PAGE 15

Career adviCe 100s of jobs grad interviews Careers fairs reCruiter tips

www.realworldmagazine.com

2010Get a great graduate job

women in power

inspiring Careers for

women

engenderingChange

Control Yourdestiny

REAL.WORLD.TEN.COVER copy 2.indd 1 4/11/09 13:14:10

whatisyouraudit.com/mission

Mission: to findmy placeGraduate Careers in Audit

Everyone has their own missions in life. At theAudit Commission, ours is simple: to make surethat public money – all £200 billion of it –is well spent. So as far as missions go, ours is a very big and very important one. It's also incredibly diverse, taking in everything fromlocal government to health to criminal justice.Vital work, we think you'll agree.

Having doubled the number of graduate placeson offer, we're busy creating a national pool ofauditing talent. Which means your work couldtake you just about anywhere. From the wordgo, you'll enjoy an incredible variety of workand a well thought out mix of on-the-job practical experience. We'll also help you work towards your CIPFA accountancy qualification. And as well as a competitivesalary (between £22,938-£30,346 includingtraining supplements), we'll make sure you'regiven the recognition and rewards your invaluable contribution deserves.

So, what's your mission? Whatever it is, we believe you'll find a way to achieve itthrough a career with us. Find out more atwww.whatisyouraudit.com/mission

FULL_ads.indd 3 4/11/09 14:08:11

2009 is the 81st anniversary of women gaining the vote in the UK.

After all this time you’d think sexual equality, gender

stereotyping, and the ‘glass ceiling’ for women’s career

aspirations would have ceased to be issues. However, the

statistics show sexist attitudes most definitely still exist and

differences in wages between men and women are significant.

According to a report by the Fawcett Society, mothers-to-be

and new mothers experience the biggest discrimination in the

labour market. Women still make up only 11 per cent of the FTSE

100 Company directors, while women working full-time are paid

on average 17 per cent less than men. It’s time companies woke

up to the fact not only employing but also promoting women

can bring significant benefits as their working methods tend to

be very different from those of men. These different perspectives

have an ‘added value’ effect. TEN celebrates the many female

graduates now moving into job sectors previously dominated by

men, including business, law and engineering, and shows

women don’t have to join the boys’ club in order to get on.

Finally, if you have any comments about the magazine, or

you would like some careers advice, feel free to drop us a

line at editor@realworldmagazine.com.

EDITOR’S LETTER

In ThIS ISSuE...4 WOMEN IN POWERThe days of men dominating the engineering

industry are beginning to fade. Thanks to

some serious investment by companies within

the sector, women are entering the profession

at all levels – right up to the boardroom.

6 CASE STUDIESAn engineer and a fire fighter describe what

it is like working in a ‘man’s’ world.

8 TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR DESTINYWomen have always been poorly

represented in the corporate world, both in

the board-room and on the pay register.

Women are not expected to fare well in the

recession either: governments are more likely

to protect jobs in typically masculine fields like

manufacturing and the motor industry, while

the female dominated catering and retail

industries flounder. Although today’s forecast

seems gloomy, the recession may actually

benefit women in the long-term. Whereas

previously women were not considered for

senior positions, the seismic shift in global

business practice will create real opportunities

for them to advance as companies explore

alternative working methods.

10 ENGENDERING CHANGEWhile the number of women admitted to law

is increasing five times faster than the rate for

men, it is still a male dominated field. Four

women with significant experience in law --

Cherie Booth, Tricia Chatterton, Nancy Brown

and Kate Baldwin --give their take on the

gender issue.

13 and 14 CASE STUDIESWomen working in traditionally male areas

detail their experiences in the workplace.

EditorialEditor Dee Pilgrim Designer Yang Ou Design Intern Nathan Nightingale Senior Reporter Catherine WatsonOnlineBrett Singer

SalesPaul Wade

Marketing & DistributionZoe Bowthorpe

Client Services Manager Louise AshcroftManaging Director Darius Norell

Real World22-26 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TJTel: 020 7735 4900Fax: 020 7840 0443 info@realworldmagazine.com www.realworldmagazine.com for job vacancies, careers advice and case studies. Copyright © 2009 Cherry Publishing

No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher. We cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts and photographs or for material lost or damaged in the post. The views in this publication or on our website are not necessarily those held by the publisher.

