"I don't think women fit comfortably into the board environment"

The next steps for me are making sure that unconscious bias is tackled in the recruitment process, valuing traits/behaviours that men are more likely to demonstrate are issues for successful recruitment. Men are often in the recruitment position all the way through the company org chart so women often face numerous hurdles in their path to seniority, as we know many people tend to recruit in their own like. I work for a business that spends a lot of time on this area (it is a male dominated company) and training on harassment and diversity help when carried out regularly. So reinforcement of positive ways to change are also important as this smoothes the road for women to progress. I feel the gender pay gap reporting has also been a wake up call for many and can assist us in making salaries and bonuses fairer, companies which ignore this are showing a side to themselves many women are shocked by - would you want to work for them?

The next steps for me are making sure that unconscious bias is tackled in the recruitment process, valuing traits/behaviours that men are more likely to demonstrate are issues for successful recruitment. Men are often in the recruitment position all the way through the company org chart so women often face numerous hurdles in their path to seniority, as we know many people tend to recruit in their own like. I work for a business that spends a lot of time on this area (it is a male dominated company) and training on harassment and diversity help when carried out regularly. So reinforcement of positive ways to change are also important as this smoothes the road for women to progress. I feel the gender pay gap reporting has also been a wake up call for many and can assist us in making salaries and bonuses fairer, companies which ignore this are showing a side to themselves many women are shocked by - would you want to work for them?

One of the things that comes up time and again is the lack of flexible working offered at recruitment stage - and the reluctance women have in raising the issue. At the same time flexible working has been shown to be a 'proven strategy' for supporting women's progress. In my opinion there's a lot of unconscious bias around flexible working and people who ask to work flexibly - and that needs to be eradicated.

There is digital software which can help with gender-balancing job descriptions, job adverts, organisations and boards. Apparently unconscious bias in the job applicant plays a part in whether they choose to apply or not.

Could gender-balancing software water down job descriptions and make them bland?  I've seen a lot of 'copy and paste' job descriptions and wonder if software would overhaul that custom.

Changing the wording on job ads and JDs could be an 'own goal' if it serves to attract more women who then encounter all the usual biases within the organisation.

Yes women also hold unconscious biases, they experience imposter syndrome and stereotype threat, But they're not daft. They know that they will be judged more harshly in any managerial role than their male counterparts and that many embedded organisational processes (such as the myth that flexible working is only possible in junior roles) work against them.

In my view it's far better to focus on changing the culture to what is now being termed "gender bilingual". Word will soon spread that this is an organisation which supports women - who will then apply to work there.

Hi Vicky,

Did you pick up on this piece on the BBC today?

Why do some job adverts put women off applying?

Hi Steve,

Yes, that's the story I link to.

D'oh! Apologies... I didn't click on the click... but just lazily assumed it was a link to the software. My bad.

I did make it look like that...