Zurich sees leap in women applying for senior roles after offering all jobs as flexible

• Study with government backed Behavioural Insights Team offers glimpse of post-pandemic future if more employers promote flexible working hours
• Applications from women for management roles jumps 20% following shake-up to tackle gender pay gap
• Insurer appoints a third more women to senior roles after advertising all jobs with part-time, job share or flexible working options
• Zurich sees more than double the number of male and female applicants for roles by adding six words to job ads

Employers that embrace the flexible working revolution post the Covid-19 pandemic could boost applications from women for top jobs by as much as 20%, a newly released study by Zurich insurance suggests.

In a ground-breaking move, last year Zurich became the first company in the UK to advertise all vacancies with the option of part-time, full-time, job share or flexible working.¹

Coupled with the use of gender-neutral language in every job advertisement, this has generated significant change. Zurich has seen a 16%² rise in women applying for jobs and a near 20%³ jump in female applications for management roles.

Alongside an increase in applications, the number of women hired for senior roles as a direct result of the initiative has leapt by 33%. This is a separate Zurich finding reported after the conclusion of the study, although covering the same period.

The findings form part of a wider study⁴ commissioned by the government and carried out by the Behavioural Insights Team. Zurich joined forces with the unit to identify issues that were blocking career progression for women. The research highlighted a lack of applications from women for senior roles. Many of these roles have not previously been available on a part-time or flexible basis and female employees reported that this lack of apparent flexibility was making them less likely to apply.

Between March 2019 and February this year, Zurich advertised four out of five vacancies using the new part-time wording. These are all the jobs that the business deemed viable to carry out under more flexible working terms. Across the board, the adverts attracted more than double the number of applications across males and females for every role. This could indicate that flexible working options are just as important to men as they are to women in today’s society.

The change not only encouraged more applications but achieved a near 10% (8%) improvement in the feeling of ‘belonging’ among existing part-time employees across the UK business.

Steve Collinson, Zurich’s Head of HR, said, “Flexible working can help tackle diversity and inclusion issues we’ve all been battling with for many years. Embracing part-time and flexible work is not a silver bullet. But we’ve seen hugely encouraging results, simply by adding six words to our job adverts. By offering roles that fit flexibly around family life, employers could open the floodgates to a much wider pool of untapped talent. This will also help women progress into higher paid jobs whilst fitting other commitments around their careers. Workers want a new deal and there’s a danger that businesses that don’t get on board, won’t be able to compete for the best and brightest minds.”

The government is committed to levelling up the country, making the UK a place where equality of opportunity exists for everyone. As part of the COVID-19 recovery effort, the Equality Hub and all government departments will be ensuring policy making takes into account the lessons learnt during the pandemic, including the benefits of flexible working.

Minister for Women, Baroness Berridge, said, “The benefits of flexible working have really been emphasised during recent months. We want to see more employers embracing practices such as working from home and returners programmes, which can have a positive impact for both men and women.

“Zurich’s work in this space has proven how effective a simple change to a job advert can be for workplace equality. It is vital that more employers take this on board as we seek to increase opportunities for everyone in this country.”

Case study - Helen Cholmeley

Helen Cholmeley, from Newbury, is a People Technology Consultant at Zurich. For the last decade, the mum-of-two has worked part-time to look after her girls aged 8 and 10. She struggled to move on from her previous job at a telecommunications company because of a lack of part-time roles elsewhere. “I remember realising that looking for career progression would mean giving up my part-time hours and being devastated about the prospect,” she says.

Helen joined Zurich after seeing the new job adverts. “In my first week, my daughter had to have an emergency dentist appointment. I didn't need to worry. I could take the time to be with my daughter without fear or guilt.” Having flexibility at work has also helped her to balance childcare and a career. “I am sure 'mum guilt' will be familiar to many parents. Guilt that you are not spending enough time with your family and that you are not giving 100% at work. Flexibility removes that feeling. I can be a mum and a technology consultant.”

What’s driving the gender pay gap?

Some 78%⁵ of employers who reported their gender pay gap last year had higher average pay for men than women. Part of the gap is associated with women having more caring responsibilities and being less likely to be able to work full-time, which strongly affects wage progression.

Moreover, women who need flexible working arrangements, such as part-time work, may struggle to progress into more senior roles within their organisation. As a result, some decide to leave the labour market, while others get ‘stuck’, due to a lack of opportunities to apply for flexible roles.

Notes:

¹ Zurich’s FlexWork empowers employees to work where, when and how they choose

² A significant increase of 16.4% in the number of female applicants overall (+6 percentage points from the baseline of 36.4% to 42.4%)

³ A significant increase of 19.3% in the proportion of female applicants to senior roles (+6 percentage points from the baseline of 31.1% to 37.1%)

⁴ Behavioural Insights Team 2020: Changing the default: a field trial with Zurich Insurance to advertise all jobs as part-time

⁵ House of Commons 2020. The Gender Pay Gap. Briefing paper Number 7068, 6 March 2020