Improving the gender balance in leadership: “sponsorship is rocket fuel”

At the recent National Allyship Summit, representatives from the likes of Ikea, the Financial Times and Imperial College London gathered to discuss male allyship. The event comprised a series of impactful panels on the current picture of gender balance in the UK, how organisations can improve the situation and where business should go next. 

Great strides have been made in gender balance in recent years. According to the FTSE Women Leaders Review, female representation on the boards of FTSE350 now stands at 43%. Yet figures can be deceptive: while women are filling more non-executive board roles, their progress in executive leadership positions lags behind. 

Men are going to have to get on board to help drive the change.

The National Allyship Summit was the brainchild of Male Allies UK, which works with organisations and senior leaders to accelerate progress on gender equity. The event featured an enlightening fireside chat with Vivienne Artz OBE CMgr CCMI, chief executive of the FTSE Women Leaders Review, and Simon Albrighton, UK head of advisory at KPMG. The pair discussed Male Allies UK’s new report, Shaping Gender Balance – Perspectives from senior male leaders. 

Here are four things we learned from their conversation. 

1. The message is getting through

Simon reflected that the research respondents were a “very powerful audience to interview” and observed that their attitude towards the question of gender balance has shifted significantly over time.

“It was not about the ‘why’,” he said. “We’re now into the ‘how’. How do I do this better? What are others doing?”

Vivienne was also encouraged, adding that the message is clearly reaching senior leadership.

“What’s giving me a lot of confidence in the conversations coming out of the research is the understanding of the complexity. Senior leaders understand that it’s a long-term activity and that it’s not an issue that sits on the sideline, within EDI or HR. This is a systemic business issue. It’s about how you build a sustainable and effective business.”