Women in the noughties

Women in the noughties: is it still a man’s world?

In the age of equal opportunity and political correctness, the thorny issue of sexual equality in the workplace remains a delicate and controversial topic. Analysis of the matter is littered with enough sand-traps to give HR professionals sleepless nights, and is prone to so much generalisation that media coverage of it risks becoming bland and worthless. However, it remains clear that attitudes to gender in the workplace have evolved positively across all industries. Pf explores gender in pharma.

A RECENT STUDY has shown that this evolution continues. Pre-conceived stereotypes of aggressive women in business can be binned today, according to the survey from Orange and Everywoman. Four in five women count themselves as networkers, they are warm, friendly and sympathetic in their approach to networking. The eighties power suits were sent to the charity shop long ago, and the female workforce uses confidence, knowledge and good listening skills to network and get ahead in business.

The myth that hard nosed aggression wins has been dismissed. Forty nine per cent of the female workforce believe the sympathetic approach of Fern Britten is the right formula for successful networking. And a further 20 per cent adopt the quietly determined approach of Ellen McArthur to carry out their networking. Only 14 per cent of women use the same charismatic, assertive and gutsy qualities that Sharon Osbourne represents. Condoleeza Rice’s style of finding out the real deal, along with Ruth Badger’s ‘ruthless’ approach have only been adopted by a few women, with just 10 and eight per cent claiming they use these qualities to get ahead.

British women are also at the core of the digital networking revolution, using this technology to aid their networking. The trend looks set to continue, with three quarters of the female population wanting to find out more about digital networking techniques. They also completely embrace text messaging as a networking tool, with as many as one in three using text messaging more than they did a year ago, compared to only one in four men.

“The woman of the noughties has adopted the friendly approach and is using it to get ahead in business,” said Suzy Edward, Partner Director, Orange. “She is heading the way in adapting to new technologies enabling her to network effortlessly and efficiently. With £4 billion a year being generated as a direct result of digital networking, women are taking full advantage of the technology at their fingertips and using it to drive British business.”

So how do women fare in the world of medical sales? Pf’s 2006 Company Perception, Motivation and Satisfaction Survey provides some revealing insights into the issue of gender. For the third year running, over half of the sample who responded to the survey was female (53%). However, yet again, the statistics show that at both representative and management levels, women appear to be paid less. The median salary for female medical representatives (57% of the ‘representatives’ sample) is £32,000, while the median salary for male representatives is £34,465. Likewise, the median salary for female first and second line managers is £47,100, while their male counterparts enjoy a median salary of £51,090.

Despite this difference at representative level, 63% of women were happy with their remuneration package (including benefits and bonuses), compared to 58% of men. This may be explained by a difference in motivational factors between the sexes; the top motivator for men is salary, whereas women value the relationship with their manager more.

Satisfaction with remuneration is not reflected at management level among women; only 42% of female managers are satisfied with their package, while 60% of men are happy. On a more positive note, according to the sample, there are more women promoted to management with less than 8 years’ experience than there are male managers with similar years’ service.

 

 

 

 

While the survey shows that there is a greater number of male managers than female in pharma sales, an increasing amount of women are progressing to higher levels of seniority within the industry. This month, Pf spoke to AstraZeneca’s Samantha Pearce, whose interesting career path demonstrates the opportunities available within the industry irrespective of gender. Her interview is published overleaf.