Are women their own worst enemy when it comes to gender equality? It seems to be so. Today, a Belgian consumers’ organisation, one that is led ironically by a woman, has struck victory for “boy racers” throughout the UK by winning a lawsuit that sees young women having to pay the same as young men for car insurance. The EU has advised insurers that charging a differential rate is discrimination and the ruling is being held up as a victory for equality?
Well, while the European Court of Justice is ruling, can I ask for…..
(a) equal pay for women of all ages
(b) equal retirement pension & benefits
(c) equal access to the boardrooms of corporate Britain?
It seems we are eons behind on these while quick at giving equality to a sector which is driven largely by reams of motoring data. Little surprise that the car insurance industry only weakly defended its position – one that gave young (lower risk) women drivers an advantage over their young male (higher risk) counterparts. The cynic in me believes the financial services industry more than capable of using this ruling to hike up premiums over and above any correction factor based on gender.
In last week’s ‘Women on Boards’ report by Lord Davies of Abersoch, he argued that only 11% of women who responded to his consultation on the subject wanted quotas, many arguing that this form of affirmative action would somehow be “demeaning” to women as most wanted to “make it on merit”. I was at one these consultations where similar sentiments were spoken, by women who clearly had not “made it” given that there are only 12.5% of women on FTSE boards; 18 FTSE 100 companies have no female directors at all and nearly half of all FTSE 250 companies do not have a woman in the boardroom. Even outside the FTSE, nine out of ten of our top business leaders are men, there are currently only four women in the Government Cabinet of 23, while in Parliament men outnumber women four to one. It is easy to forget that women are more than half the population of the UK. Perhaps it is time women stopped being their own worst enemy and put their gender before themselves?
References
Lord Davies “disses” ethnic minority women
Lord Davies Review – Women on Boards report
Fawcett Society: Breaking the Mould for Women Leaders report
Institute of Leadership & Management: Ambition & Gender at Work
HCUK Public Appointments Strategy 2009-2012