The shift in organisations going back to the office in the last 12 months could be harming women's career progress. Carolyn Hicks explains how flexible and agile working can help women achieve their potential and mid-market businesses retain their talent.
2024 marks the twentieth year of Women in Business, our annual report measuring progress around the number of women occupying senior management roles in mid-market businesses. Most importantly, this research helps us understand the changes we can make to take positive steps towards parity.
Overall, this year's report revealed that progress is slow. While there have been some positive changes over the last 12 months, this may not be enough to reach parity on women in senior management roles until 2053.
To increase momentum, we've used this year's research to identify three distinctive 'pathways to parity' for mid-market businesses. Each pathway includes principles, strategies, and actions businesses can take to drive progress to parity.
One of these pathways, focused on flexible and agile working, dives deeper into how the way we work impacts parity - and this year's report revealed a few trends we weren't expecting.
In the last 12 months, some of the world’s big businesses have started to put guidelines in place to encourage employees back to the office.
Our research shows that in the UK, 37% of businesses are now primarily office-based, a 4% increase from 2023. This increase links to the 2% drop in hybrid working and 2.1% drop in flexible working.
The drop in flexible working during the last 12 months sets the UK behind the global average, with only 1.9% of UK businesses now working flexibly compared to 5.1% of global organisations.
Source: Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR)
The good news is that when we consider the global average, the UK has a higher percentage of businesses working in hybrid models. The number of office-based UK businesses is also lower than the global average by a considerable 10.5%.
However, the overall trend remains: more people are being encouraged and, in some cases, required to return to the office, and fewer businesses are adopting hybrid and flexible working policies.
This increased return to office-based working is happening in parallel, potentially correlating, to a concerning 8% drop in the number of women CEOs. Now, just 22% of UK mid-market businesses have a female CEO or managing director, down from 30% in 2023.
Working styles also impact women in senior roles. Our research shows that businesses operating primarily home-based or flexible working models have a higher percentage of women in senior management roles compared to the UK average.
Source: Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR)
Additionally, there’s been a small 1.1% increase in the number of senior management positions held by women in the UK, rising to 33.5% from 32.4% since 2023. While this is a positive indicator, it shows there’s still plenty of progress to make.
We estimate that at the current rate of progress, parity for women in senior management won’t be reached until at least 2053. How can we get there sooner?
Navigating working styles and practices can be complex, as each person’s career trajectory is entirely unique and rarely linear. Most people experience ‘career seasons,’ in which their goals and priorities change based on their level of experience, personal circumstances, and life choices.
This is particularly relevant to women who want to develop their careers and have a family where they're the primary caregiver, especially in a child’s first years. The traditional office-based working model is potentially restrictive to women with these aspirations, with inflexibility around work locations, days, and hours making it difficult for some to return to the workforce after family leave, without sacrificing time with their children.
Our research shows that it’s perhaps not coincidental that the number of female CEOs and women in leadership positions began to rise during the same period that flexible working became more commonplace in UK businesses. This supports the perspective that adopting a flexible working model can help businesses to support women throughout all phases of their careers and lives, ensuring that their valuable contributions to the workforce aren’t lost.
For example, women just starting their careers in junior roles might be interested in experiencing the office environment for the first time. Alternatively, women who are raising a family may benefit from reducing the number of days they work each week, or having the option to work during evenings or weekends rather than weekdays. This is the sort of agile approach that helps to retain female talent in the long term.
It’s equally important to lay the right foundations to retain and attract the valuable skills and experience of mid-life women. For those women who may have dedicated time to raising a family earlier in their careers, having the flexibility and support to continue learning, developing, and contributing is crucial.
To nurture and retain talent in the workplace, businesses need to carefully consider their working practices.
We must move away from the 'home versus office' debate and take a pragmatic approach, considering the essential work, who does it, how it's done, and where. This approach can attract diverse skills, new perspectives, and innovative thinking, crucial for staying ahead in business.
An agile mindset helps businesses to create an environment that empowers not just women, but all of their people to be inspired, trusted, and accountable.
For more information and guidance on implementing flexible working practices in your business, contact Carolyn Hicks.