Dee Pilgrim, Editor

WWW.REALWORLDMAGAZINE.COM RW 3

REALW.TEN10.CONT&ED.indd 3 4/11/09 13:44:53

4 RW WWW.REALWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

Women in poWeR | OvERvIEWRW

Women In PowerThe days of men dominating the engineering industry are beginning to fade. Thanks to some serious investment by companies within the sector, women are entering the profession at all levels – right up to the boardroom. What’s more, Real World is co-hosting ‘Women in Power’, a groundbreaking event sponsored by RWE npower to support women thinking about working in historically male dominated industries.

REALW.TEN10.WOMEN.indd 4 4/11/09 13:45:53

WWW.REALWORLDMAGAZINE.COM RW 5

Women in poWeR | OvERvIEW RW

hen it comes

to gender

equality in

the workplace great strides have been

made in virtually all professions. Take, for

example, the engineering sector:

historically it was heavily male

dominated, but slowly things are

beginning to change, from women taking

on apprentice roles, to female executives

in the boardrooms.

However, the pace of change

frustrates many women and is not helped

by the public perception of the

engineering profession. According to

Women in Science, Engineering and

Construction, 54 per cent of young

females believe that engineering work

takes place in a ‘dirty’ environment and

that it is uninteresting and does not pay

well. Paradoxically, the same body of

research reveals that the older female

population values the importance of

science, technology and engineering –

heralding these industries as some of the

best opportunities for the next generation.

Year after year, it is reported that girls

are producing higher exam results and

more young women are going to

university. In the last ten years, the number

of young women registering on

undergraduate degree courses has risen

by 37 per cent*. However, the increase in

young women adopting computer

science, engineering, and technical

courses is minimal. In fact, in the past

seven years, the number of women

registering for these courses has grown by

only one per cent. On a brighter note, the

Higher Education Statistics Authority

(HESA) reports an increase of nine per

cent in women now starting to study for a

first degree in engineering.

Once in the workplace, women

engineers still often find themselves in the

minority, but many organisations have put

in place programmes to assist women up

the career ladder. At the forefront of

implementing such steps is the energy

company, RWE npower. Developing

female graduates, executives and others

with high potential is vitally important to

the organisation. Within its retail and

corporate functions, it already boasts a

W number of women at director and senior

executive levels, although it remains a

challenge to increase the representation

of women in its Generation business –

traditionally dominated by males.

Despite one or two notable

exceptions, most of the senior jobs in the

RWE npower Generation buisness are

still held by men. However, the ‘brighter

futures’ programme from npower, aimed

at youngsters from school through to

university, means they are seeing an

increase in female talent joining. Although

this is a long term strategy they are

confident their growing reputation for

providing opportunities on merit will lead

to more women developing into senior

Generation roles, in the same way several

women have emerged at the top end of

npower’s retail and corporate

management structures.

In addition to its ‘brighter futures’

programme, RWE npower has teamed up

with Real World to host the inaugural

‘Women in Power’ event. The event’s aim

is to talk openly and honestly to female

undergraduates about the challenges

and opportunities of working in male

dominated industries. It will offer a forum

for asking questions and give practical

advice for dealing with all kinds of

situations that a female graduate may

find herself in.

The event is open to graduates from

any degree discipline but priority will be

given to female undergraduates reading

engineering or science related degrees.

Bob Athwal, Head of Graduate

Schemes, says: ‘We don’t just enter the

debate about women, we are out there

actively promoting careers in science

and engineering to females of all age

groups and backgrounds. While many

companies talk about opportunities for

women – we provide them.’.

