The Intermediary – March 2026 - Flipbook - Page 91
B RO K E R B U S I N E S S
Opinion
Give women
a day
I
’m ambivalent about
International Women’s Day.
There’s a lot of showing off
without change. This year’s
theme was ‘Give To Gain’
which was meant to emphasise
the power of reciprocity and support.
I can imagine a lot of women
wondering why, when they already
give free work both professionally and
personally. Women effectively work
for free from 20th November till the
end of the year.
Instead of performative PR
exercises, here’s a crib sheet. If you
can tick everything off, have a party. If
not, I’d rather you just got to work.
Talent management
Women are more considered in their
career progression than men. They do
not apply till they feel they are ready,
while men are more likely to just give
it a go and learn on the job. As a result,
women can be overlooked when, in
fact, ready for promotion.
Lead the way to gender balance in
your business one woman at a time.
Aim to make the next appointment
a woman – unless you are already at
50:50, in which case, well done!
Stamp out unintentional
discrimination. We oen equate
strong leadership qualities with ‘male’
behaviours. Women oen score
higher than men on measures of job
performance, yet lag behind on ratings
of ‘promotability’. Women’s perceived
ability to fit in with other male
executives is also oen an implicit
issue. This disappears once your
women cease to be ‘the odd one out’.
Ensure that recruiters know that
you want them to provide you with
a balanced group of both male and
female candidates. Don’t believe that
there just aren’t any out there. Make
them look harder.
Search out the women you need.
Find mutual contacts. Pursue them
directly. This is what your competitors
are already doing. Then, make
sure the interviewing panel has
solid female representation – not
just from HR.
Check your CV assessments are
free from unconscious bias at every
stage. Women do much beer when
applications have gender removed.
Analyse leers of recommendation
with an understanding that all
referees (female and male) use
language that tends to underrate
women and overrate men.
If it comes down to two equally good
candidates, take the woman until you
have reached balance. Otherwise, you
will never catch up.
Retention
Women are like the canaries down
the mine. They leave if the culture is
toxic. They also won’t tell the truth
about why they are leaving – usually
for a competitor. Never to stay home
and bake cupcakes. They will take all
your business intelligence with them.
Manage that risk.
Women – and younger generations
– want to know where they stand.
They need feedback, and a roadmap
for their career. It is your job to
recognise the differences between
their needs and the classic male model
of ‘toughening up and walking in
the dark’. Invest in regular, positive
feedback and you will not only get
higher performance, but retain both
modern men and women.
Do not accept resignations without
exploring what it would take to
get them to stay. It is worth the
negotiation to retain valuable talent.
Organise the right experiences to
ensure that women are ‘promotion
ready’ at the same time as their
male counterparts. Progress is oen
slower due to less exposure to new
opportunities, different expectations
and just plain old unconscious bias.
Build a reputation as the kind of
leader who fosters women. You will be
rewarded with great loyalty and it will
be easier to recruit more. You really do
AVERIL LEIMON
is co-founder
at White Water Group
not want the reputation that women
just don’t want to work for you!
Having families
The majority of women want and need
to keep working, and fail to return
only because they cannot see how it is
possible to combine child-raising and
a career. It is possible for a leader to
make it all a much smoother process.
Maternity is only one life stage. It
doesn’t define who they are or their
ability to grow in their career. Be
comfortable with the fact that children
are more important than work, but
that doesn’t prevent a sustained high
level of performance.
Have the conversation. Start with
how you value them, ask about their
vision of their own future, discuss
how they are planning the next stage
of their life. Agree what your role is –
what they need you to do, how much
you and they will keep in touch (KIT),
how they would like to carry out their
re-entry.
Provide role models. If you already
have women combining career and
home life successfully, make them
visible to women.
The reason
Diverse organisations achieve beer
commercial results. Their decisionmaking is more creative. They
have a beer connection with their
customers and business partners.
This is not about being nice to the
girls. It is a commercial imperative.
If anyone has a problem with tipping
the balance in favour of women, let’s
remember that the experiment of
giving men all the power and leing
them rule the world doesn’t seem to
be working out. Let’s try handing it all
over to the women to sort out. ●
March 2026 | The Intermediary
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