Section A
Women who apply for jobs in middle or senior management have a
higher success rate than men, according to an employment survey. But of
course far fewer of them apply for these positions. The study, by recruitment
(征召新成员) consultants NB Selection, shows that while one in six men who appear on
interview shortlist get jobs, the figure rises to one in four for
women. Reasons for higher success rates among women are
difficult to isolate. One explanation suggested is that if a woman
candidate manages to get on a shortlist, then she has probably already proved
herself to be an exceptional candidate. Dr. Marx said that when women apply for
positions they tend to be better qualified than their male counterparts but are
more selective and conservative in their job search. Women tend to research
thoroughly before applying for positions or attending interviews. Men, on the
other hand, seem to rely on their ability to sell themselves and to convince
employers that any shortcomings they have will not prevent them from doing a
good job. Managerial and executive progress made by women is
confirmed by the annual survey of boards of directors carried out by Korn
International. This year the survey shows a doubling of the number of women
serving as non-executive directors compared with the previous year.
However, progress remains painfully slow and there were still only 18
posts filled by women out of a total of 354 non-executive positions
surveyed. In Europe a recent feature of corporate life in the
recession has been the de-layering of management structures. Hilary Sears said
that this has halted progress for women in as much as de-layering has taken
place either where women are working or in layers they aspire to. Sears also
noted a positive trend from the recession, which has been the growing number of
women who have started up on their own. In business as a whole,
there are a number of factors encouraging the prospect of greater equality in
the workforce. Demographic trends suggest that the number of women going into
employment is steadily increasing. In addition a far greater number of
women are now passing through higher education, making them better qualified to
move into management positions. Organizations such as the European Women’s
Management Development Network provide a range of opportunities for women to
enhance their skills and contacts. However, Ariane Antal,
director of the International Institute for Organization Change for Archamps in
France, said that there is only anecdotal evidence of changes in recruitment
patterns. And she said: "It’s still so hard for women to even get on to
shortlists -there are so many hurdles and barriers." She agreed that there have
been some positive signs but said: "Until there is a belief among employers,
until they value the difference, nothing will change." From the passage, we can see that males applicants ______ female applicants for top posts.