The fact that no women were finalists, or indeed even nominated for, this year’s CMYA awards, can’t be ignored. Like many people, indeed the CIOB itself says the same, I assumed that the trickle of women finalists in previous years would gain momentum until we had a representation that reflects women’s growing role in the industry. That simply hasn’t happened. In 2014, it’s a woeful state of affairs… but what should we be doing about it?
First, industry employers need to ask themselves why so few women are being promoted into the kind of operational project management roles that would make them eligible for CMYA. There will be many reasons why the women who often take on package and design management roles early in their career don’t progress to full project management, but they certainly exist. Employers should examine their culture to see what should change.
Second, the wider industry needs to re-direct its efforts on diversity. There seems to be a concentration on engaging young people, assuming that we only need to bring more of them in – men and women, white, black or minority ethnic, straight or gay – at the bottom end of the funnel and they’ll miraculously rise to the top, at the same rate, until they diversify management teams as well as the “new recruits of the year” PR photo.
CMYA shows it just isn’t happening. Yes, the industry needs to address young people, but also what happens once recruits to the industry leave the comfort zone of the graduate (or apprenticeship) training programme. Diversity isn’t just outward-focused and linked to CSR, it’s about internal processes and annual performance reviews.
Finally, the CIOB also needs, as it already plans to do, to review the CMYA procedures. It rightly points out that there are no direct barriers in the application process. Women, it is agreed, are more likely to be found managing smaller jobs, so it’s a positive that there is no minimum value threshold. But the rules do talk about candidates being “site-based”, a definition that might exclude someone managing a smaller contract from HQ, or a series of re-fits, or employed by a consultancy. Or what about achievements on long term projects, such as Crossrail?
And if the definition of a CMYA project is narrower than it could be, the same possibly applies to the CMYA skill-set. Delivering exceptional results in difficult circumstances is fantastic and laudable. But what if your strength was fostering innovation, or devising a company-wide app, or championing ethical sourcing? If we take a slightly broader view of the skills we celebrate, perhaps we would find a broader range of nominees.
CMYA is a fantastic part of our industry, its winners great role models. But it’s time to see if we can make it more inclusive.
Elaine Knutt, editor
