Analysis: Retail’s ambassador for women in the boardroom

The debate about the number of women in top retail roles has rumbled on for years - from boardroom quotas to mentoring, every option has been discussed.

But no answer has been found just yet. The number of women in senior roles in the wider business world is still far outnumbered by men - just 17.3% of FTSE 100 board positions are held by women, according to the Women on Boards Government report in April 2013. The Government has set a voluntary target for all FTSE 250 companies, asking them to ensure at least 25% of board members are female.

Retail performs better than some other industries, such as finance, but women in senior positions are still in the minority. At present, 40% of John Lewis Partnership’s board of directors is female, 30% of Sainsbury’s board is made up of women, 28% of the board is female at Marks & Spencer, Tesco’s board is 25% female and Kingfisher’s is 22%.

Women who have made it to the top should be able to offer advice on how to improve the situation, but it’s relatively rare that the sector hears from them on the subject.

Elaine Wrigley, head of retail at New Look, was appointed as a Specsavers Everywoman in Retail Ambassador in September 2013, and says there are a number of issues that need addressing.

She says that with effective mentoring and full acceptance of female-friendly working practices, UK retail boardrooms could be far more representative of their staff in terms of gender balance. But there are significant hurdles to overcome.

Image problem

The first challenge is to improve retail’s image among young women, she says. “I still think there is a lack of understanding outside retail in terms of the sorts of opportunities it can offer,” she says. “I don’t believe that many people go through school saying ‘I’m going to be successful in retail’.”

As part of her role as a retail ambassador, Wrigley plans to address the issue by visiting young women in schools and universities to explain that retail is about more than being a shop assistant - and showing by example that women can reach senior positions.

She has first-hand experience of this lack of understanding within the education system. Wrigley’s daughter, currently at university, was once given a pep talk by a school teacher encouraging her to work hard: “The teacher actually said to my daughter ‘You have to be careful, or you are going to end up working in a shop’.”

Wrigley says senior retailers need to work hard to change this perception of the industry. “I don’t think there is necessarily enough encouragement, through schools in particular, for either girls or boys to go into retail as a strong career route.”

She adds retail needs to focus on the unique opportunities it provides. “Retail has afforded me opportunities I don’t believe I would have had anywhere else. I was lucky enough to go out and work in Greece for Marks & Spencer, work in an entirely different culture and set up a new business. I’ve been fortunate enough to work within the fashion, food and DIY sectors, which has really helped to broaden my experience,” says Wrigley.

Retail role models

But the challenge is not over when ambitious young women choose a retail career. Flexible working arrangements, for instance, can greatly improve the career potential of women as they reach management positions, she says.

With four children, Wrigley has faced the conflicting demands of work and home that are familiar to many working parents, and says it is vital that companies stand by their values from the top of the business to the bottom.

She says mentoring and making sure advice is available can help: “[At New Look] we have great role models within the business, in that we have four female main board directors. Certainly there is the opportunity to be mentoring younger women through the business and helping them plot their course.”

She concedes, though, that this is not the case across the industry and says she has worked at businesses where commitments to female-friendly policies are only skin deep.

“What the businesses said they had in terms of values actually didn’t prove to be the case,” says Wrigley. “It isn’t always going to be easy and sometimes you have to make tough decisions. It is important that we do champion what is an acceptable way of working
that encourages women to operate in that business.”

Stand up for what’s right

Wrigley says she encourages women entering retail not to put up with behaviour they find unacceptable, whether that is overt sexism or unequal treatment. “It would be difficult for me to say it happens a lot, but I do think it still happens and I have certainly encountered it during my career path.”

She adds it is crucial that women stand up for themselves when necessary. “One thing that I would say to any woman, not just in retail but in any industry, is that if the behaviours aren’t conducive or acceptable you should absolutely push back - you should always stand by your values.”

As ever, it’s role models and mentoring that are often the most important elements of boosting the number of women in senior positions. “Strong mentorship is really key. I have definitely had people that have been there for me, that have made a massive difference over the years,” Wrigley says. Retail needs to make it clear to younger women that there is a place for them at the top.