‘Dads more than twice as likely to be promoted as mums’

Men are more than twice as likely to be promoted when they have children, according to Hays Gender Diversity Report 2017.

The report, based on a survey of over 5,400 professionals, found nearly a quarter of men were promoted, compared to 10% of women. Progression after becoming a parent was not an issue for the majority of men (79%) who retained their current role or moved into a more senior one. Clear differences were reported for women with almost a third (31%) of women took a part time role or a role at a lower pay grade.

The report also shows nearly two-thirds of workers say men are less committed to their career if they take up shared parental leave.

The survey shows the vast majority of male parents aren’t taking the full allowance of their parental leave, despite 78% of workers believing it could be a factor which improves gender diversity in the workplace. Close to half of organisations (42%) reported having shared parental leave policies in place, yet uptake of shared parental leave remains low at 7%.

Close to half of the workforce (42%) believe fathers take little or none of their parental leave entitlement.

Over half (53%) said a financial impact on the family was the biggest factor for both genders for not doing so, but this was followed by the widely held concern that men may be viewed as being less committed to their career. 32% of both genders believe this is the case.

Moreover, although 84% of workers say it is important that flexible working options are available to them in their workplace, many choose not to take any, and two-thirds think doing so will have a negative impact on their career. Women perceive it will have a negative impact, with over three-quarters (76%) reporting this concern and 65% of men.

However, both men and women think flexible working options have helped improve the gender balance in senior roles, with 61% saying flexible working has improved the representation of women in senior positions.

• Vote  
• 0
• 0
• You already voted!

• Tags:
• Dads