White women benefit most from gender diversity
This is the third in a six part series of articles that I am writing to express some unfiltered views on the steps that companies can take to embrace inclusive cultures. They form the core of a keynote that I give call Minding the Gap, which focuses on how companies can create inclusive cultures.
In April 2018 I tweeted this. I put out a little thread and got some heat on this too. I feel it is the right time to address it again but in a longer article as part of my series on cultural inclusion.
For years I have used my platform to speak out on gender diversity. Not just on women in leadership in corporates and large public companies, but also about actual access to the employment pipeline, funding for woman founded businesses and fair treatment of women in historically male dominated industries and sectors.
This outspokenness has seen me been labelled in public and private fora as pussy whipped, a social justice warrior and a cuck. Sticks and stones.
I will continue to use my platform the address the need for equity and equality for women in the workplace (I am still on a learning curve about the nuances of non-binary so don’t think I can speak with any authority on this yet), however, I have a specific concern in the manner in which this push for equality is being made, and that is the dominant voice of White women, often to the erasure of the narratives of non-White women.
Obviously there are those who will individualise this. Some White women saying that they weren’t all born with privileges and have had to work hard in spite of such a statement. This misses the bigger picture as it’s not about how individuals won or loss but a systematic problem.
Some BAME women will look at this as stirring up a hornets nest and would rather keep quiet. I get this, but equally there are many who would like their voices to be heard, or at least have others who aren’t afraid to amplify their voices.
Others will see this inflammatory and say it focuses on the negative and ignores the gains being made by the increases in gender diversity. I find that those ignoring the negative issues and only focusing on some positives is problematic. Too often people are silent and will only celebrate the good, while in way too many instances tough, uncomfortable and challenging conversations and more importantly plans of action need to be taken to address the imbalance as a whole and move gender parity forward.
The layout of the land
BAME women in the UK account for 14% of the UK working age population. According to Race at Work “there is, however, a significant difference in the employment rates between white women (72.6%) and BAME women (55.8%).” This is known as the ethnic employment gap.
This same report demonstrate how women’s access to jobs vary by ethnicity. From direct applications to personal networks to recruitment agencies.

It’s not all doom and gloom.
For example the The McGregor-Smith Review found that
BAME women are more likely to be promoted than BME men (BME women overall promotion rate is 7.3% compared with6.4% for BME men) p.51
Without getting too excited though the caveat is that
almost three quarters (74%) of management positions held by BME individuals clustered in three sectors: banking and finance; distribution, hotels and restaurants; and public administration, education and health. p.52
There is something to be said about this concentration of this promotion of talent only being restricted to these three sectors.
If we are seeking gender parity, surely it is important that all industries will promote and seek to develop through mentorship, sponsorship and other pipeline activities that recognise, recruit, retain and progress diverse talent?
Without a shadow of a doubt there is an ethnic employment gap in UK. BAME women are affected disproportionately by this and much of it can be sourced to discrimination in employment practices. (Source: National Employment Panel (2007): ‘The Business Commission on Race Equality in the Workplace’)
The BITC Race at Work 2015 report, found that that 40% of BAME professionals express interest in fast track management programmes in comparison to 18% of White professionals. In fact the take up of Black African expressions of interest was 60%. p.28
however interest does not equal access, and only 5% of Black Caribbean, 6% of Chinese and 7% of Bangladeshi and ‘other ethnic’ groups are on these programmes.
The Race at the Top report (2014) revealed that, in real terms, between 2007 and 2012 the number of BAME people in top management positions decreased by 21,645. The reality is that white employees do not face equivalent barriers or challenges in progressing to senior management that BAME employees do p.29
This is not just represented in the private sector but also in the public sector too, although there are different issues and outcomes, in the main we are still looking at not just an ethnic employment gap but ethnic pay gaps too even for those who find employment.
Aren’t white women the majority anyway?
Having worked in many industries and sectors, I have noticed that White women are the gender norm. On the face of it this shouldn’t be a problem as they represent 86% of the working age population for women in the UK. The issue is that with the fight for gender parity it would appear only one narrative dominates.
Looking at the web pages of a number of advocacy groups for gender parity the ethnic representation is limited. Whether that be board representation or access to senior leadership and pipeline roles for groups who lobby business, technology, advertising, publishing, professional services, the faces and majority narratives are the same. Yes there are outliers who may crop up every now and then, but if you are looking at those who represent you and they don’t look like you, what chance is there of increasing pipelines from such underrepresented groups.
Whilst I am loathe to use the term intersectional, especially given my limited knowledge around the theories, I do believe that BAME voices have to be given access to roundtables, policy making groups and lobbying groups who will state that they represent women.
This is not about asking white women to feel guilty for the progress they have made or getting anyone to check their privilege. Such approaches have to date resulted in direct or insinuated closed doors. This is a collaborative approach which requires women of every ethnicity, whether in the majority or minority, to have their voices heard and to be part of the overall solution.
So I would like to offer some suggestions as to how in search of gender parity work can be done so that it just doesn’t seem like it’s only the voice of white women that are heard and recognised.
Solution Focused
People tend to remember in threes, so here are three basic suggestions I think that can be used to ensure that gender parity can be addressed to be more inclusive.
Recruitment
From work experience to graduate recruitment. Widening the hiring pool for employee referrals to benchmarking fast track programmes. Consideration of wider targets when going through the whole talent management programme should be something those in position of influence that are driving gender parity initiatives should consider.
Don’t be afraid to ask wider questions when considering recruitment.
Employee Resource Groups
This is a pivotal space where I think changes can be made. Too often specialist groups in companies tend to work in isolation. Either focussed on gender, ethnicity and race, orientation and ability, but never really thinking about how they can collaborate to ensure that a wider remit for inclusion can be met.
The truth is that for many women, their identity crosses two or more of the criteria for a number of ERGs. I encourage groups focusing on gender to dig deep to see where they cross paths with other groups and when, for example, exploring things like the gender pay gap, not being afraid to delve in on a granular level how that effects both BAME and White women at work.
Amplification
This last one is about ensuring all ethnic voices are heard in the fight for gender parity. Whether that be encouraging more BAME women to chair panels, speak at conferences or have their views treated as equal in gender focussed platforms.

While you delve into Lean In or other populist manifestos, also have a read of the experiences of BAME Women. The best seller Slay in Your Lane is an example of getting an insight into some of the subjects sometimes people don’t want to talk about work when it comes to race. In this instance it is the experience of twenty something Black British women. As a starter it gives an insight into how they see the workplace and points for discussion.
I intentionally and provocatively titled this piece as I did because I know it is one that people would read through. Again this is not about White women feeling bad for being the dominant voices on gender parity in the workplace, but rather a reminder that there are other voices which are just as valid and need to be heard, so that all women can benefit from the drive towards equity and equality.

