RM pages March 2014

Recruitment Matters Issue 23 March 2014

Trade Association of the Year

What’s inside The Intelligence 2 -3 and REC Talk The skills gap, the REC’s specialist sector groups and the Good Recruitment Campaign The REC’s ‘Room at the top’ survey on women leaders and the role of executive search

Where are all the women, asks the REC More women are in work than ever before, as official figures from the Office for National Statistics show a record-breaking 14 million now have jobs. However, this has also coincided with an increase in the gender pay gap, as median wages for women fell. Why should we care? Not just because this inequality seems unfair, but because evidence from new Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) research on gender diversity shows that more diverse teams make better business decisions. It is in everyone’s interest – the client’s, the candidate’s and the recruiter’s – to ensure that there are more women in the workplace from recent graduates to the boardroom. In Lord Davies’ report, ‘Women on boards’, released in 2011, a target was set for a minimum of 25% of female representation by 2015 in FTSE 100 boards. This figure now stands at 20.4%. Nonetheless, positive changes in the makeup of the top teams are increasingly evident. Appointments such as Inga Beale, the CEO of Lloyd’s of London insurance, the first woman in the company’s 300-year history, and Lloyd’s 2020 pledge to have 40% female representation

at all levels of management, signals that companies are trying to redress the balance. The REC report is based on interviews with 17 executive search firms working in various sectors and including interviewees who place board members within FTSE 100 companies. It shows that executive search firms are playing a critical role in getting more women into senior positions and considers what more they could do. Such firms feature significantly in the appointment process. The Davies report notes that 73% of FTSE 100 and 66% of FTSE 250 companies stated that they use executive search firms. So what can you do? In summary, the report makes several recommendations such as: executive search firms should publish measurable data (such as data and statistics on the proportion of women on long and shortlists, percentage of female appointments and placements by salary band); develop a compendium of good practice; and consider making public the gender make-up of their own board and senior teams. For full details visit www.rec.uk.com

Diversity – 4-5 gender, age, BME, disability … and how recruiters can help

6Business Matters

The Compliance Test, and good software opportunities with with Microdec

7

Institute of Recruitment Professionals We speak to Dynamite Recruitment’s Matt Fox and Right People’s Bruce Russell

Best Events and Training 8 The Business Brains II – get tips for your business from the experts

www.rec.uk.com RM p1-MAR-A.indd 23

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