Women in Management the Situation

Women in Management

The situation that London Life is confronted with regarding the percentage of women among the members of the managerial team may be considered potentially problematic, since the difference between the number of male managers and women managers is very big, the latter ones being found in only a few positions.

The existing circumstances are rather complex and it is not easy to say if the present situation represents a problem or not. It may become a problem when taking into consideration the fact that at least 20% of the management staff must be female and reality does not correspond to this "must." Nevertheless, promoting women is not a concern bigger than the one of promoting the best interests of the company.

In other words, there is no sense promoting women just because of the fact that they are women if they are not competent enough to fill the opening positions. In order to address the situation, the company must clearly establish which are the reasons which have led to the creation of the existing situation and find solutions to handle them in the best possible manner.

There are several reasons for which the number of women in higher positions is smaller than desired. One of these reasons is represented by the fact that the women themselves are unaware of the possibilities which they benefit from in order to develop their careers. The second reason is to be found in the mentality of the women who work for London Life. Most of them do not even consider the development of their own career because they appreciate their social role of wife and mother more. Under these circumstances, they are not willing to invest more time and effort into their job, regardless of the satisfactions a higher position within then company would bring them.

Taking into consideration these factors, London Life could adopt a new policy in order to help women get into higher positions. The reason for which they should do this is not to be found in the 20% female managers request, but in the fact that there is a strong possibility for the women employees to be talented and have important potential which lies undiscovered because their owner is an ignorant from this point-of-view.

The company is responsible towards its employees equally. Any organization must provide equal development opportunities for the members of its staff. However, in this case, it is for the best interest of the company to implement a range of measures that would stimulate women to consider the development of their career, since many of them are experienced and reliable persons. London Life is responsible for the opportunities its employees have in order to develop themselves professionally. As far as the situation regarding the number of women managers within the company is concerned, a new policy might prove to be useful from a long-term perspective.

The fact is that more women could be members of the managerial staff at London Life, but this is not an obligatory condition for the efficient and efficacious functioning of the company. From this point-of-view, it can be stated that the company must do everything it can in order to properly inform and stimulate the women who are working for it, but not get involved into extreme measures meant to change mentalities and perspectives upon life, because it would be too costly. In addition, every individual is free to choose for himself, so the company should have nothing to do with what its employees decide to make out of their lives.

The first recommendation that London Life needs to take into account is the one referring to a better communication with the female members of the staff. It has been discovered that most of them are not aware of the changes they have in order to develop their career. Training sessions could be done in this regard, explaining and showing how and why one could and should advance in his professional life.

Furthermore, women should be stimulated by other women. From this point-of-view a very important responsibility is to be found in the hands of the women who are already in a managerial position at London Life. Since they have started from the same positions that the women undergoing training are in at present, they are a living example. Consequently, they have a lot of credibility. In addition, the very fact of being women will support a better and deeper communication (it is generally believed that women understand women better). Nevertheless, the men managers should also prove open and supportive of self development initiatives. What everyone in the company needs to understand is that the implementation of this new policy is not a means of extra support for women, given to them just because of the fact that they are women. What the company is actually doing is trying to bring out the most potential out of its employees and this is the most suitable measure for the existing situation.