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Does gender culture really matter in business?

Taking account of under-represented minority groups - Sneha Khilay

There has long been a debate over whether gender and culture really do make a difference in business life. Equality is the buzz word in business at the moment but what does it really mean for those with female ethnic minority employees? Equality and Diversity expert Snéha Khilay, founder of Blue Tulip Training argues the case for why development training for women and black & ethnic minorities is a good thing and why it should form part of every talent management strategy.

Did you know that of the 61 million people living in the UK, 7.9% or (4.6 million) are from Ethnic Minority communities? And did you know that Ethnic minority women make up just 4.6% of the population?

Going on current population numbers, we should expect to see at least 33 ethnic minority women MPs. But in reality,
there are only 2 - Diane Abbott MP and Dawn Butler MP. And the number of ethnic minority women in the Cabinet? None.

From almost 20,000 local councillors in England, only 168 (0.84%) are ethnic minority women and out of 1,130 directors of FTSE 100 companies the number of ethnic minority women equals 8. And from the 914 top managers in the civil service number of ethnic minority women is less than 1% and there are no ethnic minority women at chair or chief executive level of the top 50 highest earning charities.

The new Equality Bill is a hot topic at the moment and the subject of personal development will be at the forefront of this change. But the fact of the matter is that courses development specifically with women or black & ethnic minorities in mind can have a tremendous impact on business performance and relieve much of the stress placed on managers who often feel like they are swimming out of their depth when it comes to dealing with increasingly complex issues in the workplace.

Women’s Development Courses
Some people say that women want it all – education, professional skills and a career plus marriage, family and children, all within a wider networks of friends and colleagues. Getting a satisfactory work–life balance can be quite a challenge, particularly as the demands and priorities change throughout your life – early on there’s education, starting a career and getting married, with individual family and career ambitions becoming increasingly different and varied as life progresses.

Women’s Development Courses focus on the individual, looking at your skills, network and ambitions and help you identify gaps in your skill set – both hard and soft. Considering your “resources”, in the widest sense, enables you to further your career more effectively, whether that involves promotion, a change in direction or even leaving work completely. In turn, this helps achieve the best work–life balance for you.

Research has shown that lack of confidence and self-belief are two of the main factors that hold women back in their career. This is particularly in relation to your skills and abilities and the contribution you can make in a working environment. Women’s Development Courses concentrate on the softer skills and about maintaining self-confidence, needed, to make the most of yourself and your career.

This is invaluable at various points in your life – when starting a career and setting initial goals, when returning to work after a break and perhaps considering a career change or part time work or when you need to review and re-focus your goals mid-career.

Black and Ethnic Minority Development Courses
Historically, it has been notoriously difficult for aspiring Black and Ethnic Minority staff to climb the career ladder and combat the continued under-representation at middle and senior management levels. This poor ethnic representation at management level is having a serious impact on the morale, confidence and self-belief of BME employees.

Talent management programmes which do not cater for the specific issues and concerns that BME staff may have will by default exclude them from progression up the corporate ladder. Courses like Accentuate by Blue Tulip Training give the staff the opportunity to talk through concerns in a safe and supported environment. Staff as a result become more confident and productive individuals.

Earlier this year, the Race to the Top report predicted that by 2015, just 11.2% of the UK’s ethnic minority population would be in management positions. The same report revealed that only three sectors account for almost 80% of all ethnic minority workers in management positions: public administration, education and health.

But with increasing pressures on organisations to become more ethical in their practices, not only in the green sense but when it comes to equality and diversity and the Equalities Bill, all this is set to change and that nurturing black and minority talent across all sectors will rapidly become a top priority for those businesses wanting to get ahead.

Under the Equalities Bill, employers need to take into account the under-representation of disadvantaged groups within the frame of expanding positive action. Positive action means that when all other things being equal, you can then take steps to nurture and development talent in underrepresented groups within the organisation.

There are clear benefits of work force diversity in an increasingly diverse society, in attracting new business, understanding customers’ needs and filling the skills gap and tailoring development programmes to the needs of women and black & ethnic minority employees is something that can no longer be ignored.

 

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