Work psychology, the recession and women in leadership

When I was five I was determined to be an astronaut. Reality hit when I heard that astronauts have to jog five miles every day, and I chose to study psychology at the University of York. It was a very scientific course and I loved critical thinking, but I also became interested in the applications of psychology – an evidence-based approach to the big problems we are facing.

After a year off for travel I worked in a secure unit with young offenders. It taught me a lot about the work skills you need outside the lab. I went on to do a PhD, followed by a Masters in Organisational Psychology. After some consultancy work I moved back into academia, looking at the assessment, selection and development of people at work. City University London took me on when I was seven months pregnant with twins – an example of good practice!

I’ve worked on selection interviews and how unconscious bias creeps in that works against women. More widely, managers assess men and women differently. They tend to say men are successful for reasons of ability, and that women are successful because of unstable and less controllable factors like luck or the actions of others. With a PhD student I looked at the banking sector, and these attitudes are also evident there. Men are usually seen as more ambitious, more driven and more suited to leadership.

This highlights a real problem with the way we see men and women in the credit crunch. There’s a tendency to say that we need more women at the top because they manage differently – more nurturing, perhaps, or more risk-averse. But in fact men and women are more likely to have similar management styles and these styles can change. Indeed, there is no ‘one way’ to manage, and people use different styles in different contexts.

What we need is more diversity. The financial services, for instance, tend to be monocultural and this is definitely part of the problem. Some companies have worked hard to recruit and promote more women. There are talent schemes that spot people early career – but if you miss out at that stage, you can be off the radar for leadership initiatives. Women mathematicians, statisticians and IT experts all have a role to play in finance and banking, but those sectors struggle to recruit them because they are seen as having ‘macho’ cultures, and because of the low numbers of women qualifying with those skills.

The credit crunch is an opportunity. It’s hard to bring about change in organisations, especially when they are being successful. But this is a time when people are looking for answers and they are more likely to think outside the box. We need to get together now with key decision-makers to influence what happens.

And we need more women in positions of leadership. Without this, we will not break the stereotypes. This includes women in senior political roles. Become a local councillor! Most are white men aged over 65. It’s a great opportunity for a woman: you can have real influence and we need scientists and engineers in positions of power. Look at the importance of the environmental agenda at local government level, for instance.

Recently, the City University London has funded me to establish and direct the Centre for Work Performance. This is a fantastic opportunity to look at these issues, and bring together research and practice.

Professor Jo Silvester is Director of the Organisational Psychology Group and Centre for Work Performance at City University London. She is a member of the British Psychological Society, the Division of Occupational Psychology and the Academy of Management. She is author of numerous publications, including The Political Skills Toolkit (IDEA).

Find out more about Jo’s work with the Conservative Party, to generate more women MPs at  Times Higher Education and Times Online.