When it comes to gender equality, I would say that we are progressing although at a very, very slow speed. Take for instance the percentage of women in the top level of UK companies. It is increasing, but progress is very slow as per the government-backed Hampton-Alexander Review, even in today’s era women have to face patriarchal attitude in the workplace.

Here are the most commonly used reasons provided by FTSE 350 chairs and CEOs for not hiring women:

• “I don’t think women fit comfortably into the board environment”
• “There aren’t that many women with the right credentials and depth of experience to sit on the board – the issues covered are extremely complex”
• “Most women don’t want the hassle or pressure of sitting on a board”
• “Shareholders just aren’t interested in the make-up of the board, so why should we be?”
• “My other board colleagues wouldn’t want to appoint a woman on our board”
• “All the ‘good’ women have already been snapped up”
• “We have one woman already on the board, so we are done – it is someone else’s turn”
• “There aren’t any vacancies at the moment – if there were I would think about appointing a woman”
• “We need to build the pipeline from the bottom – there just aren’t enough senior women in this sector”
• “I can’t just appoint a woman because I want to.”

Shocking and patronizing, aren’t they? Well, if this is what men have in mind, how about what women, especially female bosses think of their chauvinist behavior?

Michelle Kennedy, co-founder, and CEO of social networking app Peanut. Image source

“Reading about this report has to be one of the most depressing ways to start my day. The excuses are lazy, outdated and, to be honest, funny in part. They seem to be code. ‘I don’t think women fit comfortably into the board environment’ translates to ‘we’re chauvinists who make inappropriate gender-related comments’,” said Michelle Kennedy, co-founder, and CEO of social networking app Peanut.

Sara Gordon, VP, Brand & Design at Bloom & Wild. Image source

“These excuses present a narrow view and network, while a conscious effort to have diversity in thinking, manner, and leadership has proven to shape businesses positively. The MSCI’s report on women on boards, which surveyed and analyzed over 21,980 firms in 91 countries, found that ‘strong female leadership generated a return on equity of 10.1% per year versus 7.4% for those without,” said Sara Gordon, VP, Brand & Design at Bloom & Wild.

“’All the ‘good’ women have already been snapped up,’ translates to ‘I’ve heard about a woman being appointed to another board, she’s the only woman I’ve heard of because of the article I read, and I can’t be bothered to see whether there are any other women who have a skill set I could use, and I only trust people who look like me’,” said Kennedy.

“We’ve also been in situations where we haven’t been invited to something because ‘we didn’t think you would want to come now you’re a mother’, or where challenging a decision has led to us being termed ’emotional’ or ‘too sensitive’. It’s these attitudes that not only prevent women having a seat at the table, but just as seriously, impact women’s decision to stay in industries where they have worked tirelessly, and for businesses to suffer as a result, hemorrhaging talent which they’ve invested in,” she added.

So, what is the solution that would up the pace of gender equality? “To increase the number of female executives, broader networks and a greater awareness of the positive impact (through data) is needed. But confidence and drive from women to push through is also important. We can’t wait to be asked to step up, we have to all work together to keep change happening,” said Gordon.

H/T: Refinery29