If you would like to learn more about

this autumn’s ‘Women in Power' event,

visit www.women-in-power.com »

*Statistics source: Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA)

‘ Real World's mission is to help prepare graduates for life after university and 'Women in Power' fits this brief perfectly.’ Darius Norell

REALW.TEN10.WOMEN.indd 5 4/11/09 13:46:03

Choosing a career in HR puts you at the heart of the organisation, enabling you to make a real difference in influencing business effectiveness.

Get involved in a wide range of opportunities from recruiting and retaining the very best people, to managing change, developing the employer brand or implementing HR best practice internationally.

Support you can rely onAs Europe’s largest HR and development professional body you can rely on our qualifications, membership and a wealth of information resources to successfully launch your career in HR.

Start planning your HR career today

Contact the CIPD on 020 8612 6208

Find out more about CIPD’s new online professional development tool www.cipd.co.uk/myhrcareer

A career in HRMake a difference to the future of business

FULL_ads.indd 4 22/10/09 18:47:23

8 RW WWW.REALWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

‘Take ConTRol of YouR desTinY’Jessica Granatt explores why the future of British business is female.

Women have always been poorly represented

in the corporate world, both in the board-

room and on the pay register. Despite

equality legislation and increased maternity rights, the

latest European Commission figures, published as part of

a new drive for wage equality, state that men earn 21

per cent more than women in the UK, based on the

average difference between gross hourly earnings.

Women are not expected to fare well in the recession

either: governments are more likely to protect jobs in

typically masculine fields like manufacturing and the

motor industry, while the female dominated catering

and retail industries flounder. Women are also more likely

to have family commitments that make it difficult to work

overtime and avoid company redundancies.

Although today’s forecast seems gloomy, the

recession may actually benefit women in the long-

term. Whereas previously women were not

considered for senior positions, the seismic shift in

global business practice will create real opportunities

for them to advance as companies explore

alternative working methods. Earlier this year, at

PricewaterhouseCoopers’ International Woman’s Day

event, all the speakers agreed that women can use

the current climate to their advantage.

Headlining the event was entrepreneur Gita Patel,

director and co-founder of Stargate Capital and

business fund Trapezia, which solely invests in

businesses with a female interest or focus. She

explained that women will have a key role in

rebuilding the financial sector: ‘Though men and

women may operate in the same profession, there are

key gender-specific differences in terms of strengths

and contributions that are a reflection of their

attributes. Consequently, they may perform the same

task but approach aspects of the task differently. Our

purpose should be to capitalise on this difference.

‘The task now is to restore confidence and

credibility. Women’s diverse leadership styles, and their

attitudes to risk are among critical factors that will

contribute to future success.’

PwC’s Advisory practice leader, Kevin Ellis, agreed

that a re-evaluation of business practice will help

women succeed: ‘What the recession has

demonstrated is that the opportunity for new ideas

and doing things differently has never been greater.

People are more open to new approaches and it’s

easier to see the business case for change.’

Supporting women is in PwC’s and other companies

interest, as research by Catalyst shows companies with

more women board directors and women corporate

officers have a higher financial performance than

those with little female representation. Gita Patel

explained that when women are overlooked for senior

positions, it harms both them and their employers. ‘If you

haven’t focused on talent when appointing your

board, then it will be to the detriment of your entire

business. Identify the skills and qualities you want in a

leader and nurture that talent for the boardroom. Less

than 2.5 per cent of venture capital goes to women

entrepreneurs. We need to improve access to capital,

to markets, and to business networks.’

Although it is the responsibility of the business world

to provide more opportunities, women can make a real

difference by supporting each other. Once women

hold high up positions in a company, other female

employees are statistically more likely to succeed.

