Speaking at the latest Diversity and Inclusivity Finance Forum (DIFF) executive briefing, Barbara Schönhofer, founder and chair of ISC Group which aims to improve representation of women in senior leadership roles in the insurance sector, responded to a question asking whether quotas and policy lead to better gender equality at work or if it bred resentment.
Schönhofer suggested this may put women in positions they are not prepared or qualified for just to make up the numbers.
She said: “I don’t think we will reach equality in a way that we imagine it. If we try to reach 50 per cent of women and 50 per cent of men and just based it on gender… half of the women will be as mediocre as half of the men.
“The problem is the number of women coming through to the top is minute.”
Schönhofer added: “If you force it, then you’re in danger of setting women up to fail.”
However, she believed it was about making people look harder to find women to shortlist for job roles.
Schönhofer said quotas were not needed but she was in favour of setting targets to increase the number of women breaking through the glass ceiling.
Make yourself seen and heard
Schönhofer said it was down to women to fix gender inclusion at work, so women needed to get out of their comfort zones and “do something different from today, that you wouldn’t normally have done, and you’ll see the benefits of it”.
Pete Gwilliam, owner of Virtus Search, asked how women could overcome the fear of stereotypes and reprisal, particularly when behaviours are often described as negative when seen in a woman but positive when coming from a man.
Schönhofer said: “If you’re going to put your head above the parapet, it’s going to be shot at. That’s where you need allyship. That’s where you need to phone another woman and share what’s happened.
“It’s not for the fainthearted because actually, you’ve got to be brave and realise it’s not about our work; it’s about personality.”
She said women needed to own the space they held in the workplace, be proud of it and support one another.
Building confidence
When asked how women could become more confident and undo years of indoctrination which encourages them to suppress themselves, Schönhofer said it started by “acknowledging it”.
She said: “Acknowledge the fact that we’re starting on different blocks. It’s been dripped into us until our blueprint has changed. We think in different terms… simply because of the indoctrinations that have gone on for many years.
“So, you have to recognise that and say ‘okay that is the way it is. Do I want to change that? How can I change that?’
“There are two things that we control, what we think and what comes out of our mouths. So you decide what your purpose in life is, what legacy you want to leave, what your ethics are. And then you’ve got to stick with that. And that will help you. If you know who you are, you know your narrative, then own it.
“And then you engage.”
She said she still had imposter syndrome at times and found herself adopting a more powerful stance to cope, particularly when speaking in a room with mostly men.
“That little nag is horrible. And so, what I do is wrap it up in a ball in my mind and put it to the side and carry on,” Schönhofer added.
Self-made allyship
When asked how to create allies out of men and influence them to join groups and networks to improve gender inclusion, Schönhofer said: “The biggest thing for us to do as women is to create allyship amongst women.
“It means that when you come to me and talk to me, I actively help you in your career – that’s allyship.”
She said it was also important to reach out to other under-represented groups such as people from different ethnic minorities and sexual orientations to acknowledge how women could be affected by intersectionality as well.
“Then we’ve got something to say to the male leaders. The issue we’ve got is it’s not the male leaders who don’t get it. The problem is how to get middle management in too.”
She said one way to address this is to get male leaders involved in events which promote gender inclusion, as this could encourage the other men within businesses to follow.
