The Jersey Community Relations Trust have found that about a third of managers in the public sector are female, only a handful of women are on the boards of States-controlled companies and all of the chief executives at the five largest banks in the Island are male.
Speaking to the Women’s Development Forum, trust chief executive Toni Roberts said that out of 79 directors on the boards of States-related companies – such as Jersey Electricity, the Jersey Financial Services Commission and JT – 67 were male and only 12 were female. ‘In a market where 50 per cent of the buying power are women, we should have boards that are more diverse,’ said Ms Roberts.
She told the audience that lack of confidence was one of the barriers to promotion and that mothers were still facing discrimination at work. ‘Sometimes women wait to be asked for a pay rise or promotion, whereas men are not frightened to put themselves forward. Women who had no children said that there were no barriers – nothing could stop them. But those with children said it was very difficult.
‘One said that although she was the same person as before, with the same skills and the same energy, people treated her differently.’
The trust based their report on questionnaires completed by 120 women in business. They are recommending that companies should set targets to create a more balanced workforce within the next five to ten years, with the results made public and benchmarked against those targets.
A survey of legal firms with ten or more partners found that of a total 90 partners, 71 were male and only 19 were female, although at associate level there were many more women.
Another speaker at the Forum, Wendy Martin, tax partner at EY, said it was not just a case of firms discriminating against female workers. ‘It’s about being in the right environment – it took me a long time to work that out,’ she said. ‘Having a family will not stop you from progressing, but you need support and the right opportunities.’
Miss Martin said that of 753 new partners promoted internally at EY last year, 31% were women. ‘Women have to be their own advocate and get out there and shout about how they can do the job,’ she said.
Former investment banker and managing director Charlotte Valeur, who has set up a ‘board apprentice’ scheme to enable new directors to gain experience, said that although many women were ‘boardroom ready’, they were not promoted because they had not had the chance to gain experience.
‘Being on the board, for me, was a bit like being back in school – everything was about the latest rugby match. We need to see things change. The whole world has this problem, not just with gender, but also ethnic diversity. And there are still only a few technology experts at board level.
‘Board decisions are not rocket science – some people like to pretend it is, but it is only common sense. If there is a really difficult decision to make, there are a lot of advisers who will help.’
The Women’s Development Network, a pan-island network started in Guernsey and launched in Jersey last year, aims to promote equality and raise awareness of issues such as the gender pay gap.
THE Jersey Football Association elected its first female board member at their annual general meeting in July.
Kerry Petulla was named JFA vice-president at Springfield in a move which is sure to further the development of the women’s game in the Island.
However, that will not be her sole focus. ‘The opportunity came about following a discussion I had with Phil Austin at the Muratti’ Petulla explained.
‘I’ve been involved in football in Jersey since I was 17, and although that was more with women’s football I also qualified as a referee and was club secretary for First Tower and then assistant secretary for Grouville; so I have been around for a little while.
‘Personally I think Jersey football’s vision is exciting. I think it’s got the right people to go forward, it’s just a case of getting the ball in motion. ‘I don’t have anything specific I want to bring just yet, though.
‘I want to try and understand the challenges faced by the JFA as a whole before I jump in with suggestions.
‘It will be case of not throwing my feet in, it’s just about finding my feet first, but I will be very committed to the JFA and Jersey football and I’m quite excited about it all.’
‘I want to give them the chance to have a voice and then girls, when they eventually retire, will want to give something back at executive level.
