Will women ever truly get parity in the workplace?

We’re just shy of half a century on from the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act, yet women are still facing a glass ceiling not to mention a brick wall when it comes to parity at work. It begs the question why and, if indeed whether women should just ‘put up and shut up’?

Last week heralded the news that the number of jobs held by women in the FTSE 350 increased by two percentage points to 42.1 per cent, some ray of light but the findings also revealed that when it comes to the very top positions only ten women currently serve as CEOS at FTSE 100 companies.

The Guardian newspaper published more disappointment displaying that progress for many women is as prehistoric as the numbers making it to the top. In its article, Sexism in the City: ‘No matter how hard I work, they will never ever recognise me’, it tells the story of a City executive Selena who logged on for a Teams call with five senior male colleagues in spring 2021.

She had spent weeks warning bosses that the London-based investment firm risked falling foul of European regulations. She had gathered data and presented supporting evidence but was repeatedly brushed off. When a male colleague, however, raised the same issue that afternoon and immediately gained support from the same boss who had ignored her, she was gobsmacked.