The big question...

So Business Argus has been asking local business people about their own sectors and how the genders work together and whether the prospects are the same for males and females.

Denise Lovering, Commercial Director, Glenside Commercials, Bedwas

I work in transport which is a very male dominated sector. Although there are a few exceptions, the industry is dominated by men and I am at a loss as to understand why this is.

There are opportunities for women. Traditionally, perhaps they would not want to become technicians but there are opportunities in customer services, after sales and sales, areas where women do very well and which provide an excellent first step for those working towards a career in transport.

At a recent mock interview session at a local school, I was heartened to hear the aspirations of some of the girls I ‘interviewed’, though none of them had even considered the transport sector. This school appears to work very hard to help its pupils get ready to face a life in work and this is key for the future I feel.

For the roles I mentioned we need literacy, numeracy, good conversational skills and the ability to work without supervision, business needs to work more closely with schools/colleges to make sure the skills that are needed in the workplace are being addressed by education providers.

Gareth Jones, director of Audere Medical Services Limited in Usk

We service and validate medical decontamination equipment in NHS and Private hospitals throughout the UK. There is almost a 50/50 in the number of male and female managers we work with in the hospitals’ Sterile Services departments. However, the vast majority of engineers who work for companies like Audere who are responsible for undertaking the servicing, validation and maintenance work in these departments are male. We have recently employed our first female engineer who joins our team of 23 male engineers. When we recruit we advertise our vacancies across the UK and all the applicants are nearly always male. Women are equally as capable as men to provide the services Audere does but there aren’t any applying for the roles. It is disappointing, but when you hear in the news about the falling numbers of female students pursuing careers in engineering related industries then it isn’t that surprising. Perceptions of industries like ours need to change and this should be done through education.

John Newell, director of Kingston Newell estate Agents in Newport

In my opinion, men and women are treated equally in the estate agency industry and compete on a level playing field to progress through the ranks. I don’t think there are any glass ceilings as everyone is measured on the results they achieve and their customer service skills. There are as many female owners and managers of estate agents as there are male and this has been the case for many years.

Dan Smith, director of M4 Property Consultants

Commercial property has been, and is still to this date, a male dominated industry. However, this has been changing in recent years with the number of women entering the profession definitely on the increase. Over time more and more women will reach the top of the profession and this will inspire others to follow in their footsteps. Personally, I see no reason why women with the necessary qualifications, skills and desire cannot succeed in the industry.

Kirsten Tuck, Partner, Everett Tomlin Lloyd & Pratt

The legal profession has traditionally been male dominated and slow to embrace change, although the ratio has evened out considerably over the past 10 years or so and last year there were more new female solicitors than men. At partnership level, women remain in the minority and many firms have set targets and quotas with a view to addressing this. I think that women with families would find it hard to progress in firms which encourage long working hours, and consider that promoting a good work/life balance is a positive for all staff. Those who perform well and contribute to the business as a whole should shine through, and the key is to identify those people, regardless of gender, and provide them with opportunities and encouragement to progress.

Paul Byett, managing partner of UHY Hacker Young chartered accountants

The accountancy industry has a significant gender gap with only three of the top 50 firms having more than 25 per cent of female partners. Studies suggest that women make up just under 50 per cent of employees but under 20 per cent of equity partners. This situation is both baffling and surprising given our local experience. We are proud to have two female equity partners out of five in total so we buck the trend substantially. Everyone is treated equally within our meritocratic firm so any idea of glass ceilings is totally alien to us.

Luke Welsh, Employment Law Solicitors, Howells Solicitors

Although the lack of women in senior positions is a global issue, not just an issue in the UK, it still doesn't cease to amaze me how much sexism goes on in our modern day society. CVs are already recommended to be stripped of information relating to the applicant's age, race and potential disabilities - perhaps the next step is to ensure that CVs are desexualised. A further suggestion could be to make it a legal requirement that businesses have a certain percentage of females within their business, however it seems impractical to implement further regulation, particularly as we are only just recovering from the effects of the recession. One thing's for certain - although we've developed in leaps and bounds with battling sexism and glass ceilings in business in recent years, we still have a long way to go...

Gareth Morgan, director, Liberty Marketing

We employ a team of 30 digital marketing specialists and have a 50/50 split in terms of women and men. Digital marketing is still in its infancy compared to other industries and doesn’t suffer with the sexist prejudices that some might still have. We work with the students and course leaders at the local Universities and there is a very healthy mixture of men and women coming through the ranks. Both sexes are equally capable of producing great work.

Helen Barry,Partner, Quality Solicitors Rubin Lewis O'Brien

Historically the legal profession has been male dominated however over the last few years women have increasingly joined the profession with 48 per cent of all solicitors being women. Since 2002 the number of women in the profession has increased by 77 per cent. This increase in women has meant that more women are becoming part of the senior management teams and flexible working is increasing. This is enabling women to break through the glass ceiling.