A study released to coincide with today’s International Women’s Day revealed that nearly half of all UK workers believe women are still subject to glass ceilings in the workplace and that men are favoured for promotion over their female counterparts.
A survey undertaken among 1,741 UK workers by employment website Monster.co.uk indicated that, while a mere 15% of female staff felt they benefitted from equal opportunities in the workplace, nearly four in ten men were convinced that they did.
Almost a third of the women questioned also felt that men were more likely to be put into positions of power, while only 15% of males felt that they were favoured over female colleagues.
As a result, the web site issued various recommendations. Women, it said, should use their skills to their advantage. Females were generally “expert multi-taskers” and good at listening – and businesses required a range of different skills to be successful.
It also advised women to let their performance speak for itself and avoid trying to prove themselves against male colleagues by becoming “bolshy or obnoxious”.
A third tip was to grab flexible working “by the horns” if it were on offer. This is not least because effective time management skills can actually boost the quality of individual staff members’ work.
