Blog post by Emma Lowman, Practice Manager, London
Before getting started on this blog I first want to apologise. Apologise for what might seem like ANOTHER blog about ‘women in tech’, ‘women’s rights’, ‘equality’ and ‘girl power’. The truth is, I think we are all sick and tired of reading the same spiel about diversity and getting more women to the top.
The problem is, it’s a MASSIVE issue.
Last week, whilst I was meeting one of my favourite clients, the conversation started once again. ‘I need sales girls for my team… find me some’.
So back to my office I go, and after perusing LinkedIn and reaching out to a few gems in my network I have a couple of responses. ‘Thanks for the note Emma, very happy in my current role, been here for 5 years so wouldn’t consider a move at this time’ Why! You’ve consistently overachieved on all of your targets, outperformed your male colleagues, been promoted 3 times in your current role and made an absolute killing. Why would you not possibly even CONSIDER a conversation?
Now, maybe this is a sweeping statement, and actually, in the past 12 months I have placed 3 AMAZING female candidates (who are all smashing it FYI) so they are out there. The sad truth is I’ve actually made 20 placements in that time period, so percentage wise that means only 15% of my total work has been with ladies – which is poor!
Reshma Saujani, the Founder of ‘Girls who code’, did a fantastic Ted Talks on how girls are raised to be perfect, and boys are raised to be brave. For me, this really hit home. Working in a market where the majority of my candidates are head hunted, means that I’m constantly wearing down people who aren’t looking for a new role. My job is to convince them to take a risk. Whether that be a coffee, a lunch, an interview or accepting that offer they aren’t 100% convinced on. Perhaps this is the reason why we see fewer females in Enterprise Sales roles, earning the same amount of cash as our male counterparts? In an article by Forbes, findings were published claiming that staying employed at the same company for over two years, on average, will plummet your lifetime earnings by about 50%. This might explain why guys climb faster and more aggressively to the top. Less fear, more open to change, more likely to take the risk!
What I would love is to see more girls taking risks, being brave, and jumping into the unknown. Because yes… we are sensible, logical, and rational. Which is why businesses are crying out for a more diverse workforce. I think it’s time we borrowed a bit of courage from the male race, and show them exactly what we are made of!
