It's ironic, isn't it? there are not many worlds more politically correct than housing, yet so few women there make it to the top. It is an enormous – and embarrassing – contradiction that strikes outsiders instantly. Yes, the City and construction are the most pilloried in the media for their chauvinism and as a result have become more aware of their shortcomings and have started to at least try to modernise – even though there still is a long way to go. But housing organisations appear to be stuck in the dark ages where a mentality flourishes that it is women's destiny to remain on a junior level. Housing associations and local authorities routinely put their suppliers through the most rigorous PC hoops, but seem unaware that women in their own workforce are equally in need of fair treatment.

Ten years ago the report Getting Women to the Top painted the way forward with a long list of recommendations to bolster the number of women in senior positions. But astonishingly little progress has been made to implement its recommendations. In 1992, for example, only a quarter of senior executives in housing associations were women – but they made up four out of five of the junior managers. Today nearly two out of three staff are women, yet almost nine out of every 10 chief executives are men. Many of the barriers cited in the report are still blocking the way today, particularly that of child care, even though it should be an issue for both sexes. But perhaps the greatest barrier of all is the insidious assumption, played out in any number of subtle and not so subtle acts of discrimination, that women simply do not belong at the top. It is, as our cover says, a man's world. It is time to put an end to that.

Women will not climb the career ladder overnight, of course, but there is plenty that can be done practically to help them on their way. For example, why don't those at the top set up mentoring schemes for other ambitious women in the sector? Organisations could bring in fast-track management routes for bright young females. The Housing Corporation is already leading the way with a new MBA course to increase the diversity of housing leaders. Could more also be done to attract high-flying women from other sectors and industries? Women too perhaps have to acknowledge they can be their own worst enemies. They need to take the risks that men would not think twice about and put themselves forward for top jobs.

All the equal opportunities policies in the world won’t mean a thing if organisations don’t practice what they preach

Source

Housing Today