Through the Glass Ceiling: Initiating Cultural Change within an Organisation

Leaders in the financial services industry have had their eyes opened to the lack of emerging talent in the downturn. The void of talent has increased further still since levels of graduate recruitment have dropped and regulation has heightened in this recessionary climate. It is more crucial now than ever before for leaders in the industry to pull together to fill the void of fresh talent by closing the gender gap and re-evaluating the need for fresh graduate skills.

A recent study from The Board of Gender Diversity at Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) showed that the number of young professionals in emerging markets is growing at 5.5% annually versus 1% in developed countries, which is especially worrying for European countries trying to get on the road to recovery. The availability of skills and graduate talent is a key concern for many CEOs on a global scale, particularly in this economic climate. Having access to a rich pool of graduate talent is critical for the success of the financial services sector.

Top priority

As the recently appointed CEO of the Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC), I have made it my priority to promote the importance of introducing and retaining talent in the financial services industry, which is very much influenced by organisational culture. I have always worked in a predominantly male environment, from my time with the police force to my current role as CEO of a financial services organisation.

My first involvement with initiating cultural change was most likely drawn not from the financial sector but from my experiences at Kent County Council where I worked in the computing department recruiting computer programmers. I was quickly promoted to the head of the admin team with County Supplies at the age of 22 where I was involved in leading a culture change programme in connection to a re-structuring of the council's departments into individual cost centres. This was a baptism of fire as I had to negotiate with five separate unions.

I found cultural change a fascinating subject and this move from a 1980s public sector mentality to a more commercially driven focus stimulated my interest to learn more about business, the effects of culture and the importance of employee buy-in and skills.

At a time when the finance and banking sector is under increasing levels of scrutiny, harnessing the growing financial power of women is key to changing the face of financial services companies and to bringing developed countries such as the UK out of recession. Goldman Sachs' position on this subject contends that most of the key indicators in the so-called BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and the 11 next-most important emerging economies point towards increasing parity between the sexes.

In employment, the number of countries where more women are participating in the labour force now exceeds those where their proportion is declining. In Pakistan, for example, females aged between 15 and 64 make up 21% of the working population, against 11% in 1990. Equally, women are working less in the lower-paying and less productive parts of the economy, such as subsistence-level agriculture, where they once dominated. Agriculture now accounts for 50% of female employment in Turkey, for example, against three-quarters in 1990.

Ironically, the recession has been a good thing for encouraging cultural change in many financial services organisations. I have been working in this industry for more than 20 years and was brought into the Financial Services Skills Council to achieve their Government licensing re-application and to formulate a new strategy for 2010 and beyond. This license reinforces our role as the 'employer's voice on skills' for the UK and I am keen for the FSSC to continue to deliver a Government-backed development programme for senior business women called ‘Through the Glass Ceiling', which helps individuals address the skills and other issues in order to progress.

Recently, the CBI has called for greater diversity at boardroom level by using a target-based initiative to ensure that more women are involved in senior positions in companies. This will require CEOs to recruit and retain a certain quota of female employees in senior positions. Lord Davies' review of key employment practices, which will be announced in February, will call for greater boardroom diversity. Australia is one of the countries to be enforcing the new system in the early part of next year and is expected to increase the number of senior-level female employees from 5% to 27% over a 12-month period.

While this is a positive step forward for implementing cultural change in the workplace, forcing CEOs to employ this target-based initiative will inevitably result in the exclusion of appropriate candidates in order to keep up with the restraints of the new system.

The main consideration for increasing gender diversity in the boardroom ought to be based on merit rather than gender, race or background, and consideration should be given to the skills that are needed. Research has proven that diverse boards improve decision making and problem solving, and that the business benefits.

Wider selection

Looking forward, it is important for leaders in the education sector to work closely with employers to encourage a wider selection of candidates to apply for positions in traditionally male-dominated industries and develop the skills needed by employers. Crucially, it is imperative that increased regulation and heightened restrictions within the financial arena do not exclude talent from this sector and that CEOs endeavour to encourage more female employees to apply for roles at senior management level and address the cultural issues that may prevent them for doing so.

In the next 12 months I would like to see employers review their pipeline to ensure opportunities exist for increased diversity in middle and senior management positions and to grasp the opportunity to increase diversity in the board room. Employers in the sector have already put in place initiatives to support females as they make choices, increased flexible working, and started to address organisational cultural issues to support diversity. The business case has been made for diversity in the boardroom. I would encourage employers to look at this prior to any UK or European government intervention or pressures and to harness the business benefits of diversity to enhance their competitiveness.