The report, which is based on a survey carried out by recruitment company InterExec among 100 of the UK’s leading headhunters, has shown that while 51% of headhunters believe that there will be more women in top positions in the future.
The survey asked: “if women are looking to compete on an equal footing, and assuming they are equally well qualified, do you think that they will have to forsake a career break (for any reason), thus having comparable experience in order to reach the top positions”, 53% said yes.
Kit Scott Brown, chief executive of InterExec, commented: “Many of the top headhunters were keen to see more women in senior executive positions, but at the same time believed that, in order to reach those top positions, many of them would unfortunately have to give up any career break, whether it be for health reasons, to travel, or, in particular, to have children. The demands of working in a top executive position are such that, by taking time out – even for a few months – many headhunters felt that women would be losing out on important opportunities to progress their career.”
Do you agree with the findings of this survey?
Photos courtesy of iStockphoto, © Damir Cudic, Image #4060499
