To celebrate International Women’s Day, King's College London's School of Management and Business is holding a roundtable discussion on the topic of women’s careers and their representation in positions of power, including on the boards of directors of companies.
The number of women moving into the workplace and progressing up the career ladder increases year on year. Women make up half of the professional and managerial jobs, and more than half of University students and graduate entry roles. Despite this, the pipeline to senior positions still moves painfully slowly. Women hold more than 25% of FTSE100 board roles in the UK, but only 8% of executive roles.
More worryingly, the entry of women into the boardroom has not improved the pay or prospects for women lower in the companies. Progress to close the gender pay gap around the world has all but stopped since the 2008 economic crash and it will be more than 100 years before women can expect equal pay with men. Overall, although women are more visible in the workplace, they are still not holding positions of power in contemporary Britain, with women still heavily outnumbered at the top of public, corporate and political life.
Moving beyond debates that look only at getting women on boards and the age-old questions about quotas, the panel bring a broader a range of perspectives to questions of women’s careers and their place in workplace organisations.
The event will take place on 10th March 2016 starting at 6pm – Location: Anatomy Lecture Theatre (room K6.29 – level 6 King’s Building), King’s College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS
Followed by a drinks reception at Somerset Cafe (1st floor King’s Strand Building).
Please register for the event at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/women-careers-and-boards-of-directors-why-are-there-so-few-women-in-positions-of-power-and-what-can-tickets-20005679526
(YOU DO NOT NEED TO BRING THE TICKET TO THE EVENT)
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Chair:
Prof. Evelyn Welch, King’s College London, Vice-Principal (Arts & Sciences) and Professor of Renaissance Studies
Panellists:
Prof. Christina Ahmadjian, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo. Board Member of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and JPX Holdings (parent company of the Tokyo Stock Exchange).
Prof. Alison Wolf, Baroness Wolf of Dulwich, King’s College London. Author of ‘The XX Factor. How working women are creating a new society’
Ms Scarlett Brown, King’s College London. Co-author with Dr. Elisabeth Kelan of ‘Opening the Black Box of Board Appointments: Women’s and Men’s Routes to the Boardroom’.
Mr. John Edmonds, King’s College London. Co-author with Eva Tutchell of ‘Man-Made. Why So Few Women Are in Positions of Power’
Organisers:
Ms. Scarlett Brown, scarlett.brown@kcl.ac.uk, King's College London, School of Management & Business
Dr. Gerhard Schnyder, gerhard.schnyder@kcl.ac.uk, King's College London, School of Management & Business