Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Equality, diversity and inclusionGenderLatest NewsLine managers

Gender equality facing growing backlash from male managers

by Jo Faragher 16 May 2022
by Jo Faragher 16 May 2022 CMI chief executive Ann Francke has warned that gender equality efforts risk regressing
Shutterstock
CMI chief executive Ann Francke has warned that gender equality efforts risk regressing
Shutterstock

A third of male managers think that too much effort is placed into supporting gender equality at work, a survey by the Chartered Management Institute has found.

The poll found that 33% of men felt there was too much emphasis placed on achieving gender balance, compared to 13% of women. Almost half (47%) of female managers feel too little effort goes into gender equality.

Two-thirds of managers think that businesses can successfully navigate future challenges without gender-balanced leadership, while only a third of female managers feel this to be the case.

Many female managers felt they had missed out on opportunities because of their identity, according to the CMI. Thirty-seven per cent of female managers with children said they’d missed out on promotion, for example.

Almost three in 10 managers said they had missed out on salary increases – but female managers with children were far more likely to say this was the case, with 33% saying this had happened compared to a fifth of male managers.

Gender equality

Women in finance: Aviva CEO slams sexist comments at AGM

Twice as many men as women hold company share options 

Advancing gender equality in the workplace

The move towards more flexible working since the pandemic has helped more women to juggle home and work life, however. Six in 10 managers of both sexes said flexible working had opened up job opportunities where previously it might have been difficult to balance office-based and remote work.

Last week, Aviva Group CEO hit back at sexist comments made during the company’s annual general meeting

One investor claimed women were “good at basic housekeeping activities” while another asked whether she should be wearing trousers.

CMI chief executive Ann Francke said this was just one “highly public example of the inequalities that exist at every level of organisations”.

“We have a long way to go still, yet CMI data is starting to pick up resistance and perhaps even early signs of backlash amongst many men,” she said.

“Men have the potential to be great allies in achieving gender balance. But there has been too little effort devoted to communicating the enormous benefits that greater equity offers including for better business and organisational performance as all talent is better developed and deployed.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“Progress is far too slow, and these concerning findings even suggest that the prospect of us regressing is ever-present. Poor recent progress on gender pay gaps reveals the uphill challenge we still face.

“If anything, many are over-optimistic on the rate of current progress and the distance yet to be travelled. Yet, we know how important gender-balance is and what works to make a positive difference.”

D&I opportunities currently on PT Jobs


More D&I jobs
Jo Faragher

Jo Faragher has been an employment and business journalist for 20 years. She regularly contributes to Personnel Today and writes features for a number of national business and membership magazines. Jo is also the author of 'Good Work, Great Technology', published in 2022 by Clink Street Publishing, charting the relationship between effective workplace technology and productive and happy employees. She won the Willis Towers Watson HR journalist of the year award in 2015 and has been highly commended twice.

previous post
Lack of flexibility pushes half of women to consider leaving job
next post
Crumbling school buildings ‘risk to life’ suggests leak

You may also like

Consultation launched after Supreme Court ‘sex’ ruling

20 May 2025

RCN warns Darlington NHS trust over single-sex spaces

16 May 2025

EHRC bows to pressure and extends gender consultation

15 May 2025

Culture, ‘micro-incivilities’ and invisible talent

14 May 2025

‘Unacceptable to question integrity’ of Supreme Court judgment

2 May 2025

Tackling suspect gender pay gap data

30 Apr 2025

Trans ex-judge to appeal Supreme Court biological sex...

29 Apr 2025

EHRC: Interim update on single-sex spaces draws criticism

28 Apr 2025

Opposition to Supreme Court sex ruling is ‘wishful...

22 Apr 2025

Supreme Court transgender ruling: ‘common sense’ or ‘incredibly...

17 Apr 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+