Introduction

Abstract

In 1977, Rosabeth Kanter poignantly remarked that women populate organisations but practically never run them, and these words still resonate today, almost 40 years after they were written. While women have increased their numbers in the paid labour market as a whole and in junior and middle management positions and the professions in developed countries, they continue to be poorly represented at senior, decision-making levels in the UK public and private sectors. Equality between men and women has not been achieved in the United Kingdom, despite the introduction of equal opportunities legislation, higher levels of women than men with degree or higher education qualifications in the workplace (ONS, 2013) and the concerted efforts by networks and forums set up to support women in management. While better-educated women are more likely to be in full-time, paid work, this does not guarantee that they will reach the higher levels of employment, such as senior management (Walby, 1997). The situation in the United Kingdom is largely repeated elsewhere in the developed world, with few notable exceptions.