Mind the Gap: Is gender equality in the workplace really improving?

About the authors: Sunil Nayak is Sodexo’s President of Europe and Executive Sponsor of SoTogether. Julie Ennis is CEO of Corporate Services for UK&I and co-chairs SoTogether.

The impact of the Covid pandemic has been profound. One such area of impact is the global gender gap. Studies show that closing the global gender gap has now increased by another generation, pushing it from 99.5 years to 135.6 years. We live in a world where some still fight for the principle of gender equality, and others struggle to see gender equality in action, despite the maturity of debate on this issue.

In our recent webinar, we brought together a range of international speakers who shared sobering statistics as well as their thoughts on how to tackle the issue. Many of our guests had some great examples to share of how they have been helping to achieve gender equality in our workplaces.  

Sandra Sancier-Sultan, Senior Partner, our keynote speaker from McKinsey & Company shared their research, which shows that: 

  • women are twice as likely to be mistaken for someone more junior at work, 
  • more than a third of women have had a co-worker take credit for their work 
  • 43% of women are burnt out 

We heard how, combined with the above, the multitude of layering factors, such as the pull towards home into caring responsibilities, all are contributing which lead women to consider leaving their jobs, or not join the workplace.  

The evidence is indisputable, and clearly there is a need to do more, but the question is, how does the modern workforce proactively turn ‘the drain’ into ‘the retain’ when it comes to female talent in the workplace? 

Seize the opportunity 

Sandra highlighted that companies with more female executives – and those with greater diversity in terms of ethnicity – outperform their peers, and that the gap is getting bigger. 

This is where the opportunity lies. We have a chance to create workplaces that actively encourage equality and DEI – through culture, flexibility, wellbeing support, career development and overall experience.  

Collaboration and co-creation are essential 

As a workforce of the future, younger people are critical to the conversation so, we were particularly pleased that Oluwafunmilola Akinoso, Students’ President for Education and Welfare at 

Robert Gordon University, could join the webinar and talk about the expectations young talent have before they even join the workforce. 

Oluwafunmilola highlighted the Universities’ internal survey shows future talent is looking for three main factors when entering the workforce: 

  • The provision of emotional support 
  • Enhanced recruitment processes - i.e. more equality in the process 
  • Ensuring a flexible work model 

The research shows an overwhelming majority of university students preparing to embark on their careers are looking for companies who take action to create an inclusive workplace and enforce DE&I in their policies and practices. The emerging workforce of tomorrow expects companies to take clear action on discriminative and biased behavior, so businesses need to act now, to be ready for the next generation. 

Inspiring change through leadership 

Inspiring change is part of the remit of our SoTogether gender global advisory board. It’s about bringing the right people together, steering the roadmap and providing visibility for these issues. Sodexo has invested in ensuring there are transparent targets which are a key pillar of a wider inclusion strategy. The Sodexo group have also recently announced ‘VITA’ - a set of standard benefits for all employees to offer them parental and care leave, life insurance benefits and an assistance phone line accessible 24/7.

"By continuing to take everybody’s needs into account regardless of gender we can also respond to ever-changing needs. "

We’ve taken action as a business and are proud of our initiatives and progress so far, which includes: 

  • 39% of Sodexo’s senior leaders are women, with the aim for 40% by 2025. 
  • Our programmes such as SheLeads creates mentor circles to help female middle managers progress in their careers with SheWorks providing job shadowing opportunities in under-represented areas of the business 
  • The SoTogether UK&I network currently runs a monthly Brew Club, supporting members to build their connections across the business 
  • We have also committed to becoming an accredited menopause-friendly employer and have already held two menopause cafes
     

We have some great initiatives going on in this space, including health and wellbeing support, and we were pleased to welcome our clients and partners onto the webinar who also shared their best practice. It was a rich discussion around how businesses can make a positive impact - click here to find out more. 

What companies will need for the future 

We have been involved in SoTogether for many years, and here’s our advice for what companies should consider as they seek to embed gender equality in a fast-changing world: 

  • Diversity of thought: you can’t impose diversity from above, you need to listen to lots of different voices to get your strategies right 
  • An inclusive culture: you can’t just say you welcome everyone; you must prove it. It’s about living your values, taking every chance to make a change and showing commitment rather than just talking about it. 
  • Acknowledgement of the issues: we’re clear there’s more to do, and we don’t pretend to have all the answers. But you must first accept there’s a problem before you can fix it 
     

The work at SoTogether is far from done, but we’re excited about the future. And we’re ready to work with our customers, partners and suppliers to make the workplace increasingly welcoming, supportive and rewarding for everyone. By working together, we can begin to make an impact on closing the gender gap for future generations whilst doing everything we can to support our female talent now.
 

Find out more about our commitment to DEI