Mind the gender gap

AS STELLA David prepared to put the finishing touches to a £260 million deal for an Irish drinks business, she completed an extraordinary week. In the space of five days, two high-flying females were revealed to be earning almost £2m a year while David was leading the historic William Grant whisky firm into a new market.

Their progress has not gone unnoticed by those fighting the traditional gender battle and who are now seeing the emergence of a new elite group of power women in Scotland.

The appointment of Jackie Hunt as chief financial officer of Standard Life followed revelations that Katherine Garrett-Cox was on a 1.7m pay package, making her one of the country's top salaried women and one of the growing number of millionaire female directors now peppering boardrooms around the country.

Women are landing top jobs across a range of sectors and challenging the stranglehold on decision making traditionally held by their male counterparts. Yet there remain doubts as to just how much has changed and whether the glass ceiling has been finally smashed. Many of the women who have scaled the corporate heights are unwilling to discuss the subject publicly. Generally, they demur on the grounds that their gender has no impact on the businesses they run and the jobs they perform. "The concern is that you get branded as a rampant table-bashing feminist," says one senior woman in Scotland's corporate sector. "You run the risk that things become over-simplified, and you can lose your credibility."

There is also evidence that some women, faced with ongoing hostility, just find it isn't worth it to keep fighting the corporate battle. "Most of the women I know have come out just because they didn't want to deal with the politics any more," says Margot Grantham, regional director for the Athena Network in Scotland.

Many of Athena's members have previously worked in the corporate world, but have chosen to shift gears by setting up their own businesses or joining smaller organisations. Grantham says women on the whole seem more likely to consider the long-term implications of their career decisions on other aspects of their life, such as children, partners, personal wellbeing and leisure pursuits.

"Rather than the glass ceiling always being the problem, we sometimes put all of these emotional constraints on ourselves," she says.

While most concede that personal circumstances are a factor, advocates for more women in the corporate power structure insist that external elements pose a bigger barrier than internal ones.

Ruth Sealy, deputy director at the Cranfield School of Management, notes there was a discouraging drop in the number of UK companies with female executives last year. The school's latest Female FTSE report found that women filled only 12.2 per cent of all directors' posts within the UK's largest 100 listed corporations.

"We would like to believe that we have a meritocratic system," Sealy says, "but if we had a meritocratic system, we would not have men holding 90 per cent of all the top jobs."

It isn't just a matter of men holding all of the highest-ranking posts, either. A recent study from the Institute of Interim Management found that although women are starting to dominate the market for interim managers, they are paid up to 30 per cent less than male counterparts in the same role.

"That is just indicative of so many of the issues," Sealy says. "From an organisation's perspective, how can that possibly be acceptable?"

Anne Richards, chief investment officer of Aberdeen Asset Management, says she has never really felt disadvantaged by her gender. Although she concedes that a better balance in the boardroom is desirable, she adds that absolute parity would be almost impossible to achieve.

"I don't think that should be an ambition per se," Richards says. "As long as there is no bias against the women who want to be there, then there is no problem."

She believes much of the current male predominance in the boardroom can be traced to informal relationships that meant men mainly met only other men in the course of business networking. It is a natural human reaction to favour people you are familiar with, she says.

After many years of working in high-ranking financial roles across the manufacturing, aviation and pharmaceutical sectors, Louise Roberts set up her own business consultancy, Positive Outlook, in Edinburgh. She says she was fed up with crashing into a series of glass ceilings.

"As a woman you pretty much have to give more to get to the same level as a man," Roberts says.

"I don't think things are as bad as they were in the past, but if you look at the percentage levels and the salary levels, there is still a great difference between men and women."

One major factor working against women breaking into the top echelons has been the decline in the overall number of executive director positions available across the UK in the wake of recommendations by the Higgs review on corporate governance.

Directorships have been on a steady decline since 1999, creating more competition for fewer seats.

In Scotland, the situation is exacerbated by the relatively low number of quoted companies, making it more likely that top-flight females will relocate to pursue a boardroom post.

However, Richards at Aberdeen Asset believes the country's close-knit business community can also benefit ambitious women. "I think that it can count in your favour, because there is a smaller circle up here," she says.

Jackie Hunt, 42, chief financial officer, Standard Life

Salary: 475,000. Total potential package: 1.7 million.

Describes herself as a "private person" who prefers to focus discussion on business

Jann Brown, 53, finance director, Cairn Energy

Pay and share options: 1.8m.

She has said that she strives not to sacrifice family life for career. After gaining her degree from the University of Edinburgh, she spent several years as a full-time mother before returning to work in her mid-30s as an auditor.

Katherine Garrett-Cox, 41, chief executive, Alliance Trust

Pay package: 1.7m,including pensions and share options

Her decision to give up a reported 1m plus bonus to move to Dundee was greeted with surprise at the time.

Lynne Peacock, 55, chief executive, Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks

Pay package reportedly 1.7m

The first of her family from London's East End to gain a degree, has said she is not aware of having encountered sexism during her career of more than three decades.

Nicola Shaw, 40, director of bus operations, First Group

Pay package (est.) 580,000

Has been ranked among Scotland's most eligible women and recently tipped to succeed Sir Moir Lockhead as group CEO.

Stella David, 48, chief executive, William Grant

Pay package: undisclosed

Joined the whisky firm last June. Her claim to fame is introducing the Bacardi breezer while head of global marketing at the company.