Corporate Vision January 2017

4 CORPORATE VISION / January 2017 NEWS , New research reveals that four in five man- agers (81%) have witnessed some form of gender discrimina- tion or bias at work in the past 12 months. The survey of 851 UK manag- ers, carried out by the Chartered Management Institute for its CMI Women campaign, found that in- appropriate remarks, gender bias in recruitment and promotion de- cisions, and gender inequality in pay and rewards are still proving major barriers to gender equali- ty in many organisations. This is despite the fact that bridging the gender gap in the UK by 2025 would add as much as £150bn to the economy. According to CMI Women, the UK economy will need two million new man- agers by 2024 – and 1.5 million will need to be women to achieve gender balance. Asked what behaviours they had personally witnessed in the past 12 months, half (50%) of man- agers pointed to gender bias in recruitment/promotion decisions, while 42% said they had seen in- equality in pay and rewards. Over two-thirds of managers (69%) said they saw women struggling to make their views heard in meetings, and four in five (81%) said they had witnessed inap- propriate remarks (such as com- ments with sexualised overtones masquerading as ‘banter’). While the research finds that men are less likely than women to witness gender discriminatory behaviour, it also reveals that pro- gress is being made and there is a wider will for change, with the majority acting to promote gender balance: Minister for Women, Equalities and Early Years, Caroline Di- nenage said: “Gender discrimina- tion is completely unacceptable - women should never be held back just because of their gender. Shining a light on this issue is ab- solutely key to achieving equality in the workplace, which is why we are introducing requirements on all large employers to publish their gender pay and bonus data from April. Four in Five Managers Have Witnessed Gender Discrimination or Bias in Past Year K