge-producing community of practice. As informal mentoring is likely to bring longer-term advantages to the organisation, the paper also discusses how to capture the benefits of informal mentoring when designing formal schemes.

Women-only management training: An essential part of women's leadership development

A change is needed in the way companies approach leadership development, which currently results in the reproduction of male leaders similar to those of the previous generation. At present, many women do not develop to their full potential -- a serious waste in the war for talent. Managing diversity and developing tomorrows diverse leaders are key tasks for leadership in UK organisations. This paper considers the important role of women-only training in the development of the females in the next generation of leaders, and in the enhancement of their careers. The authors believe that in addition to, and not as a substitute for, other leadership courses and support mechanisms such as mentoring and coaching, women-only training enables women to clarify their leadership ambitions, recognise their leadership strengths and access leadership positions. Organisations that support such learning experiences will benefit from a wider and stronger pool of talent than before.

What does “commitment” really mean?

There is little research on managers’ meanings of commitment. Unprompted responses from interviews with 37 senior engineers in three major UK and Swedish engineering companies indicate a shift from the traditional conceptualisation of commitment as desiring to remain in, and identification with, the organisation, towards a meaning putting more emphasis on a highly proactive, innovative and challenging approach to work, as a mutually beneficial psychological contract between organisation and individual. Women responded with less visible meanings of commitment. When engineers are assessed on commitment for promotion, or for UK chartered engineer status, these differences may impact on the process differently for men and women. More Swedish than UK engineers identified task delivery, involvement, and ready for challenge, while more UK engineers mentioned creativity and innovative behaviour, as part of their meaning of commitment. These findings are indicative of the shift towards high performance, high commitment HRM in both countries.

The Importance of Role Models and Demographic Context for Senior Women's Work Identity Development

The lack of senior female role models continues to be cited as a key barrier to womens career success. Yet there is little academic research into the gendered aspects of role modelling in organizations, or the utility of role models at a senior level. The paper starts with a review of papers examining the construction of role models in organizational settings. This leads to the inclusion of two related areas – organizational demographics as the contextual factor affecting the availability of role models and how they are perceived, and work identity formation as a possible key explanatory factor behind the link between the lack of senior female role models and the lack of career progression to top organizational levels. The literature looking at social theories of identity formation is then considered from a gender perspective. The key gaps identified are that while the behavioural value of role models has been well documented, a better understanding is needed of how gender and organizational demography influence the role modelling process. Importantly, the symbolic value and possibly other values of female role models in the identity construction of senior women require further in-depth investigation. Finally, this review calls for a more integrated approach to the study of role models and work identity formation, pulling together literatures on organizational demography, the cognitive construal of role models and their importance for successful work identity formation in senior women.

Ethnic diversity on top corporate boards: a resource dependency perspective

This paper examines the presence of ethnic minority (EM) directors on FTSE 100 company boards, following the 2003 Higgs Review, which strongly recommended that more efforts should be made to find talented non-executive directors with diverse backgrounds, including EM individuals. The 20 companies with EM directors are significantly more likely than other boards to have higher market capitalization, a larger workforce and a larger, more independent and gender-diverse board. Their sectors are banking and life assurance, media, pharmaceuticals, energy, chemicals, mining, telecoms, and food and beverage production. The 27 EM directors hold 28 seats, representing 2.4 per cent of all FTSE 100 directorships, almost the same as in 2001, indicating little impact of the 2003 Higgs recommendations. Next, drawing on resource dependency theory, this paper considers the human and social capital of EM directors. They have high levels of human capital, particularly advanced education and considerable social capital from connections to important resources. Even executive directors provide links to public bodies and community influence. Boardroom expertise and linkages acquired through these appointments fit well with challenges faced by companies in the sectors where EM directors have been appointed, particularly relating to globalization, post-colonialism, increased regulation, importance of CSR, reputation, learning and increased connectedness, supporting the resource dependency explanation.

The 2002 female FTSE index and women directors

The stagnation in the position of female directorships in the UK’s FTSE 100 companies appears to be very slowly changing. After a review of previous research on women directors, this paper reports the statistics on women directors in the top 100 listed companies. The paper comments on the findings regarding companies with women directors, female directorships and the women holding those directorships. It reviews the backgrounds (demographic profiles including age, education, marital status and children; corporate experience, international experience, etc.) of the top women executive directors. The paper also examines the minority of top companies with women executive directors, to see how their particular characteristics and contingencies (e.g. sector, chairmen, CEO and board demographics) may have influenced the environment as incubators for these successful women. The paper considers the findings through several theoretical lenses for explanations of the results, and conclude by commenting on the progress being made in other European countries.

Women partners leaving the firm: Choice, what choice?

Purpose – This paper is based on the experiences of 31 women who have recently left partner roles within an international management consultancy firm. The purpose of this paper is to explore discursively their perceptions of choice within their decisions to leave.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 31 women using semi‐structured telephone interviews, a 66 per cent response rate. A discursive approach to analysis was adopted.Findings – The decision to leave is the culmination of many interacting factors at a time when a financial incentive for resignation is available. Findings present here focus on discourses of loyalty to and affection for the company and work‐life integration.Research limitations/implications – Limitations include access only to women who have left the firm, allowing for no comparison with those who were still partners. Additionally, we were unable to speak to any of the male partners who have left the firm in the same timescales, although in smaller proportions.Pract...

Challenging ethnic and gender identities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how UK black professionals construct and negotiate ethnic/gender identities at work.Design/methodology/approach – Separate semi‐structured focus groups for three females and four males are used.Findings – Ethnicity, gender and their intersection play important roles in identity construction of black UK professionals, who frequently encounter identity‐challenging situations as they interact with explicit and implicit models of race and stereotyping. Males use agentic strategies to further their careers, drawing strength from “black men” identities. Women are less agentic, reframing challenging episodes to protect/restore their identity.Research limitations/implications – This study helps understanding of workplace experiences of UK black professionals beyond entry level. Several years after graduation, they still engage frequently in identity work, facing stereotyping and expectations based on intersecting gender and ethnic social categories. The paper show...