The events industry has been debating equality in the work place.
With
figures reporting that only one in five women are in leading industry
positions, questions are rightly being asked about fairness,
particularly when looked at in the context of two thirds of the
industry’s collective workforce being women.
So the real question
that should be asked is whether talent in our industry is being
overlooked? We are blessed with a wealth of talented men and women. That
should be reflected at management level.
A good barometer for any business is whether its management reflects its workforce as well as the wider industry.
At
Manchester Central I believe we have got the balance right: 45 per cent
of our permanent team are women. This percentage is perfectly reflected
in line managers (10 of our 21 line managers are female – 45 per cent).
Then at senior management level we have a female chief
executive and then three of the five directors are female – exactly the
ratio of women to men in the overall events industry.
People are
judged on their abilities first and foremost – just as they should be.
This means as well as promoting and progressing the best talent within
our teams, Manchester Central also searches for the best talent in the
business, regardless, of course, of gender.
In many industries
women do not get the recognition or the prospects often afforded to men,
and in some businesses the opposite may be true.
If managers are
selected on talent, rather than gender, the events industry will surely
even itself out and reflect the abundance of talent that may well be
currently going to waste.
Any comments? Email sarah@mashmedia.net
