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Want a difficult job done? Ask a woman to do it...

A large number of business leaders will only appoint a woman into a very senior post in times of crisis and poor performance, according to a new report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). This leaves female leaders facing a form of hidden discrimination which leaves them more likely to fail than their male counterparts.The CIPD commissioned Exeter University to carry out the new research, Women in the boardroom: the risks of being at the top, which exposes the hidden problem that employers face in increasing the number of women in senior jobs. The research found that women are more readily appointed to tough jobs that are perceived to lead to ‘make or break’ outcomes in terms of career success than men. In addition, business leaders are more inclined to open up job opportunities in crisis situations to women, leaving women business leaders at greater risk of failing than their male colleagues working a the same levels.

Dianah Worman, CIPD Diversity Adviser, says: “Female leaders are all too often set up to fail. Due to limited opportunities open to female leaders many are forced to take the more difficult jobs in organisations with a history of poor performance, perpetuating the myth that women are poor performers in senior positions, and covering up the true extent of discrimination for the most desirable senior management positions. “The growth in the number of successful small businesses owned by women goes someway to indicate their business and leadership capabilities and highlights the talent other large organisations are missing. So old fashion attitudes are not only unfair and discriminatory towards women but they leave organisations shooting themselves in the foot. “Organisations need to open their doors to the leadership capabilities of both halves of the population, regardless of the performance of the organisation.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .