Research by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Cymru and the University of South Wales highlighted the issues facing women with leadership ambitions.
“We can’t deny that progress has been made,” said the CBI’s chief people officer, Asha Musoni. “But structural institution and cultural barriers still exist.
“Those specific barriers are around flexible working, access to adequate childcare, gender bias at work, lack of mentorship opportunities and support for working fathers.”
Some of the data laid bare the disparity between the experiences of men and women in the workplace.
Only 11% of men, compared with 48% of women, believed they were passed over for opportunities due to their gender
“And when you think about when they actually do get into these senior roles, 44% of women say that they are unfairly allocated tasks,” Ms Musoni said.
“Even giving people the opportunities, and then not allowing them this space and opportunity to flourish, is showing as a problem that we need to get behind and think about how we overcome that,” she added.
Rachael Flanagan said one of the most important incentives for women to pursue leadership roles was to witness the success of others.
“If you can’t see it, you can’t be it,” she said.
