We've all heard of the glass ceiling that is so often applied to women's progress through the ranks of business to reach the hallowed heights of senior management and the board.
While we are seeing so many more successful female faces seemingly achieving great things on our television screens, we could be forgiven for thinking that the myth of the glass ceiling is just that a myth. After all, if we believe what we see on Dragon's Den, with Hilary Devey and Deborah Meaden as well as the frequent sightings of Karren Brady, then these days it must be far easier to reach the top of one of Britain's top businesses.
Sadly though recent research still highlights a lack of strong female talent reaching chief executive positions today.
In fact, at a recent count just three female CEOs head up FTSE 100 companies and the number of women achieving positions on boards has declined slightly rather than increased.
Currently women account for around 17-and-a-half per cent of new additions to boards and women are not alone in finding this of concern. The Government has set a target of 25% to be achieved by 2015.
The Business Secretary is encouraging firms to be proactive voluntarily but if the situation does not improve in the near future then quotas have been threatened which will force companies to promote women into positions on the board.
Rather, they would like to see businesses employ measures to retain leading female talent through understanding the needs of family working practices.For women whose target is a position on the board, research among FTSE 100 companies has indicated some trends that may at least set them on a good path to the top.
Accountancy seems to be the key. Over half of today's CEOs have a background of finance.
Younger women may certainly have some way to go too as 81 per cent of CEOs are aged 50 or over. While the odds are still firmly stacked against women reaching the board, there are always exceptions to every rule and the more females who challenge the system and strive for excellence in business, the better balance of talent we can expect in tomorrow's boardroom.
Written by Rachael Clarke of Circle Square
Other posts by Rachael Clarke:
Helping Mums Back to Work Building a High Performance Team Temporary Workers' New Regulations
Why 2013 Will Be the Year You Quit Your Job Working whilst you study - Part-Time Jobs
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