With the gender pay gap and equality in the workplace regularly making the headlines, the role of women in business is an essential talking point. And the discussion is increasingly around the role of women as industry leaders and the challenges they face as they work to get to the top of their career.
In their report on Women in Business, BusinessFibre highlights that out of 150 companies analysed, there were 20 male CEOs for every female in the role. With this in mind, we put the spotlight on the business industries that are letting women shine.
Educational Technology
Education has long been a female-dominated sector, with over 1.8 million women currently working in the sector in the UK alone – that’s 72% of the total workforce. And it is also in the spin-off world of Educational Technology – or EdTech – that women entrepreneurs are really starting to shine.
Combining computer software and educational theory, EdTech offers web and IT-based systems to facilitate learning and has a host of creative applications. Compared to just 17% of tech start-ups, in 2017 30% of the founders of EdTech companies were women. And their success is showing in the top US companies listed by Fortune. English teacher Cindy Mi is just one example of an EdTech entrepreneur who put her educational skills into a new start up, VIPKid, and which is now one of the world’s largest English language online educators.
Human Resources
Once an industry dominated by men, the number of women working in corporate and organisational Human Resources is on the rise, with an estimated 60% of HR positions now occupied by female employees. And when it comes to Director level, the male/female split is pretty much equal, even in the largest companies. Employers are valuing the professional skill set of women, as well as personal attributes, including their management, communication and negotiation skills which will set them onto a successful and potentially high-earning HR career.
Finance
Breaking the mould of a male institution, the sector has seen a host of female entrepreneurs who have been shining a light on the varied and lucrative career paths for women looking to build a career in finance. In the UK, women now represent 43% of the total financial services industry. They also currently hold around 24% of the senior positions in the world’s largest banking, insurance and financial institutions, a figure that has doubled since 2005 so progress is being made. And the majority of these institutions now have one or more women on their executive board.
STEM industries
And finally, while the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) industries still tend to be male dominated, the sector is making positive steps to shine a light on its opportunities for women. One of the fastest growing and best paid sectors, women currently only make up 15% of its UK workforce and just 13% at board level in the top 500 companies worldwide. However, the sector is recognising the need to get more young women into STEM education and employment to help tackle its skills shortage and close the gender/diversity gap. Initiatives such as Girls Who Code and the Wise Campaign are also working to inspire more women to consider a career in the STEM sector.
