51 per cent of the UK population is female, but only 32 per cent of our MPs are women. 43 per cent of NHS chief execs are women, but 77 per cent of its employees are female. Professor Karen Johnston’s research demonstrates that the lack of diversity in organisations makes for poor performance and lack of trust. And it’s not enough just to legislate for change.
You can’t build a bridge without breaking glass
There’s an old, groan-worthy playground joke, designed to embarrass as much as to get a laugh. It opens like this:
"What do you call a lady doctor?"
To make it work, the instigator must instantly pounce on any hesitation, to proclaim:
"A doctor, you sexist!"
It may not be wit worthy of Oscar Wilde, but it has probably endured because, for all the advances achieved by feminism, gender is still baked into professional stereotypes. And that’s no laughing matter
