Many business leaders only appoint women to senior boardroom positions in times of crisis and poor performance, a new report has claimed.
The report suggested that women are ‘facing a form of hidden discrimination which leaves them more likely to fail than their male counterparts’.
“Female leaders are all too often set up to fail,” said Dianah Worman, diversity adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) which commissioned the research.
“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.”
However, Worman pointed out that many women are proving their business leadership skills by running their own companies.
“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,” she continued.
“It is in the best interests of business to take action to enable achievement rather than sitting back and hoping for the best – organisations need to open their doors to the leadership capabilities of both halves of the population, regardless of the performance of the organisation.”
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007
