The Commission's Sex and Power 2008 report, and the issues raised by it, have received wide coverage in the media.
There are several comments pieces in the nationals.
Broadcast media included:
In The Guardian, Decca Aitkenhead interviews Nicola Brewer as part of the launch of the Sex and Power report. The interview highlights that old fashioned working practices are not just a problem specific to women.
Reaction to the Commission's Sex and Power 2008 report continues to feature prominently in the Sunday papers. The Sunday Times News Review section asks why women and top jobs aren't mixing. The feature looks at talented women who are 'opting out' in increasing numbers. Also in the Sunday Times, columnist Rachel Johnson suggests it is a 'very male take on things to think everyone is chafing to spend their whole lives in the office'.
In the Sunday Telegraph, columnist Jenny McCartney also explores the issues raised by the report, and suggests the ceiling is composed of many different substances, and not all can be sourced to unfeeling employers. McCartney goes on to look at the women who 'opt out' to be stay at home moms, and warns that the 'new heavily glossed image of motherhood' presented in many women's magazines is a deceptive one.
The Observer's Business and Media section points out the women are bucking the trend in fund management. In a related article for the business section, the paper reports that almost half of the women in senior positions in investment banking have no children. In the same paper, columnist Catherine Bennett asks, 'Why Women and snails still have so much in common'. Bennett expresses her frustration that after three labour governments, the progress of women's equality moves at a painfully slow pace.
Independent columnist Janet Street Porter writes, 'women have brains as well as babies, and they're going to waste'.
The Sex and Power 2008 report continues to receive widespread coverage and comment including the Independent, in which Yasmin Alibhai-Brown argues that the report understates the problems faced by women, while the Financial Times includes an analysis of women’s representation in the UK’s top law firms. In The Guardian, Emily Bell builds on the report to analyse diversity in the media sector generally.
The coverage of the Sex and Power report continues. In a letter to the Financial Times, Dr Regina Herzfeldt argues that parents often make the best leaders, while Monday’s Evening Standard says that ‘city sexists should hang their heads in shame.’ The Lawyer reports that more women are breaking into the top ranks of law firms – which contrasts with the overall results of the report. The Lawyer also points out that the report didn’t survey the top commercial law firms and chambers.
Regeneration and Renewal, EUbankers.net, The Weekly Telegraph, and Shields Gazette report on the launch of Sex and Power. The Evening Standard reports that 3i have just appointed Julia Wilson as group finance director. The appointment comes just as the report has highlighted the lack of senior women in FTSE 100 companies. The Standard also reports on the research by The Lawyer that says that there has been a rise in the number of senior women working in commercial law. Catherine Ostler says that Mumtrepreneurs are still dependent on 'the state of their childcare and their bank balance.'
The coverage of the Sex and Power report continues with comment from Andrew Taylor in the Financial Times, which quotes Nicola Brewer and agrees that there is now 'an avoidable loss of talent at the top.' In The Guardian, David Teather looks at the international success of women in business and notes that four best paid women in the FTSE 100 are all North American. While in The Daily Telegraph, Widget Finn highlights the FTSE 100 Cross Company Mentoring scheme which aims to help move from the 'marzipan layer' to the positions at the top. In The Independent, Kate Hilpern looks at what is being done to address the under-representation of women in science and technology industries. People Management, The Irish World Newspaper and Whitehall and Westminster World have also covered the report.
The Daily Mirror follows up on the Sex and Power Report, with a survey showing that women’s pay still lags behind their male counterparts and at the current rate it will be 2195 before women’s pay is equal.
The Local Government Chronicle includes a letter from Anjana Patel in response to the Sex and Power report. In the letter she says the Commission report 'highlights part of the challenge faced by all public sector bodies in ensuring they are fully representative of the communities they serve.'
Professional Adviser also comments on the report.