Today marks the 41st official International Women’s Day (IWD), and here at Love Success, we’ll be joining millions of others in celebrating the achievements of women across the globe. For us, it couldn't be more important to celebrate this wonderful day. Our award-winning and diverse recruitment agency was co-founded by two prominent businesswomen, Jane Atherton and Julia Vassie, and we have also recently been formally recognised by the Prime Minister as one of the Fortuna 50 index of the fastest growing women-led businesses! As a leading London recruitment agency, we’ve worked with hundreds of women this year to help secure their dream roles and take the next step on the career ladder – and we’ll continue to do so in 2017.
Interesting fact: IWD was originally called International Working Women’s Day. Check out this selection of work and employment-related statistics that remind us why this day of action is still so important in the business world.
Women in the UK are still paid less than men
It’s a fairly well-known fact that there’s a significant wage gap between men and women in the UK. The most recent statistics from 2016 show that the gender pay gap for full-time workers in the UK was 9.4%. The majority of the top 10% of earners are men. 41% of women work part-time as opposed to 11% of men, and part-time employees have been proven to earn less on an hourly basis than their full-time counterparts. International Women’s Day drives home the stark facts about the gender pay gap, and encourages businesses to do more to combat this problem.
Just 10% of women aspire to bag the top roles
According to recent reports, a mere one in ten women aspire to senior roles such as Managing Director or CEO, compared with 14% of men. The same report showed that women are actually more ambitious when it comes to the roles one rung down the ladder – roles like Manager and Director. Figures also show that just 25% of FTSE 100 board members are women. The ambition to reach the very top of business is being cut short, and we need International Women’s Day to empower women to compete for these positions.
Parliament is still a long way off gender parity
Just 460 women have been elected to Parliament in the last 100 years, compared with thousands of men. Luckily, the number of female MPs is growing fast. We currently have 191 women in Parliament, compared to 143 in 2010, and 128 in 2005. International Women’s Day is vital in encouraging women to take an interest in politics and drive change in the world around them.
The incredible potential of women in work
When it comes to gender quality and women in the workforce, it’s not all doom and gloom. Things are moving in the right direction, as these great statistics show:
• A study by Leeds University Business School found that having at least one female director on a board cuts a company’s chances of going bankrupt by around 20%.
• HR magazine Changeboard discovered that more than 52% of UK companies have increased the number of female IT professionals they’ve hired over the last five years.
• Women are expected to make up a quarter of the construction workforce by 2020.
• 57% of graduates with first class degrees are women.
For more information about International Women’s Day, and to see how you can get involved, visit the website: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/
If you want to bag one of the top PA jobs in London or a spectacular senior management position, explore the Love Success blog today for tips and guidance!
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