Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in enterprise organisations are ‘often just lip service’ with businesses failing to take action on their proposed schemes, according to AND Digital’s Rewards & Resilience report.
Especially when it comes to leadership positions, the study of over 200 female leaders in technology roles highlighted a significant difference in the leadership opportunities available to women. At enterprise businesses with over 10,000 employees, only 46% of women felt they had the same leadership opportunities as men, compared to 65% among small- and medium-sized businesses.
While almost four in five felt that workplace dynamics, including everyday opportunities, promotions and professional respect had improved over the years, over two-thirds (68%) expressed a desire for more to be done to make the workplace better for women in leadership roles. This included calls for promoting more women internally and providing more training and development opportunities.
“Businesses are getting put under the microscope when it comes to diversity, so leaders are coming out and promoting amazing-sounding initiatives to create the illusion of a diversity-led workplace culture. Unfortunately, this is often just lip service, telling staff and stakeholders what they want to hear, rather than actually taking meaningful action,” said Lauren Hine, Chief for UK Marketing & Alliances and Women in Tech Ambassador for AND Digital. “Businesses, especially enterprises, need accountability for their DEI initiatives, such as gender pay gap reporting, to ensure they’re actually doing what they say they’re doing, not just unveiling more initiatives just for show.”
One female tech leader, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I still feel there’s a glass ceiling in my industry that prevents female members of staff from reaching their full potential and this needs to be addressed.”
The report also raised pregnancy as an important part of the discussion in terms of promotion, training and development, highlighting that many female tech leaders feel they need to have children later in life once promotion into leadership roles had been achieved.
“Having children is almost viewed as an unspeakable topic by female tech leaders as they climb the ladder, and that’s largely due to the lack of flexibility and return-to-work support offered to parents by many businesses. Deciding between a family and a career should never have to be a choice and this is a DEI initiative that businesses need to improve upon across the board,” added Hine.
Rewards & Resilience is the latest in a series of measures by AND to champion the role of women in tech roles. The company is rolling out initiatives to support women in tech, including a dedicated women in tech community, the AND She Can programme and truly flexible working policies.
Dame Stephanie Shirley, author of Let It Go and female tech pioneer, said: “This report stands as a testament to the collective efforts of private individuals, organisations and communities dedicated to fostering inclusivity and equity. It celebrates all those who have blazed trails, shattered glass ceilings and inspired the generations to come.”
