Interims continue to be crucial to workplace, but women struggle in boardroom
16 January 2014
Interim managers, and women especially, will continue to be a crucial part of the UK’s labour market during the coming year, according to the latest data from the Interim Management Association (IMA).
Thu, 16 Jan 2014Interim managers, and women especially, will continue to be a crucial part of the UK’s labour market during the coming year, according to the latest data from the Interim Management Association (IMA).
During the third quarter of 2013, joint turnover by IMA members’ firms stood at £42m comparable to the previous quarter, and an increase of 29% from the first quarter of 2013.
The latest survey of IMA members also highlights that 36% of interims are women – a figure that continues to increase, and the highest recorded since 2010.
Jason Atkinson, chairman of the IMA and managing director at Russam Interim, cites the Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s (REC) ‘Client Paradox’ paper, where the theme of 'market and employment practices having changed forever' is noted.
“Interims are re-skilling and re-inventing themselves to stay one step ahead. They are also getting younger, and increasing numbers are women,” Atkinson says.
Elsewhere, gender issues in business is again highlighted in the boardroom. Research from interim management and executive recruitment specialist Executives Online shows that while 71% of top executives believe gender diversity in the boardroom is always a good thing, nearly a third (29%) of all senior executives doubt its value altogether.
James O’Brien, managing director of Executives Online, says: “These figures show that there are clearly still a significant number of senior executives who don’t support the theory that gender diversity in the boardroom is good for business.
“This comes at a time when gender diversity is a hotly debated issue and the number of females in top executive roles is still low, having dropped from 6.7% to 5.8% internationally [according to ‘The Female FTSE Board Report 2013’ from Cranfield University School of Management].”
During the third quarter of 2013, joint turnover by IMA members’ firms stood at £42m comparable to the previous quarter, and an increase of 29% from the first quarter of 2013.
The latest survey of IMA members also highlights that 36% of interims are women – a figure that continues to increase, and the highest recorded since 2010.
Jason Atkinson, chairman of the IMA and managing director at Russam Interim, cites the Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s (REC) ‘Client Paradox’ paper, where the theme of 'market and employment practices having changed forever' is noted.
“Interims are re-skilling and re-inventing themselves to stay one step ahead. They are also getting younger, and increasing numbers are women,” Atkinson says.
Elsewhere, gender issues in business is again highlighted in the boardroom. Research from interim management and executive recruitment specialist Executives Online shows that while 71% of top executives believe gender diversity in the boardroom is always a good thing, nearly a third (29%) of all senior executives doubt its value altogether.
James O’Brien, managing director of Executives Online, says: “These figures show that there are clearly still a significant number of senior executives who don’t support the theory that gender diversity in the boardroom is good for business.
“This comes at a time when gender diversity is a hotly debated issue and the number of females in top executive roles is still low, having dropped from 6.7% to 5.8% internationally [according to ‘The Female FTSE Board Report 2013’ from Cranfield University School of Management].”
