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The government’s plan to return people to the office runs the risk of “middle-aged white men” re-making important decisions in the office, while women and ethnic minority people are left out at home, according to one of the UK’s most important business leaders. .
In an interview with The Guardian, the executive director of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), Ann Francke, warned that without careful supervision, “mixed work” could result in a two-tier system in which women without sufficient care of children to return to the office are left out of key decisions.
A recent TUC survey revealed that two out of five mothers do not have the childcare they need to return to the office, with some childcare, babysitting and comprehensive care still unavailable, while research shows that women are more likely to do extra childcare.
“The risk is that when we go back to the office, the people who come back will be the senior leaders. And we know that those top leaders are mostly white men, ”Francke said. “That will reinforce the type of exclusion, lack of diverse culture at the top of the organizations. I think it would be a very dangerous step backwards. “
Francke also strongly opposed government messages on the safety of returning to the office, stating: “I don’t think it is the responsibility of companies to save the local sandwich shop. […] The bottom line is that ultimately, companies that are really hit in the long run will have to adapt. They just have to adapt. “
Before going back to work, people had to feel safe, he added. “And they don’t feel safe. And anyone who has taken the tube to central London in normal times understands why. “
In the most recent CMI manager survey conducted in August 2020, it was found that 74% of managers cited the risk of contracting coronavirus as the most common employee concern, while an earlier survey found that 91 % of managers said “mixed work” – a mix of remote and office work: it motivated them, 85% said it made them more productive, and 77% said it made them more satisfied.
Exclusive WCC polls for The Guardian also reveal that nearly half of managers (42%) believe that the lack of childcare caused by the coronavirus pandemic will have negative impacts on female employees, while only 20% believe it will be. a problem for men. However, more than half of managers (58%) said they did not believe that the career progression of women in their organization would be affected by a gradual return to work.
Francke does not share her confidence and cautioned that there is a real risk that decades of female advancement in the workforce will be reversed without government action.
The “unfortunate” requirement for companies to report their gender pay gaps was removed this year, but should be reimposed in 2021 along with the requirement to report the ethnic pay gap, he said, adding that the Financial Conduct Authority, Investors and CEOs take note of: should take it upon themselves to fine companies that don’t address their gender pay gaps instead of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
“It is a matter of importance for the Equality and Human Rights Commission, of course, but they do not have the means or the capacity to enforce the law,” he said. “You need to look at the bodies that investors listen to, and the CEOs are usually financial regulators.”
Significant fines, as well as a force on corporate convenience for investors, would act as real incentives for companies that only speak lip service to address their gender pay gaps, he added.
“There must be consequences for those who do not progress. The transparency is excellent, but the transparency with the teeth is better, ”he said. Companies should also analyze their pay gap by ethnicity and take steps to close them, she said. “We know from many studies that companies that have more diverse management teams outnumber those that do not. So why wouldn’t you want to progress? “
The pandemic had been a catalyst for a shift in flexible and remote work that women’s groups had been calling for years, she added. “Suddenly, you know, what they were going to do in five years they had to do in five days. And they did, ”Francke said. “And once people see how it can be, that encourages them to create the conditions they prefer. I think companies that offer flexible and mixed work will benefit because they will have a much larger talent pool. “
He fired a warning shot at companies eager to go back to factory settings: “There is no going back in the fact that flexible working works. And if you’re going to take it away from people when they know it works, you’re going to pay a price. “