Networking and mentoring schemes should play an

important part in women’s future success. Gita Patel

concluded with this quote: ‘I have a legacy to leave;

you have a legacy to leave. It’s for our children,

especially our daughters and the time is NOW. Those

who say it cannot be done should get out of the way

of those who are doing it…’ n

REALW.TEN10.DESTINY.indd 8 4/11/09 13:53:10

RWgendeR paRity| women in the city

Ph

oto

gra

phy

: © iS

toc

kph

oto

www.ReALwoRLDmAGAZine.com RW 9

Catalyst’s report on women leaders: http://www.catalyst.org/publication/273/advancingwomen-leaders-the-

connection-between-women-board-directors-and-women-corporate-officers

REALW.TEN10.DESTINY.indd 9 4/11/09 13:53:19

10 RW WWW.REALWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

C herie Booth QC is one of the UK’s leading human

rights barristers and has carved out a successful career

in law appearing in the European Court of Justice, in

Commonwealth countries, and as an international arbitrator.

While she can remember a time when many chambers

refused to acknowledge women, Cherie says there is still some

way to go to ensure equality for both sexes: ‘It’s a simple fact

that women are forced to make choices and there shouldn’t

have to be a rigid distinction between a career and family life.

‘The two can be compatible if employers adopt a more

progressive culture, facilitating flexible working for both men and

women. It should be possible to establish a work-life balance

without having a huge guilt complex or running yourself into the

ground. Having it all might not be feasible, but women can now

have a fairly substantial piece of the pie.’

While the number of women admitted to law is increasing five times faster than the rate for men*, it is still a male dominated field. Here, four women with significant experience in law give their take on the gender issue.

EngEndERing ChangE

Cherie Booth

nancy Brown

REALW.TEN10.ENGENDERING.indd 10 4/11/09 13:48:57

RWthe laW | equal opportunities

WWW.realWorlDMaGaZine.CoM RW 11

Nancy Brown is head of real estate at eversheds in

Manchester. she reflects on positive change in the legal

profession over the last few decades and reinforces the need for

more flexible working: ‘the profession has come a long way

since i began studying 25 years ago, though there is still more to

be achieved. i am a full-time working mum and it’s fair to say

eversheds is ahead of the game, with females making up nearly

a quarter of its partnership. We have the most women in senior

legal positions out of the top ten law firms in the uK.

'there is still more to be done in terms of promoting and

retaining women by using flexible working and investing in

technology to aid remote working. With the next generation

now coming up through the ranks, women are more

determined than ever to gain control of work-life balance. it’s a

cultural shift that every level needs to buy in to.’

tricia Chatterton, regional director of the College of law, is

an ex-lawyer who still works in the field, but whose attention is

now focused on training future law professionals. she comments:

‘We are certainly seeing more and more females coming into

law, with women now accounting for 44 per cent of solicitors. the

lack of parity tends to occur higher up the chain, with far fewer

female qCs and managing partners in firms, in relation to men.

‘salaries are still an issue, with more women graduating with

better marks but earning around 15 per cent less than their

male counterparts in jobs, which is not a statistic that sits

particularly comfortably with me.’

the College of law’s intake reflects the national gender split in

the sector, with 62 per cent being female. although the proportion

of female associates promoted to partner level at the top 30 uK

law firms rose from 25 to 27 per cent in 2008, this is still a reminder of

the lack of female representation at a senior level.

Juggling her work-life balance is something Kate Baldwin is

all too familiar with. as a former employment lawyer for

Cobbetts llp, Kate set up wealth management company

Xentum in 2004, is a part-time lecturer for the College of law,

and is expecting her second child this november.

Commenting on managing a career and home life, Kate

said: ‘setting up my own business was a solution to successfully

achieving a work-life balance, though it is not without its

challenges! i have more freedom in my own business and

adopt flexible working hours to get the most from employees.

‘there is still more to be done to empower men to work more

flexibly given that the percentage of ‘stay at home dads’ is on

the increase and bringing up children is no longer a solely

female responsibility.’

While all four women agree that a good foundation has

been established to promote equality in law, there should be a

continued commitment to striving for improvement. Whether it’s

a glass ceiling or a sticky floor, promoting the female cause is

not something that should be done in isolation. Greater flexibility

should apply to both genders, otherwise one sex is always in a

position of compromise. »*As quoted by The Law Society

Kate Baldwin

tricia Chatterton

REALW.TEN10.ENGENDERING.indd 11 4/11/09 13:49:10