But male bosses still remain more popular than female bosses

Luton, 19 September 2011. UK employees want their organisations to employ more female managers, according to research by Randstad, the world’s second largest recruitment and HR services company.

Randstad’s quarterly Workmonitor report of over 400 UK workers showed that over a third of them (36%) think that the performance of their organisation would improve if it had more female senior managers.

However, when there are equally suitable candidates for manager positions, 34% of respondents believe their employer tends to choose a man, regardless of the current male/female ratio.

Forty three per cent of respondents felt that working part time is definitely possible in a management position. However, when thinking about themselves, many respondents, in particular 56% of men, were concerned that if they went part time it would hinder their career.

In spite of the respondents indicating that the number of female managers in their organisation needed to increase, the research showed that 15% more workers said they personally would rather have a man as their immediate boss than a woman.

Interestingly, only 27% of female respondents (compared with 39% of men) said they preferred to work with other women.

Mark Bull, CEO of Randstad UK and Middle East, said: “Our survey shows just how complex gender dynamics in the workplace can be. On the one hand people are eager to see more senior female figureheads and believe that this would make a key difference to company performance. Yet on a day-to-day level, the old stereotypes about preferring to work for a man seem to be holding sway.

"It's also worrying to see that part time working is a concern for many male workers keen to progress their career. Whilst the battle of acceptability amongst female employees is starting to be won, it seems UK plc has overlooked the fact that some men in particular feel there is a stigma attached to their desire for flexible work patterns."

ENDS

A complete press report, including regional differences, is available at http://www.randstad.com/press-room/research-reports

The Randstad Workmonitor

The Randstad Workmonitor is published four times a year and covers 29 countries around the world, encompassing Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas, making both local and global trends in mobility regularly visible over time.

The Workmonitor Mobility Index, which tracks employee confidence and captures expectations surrounding the likelihood of changing employers within a six month time frame, provides a comprehensive understanding of job market sentiments and employee trends. In addition to measuring mobility, also employee satisfaction & personal motivation, as well as a rotating set of themed questions are part of the survey.

The quantitative study is conducted via an online questionnaire among a population aged 18-65, working a minimum of 24 hours a week in a paid job (not self-employed). The minimal sample size is 400 interviews per country, using Survey Sampling International. Research for the third wave 2011 was conducted from 18 July to 8 August 2011.