• International Women's Day - 8th March 2010
• Recession could reverse equality progress
• Job insecurity breeding self-protection, presenteeism, and a tougher fight to the top for all

29% of Londoners think men and women in senior jobs are equal, but 30% believe women have to work longer and harder than their male counterparts to get to the top jobs.

The results of a nationwide survey of almost 2000 people, released by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, also shows that 14% of Londoners said women in top jobs in business had a reputation for being aggressive and controlling. This is 2% higher than the national average in the survey, and the highest percentage across the UK.

16% of Londoners said women were an inspiration, with the right skills and attributes for the job, and were great leaders. While this was higher than the national average, but lower than the top ranking from Scottish respondents, where 19% looked to women as an inspiration.

The national survey asked respondents about their views on women in the most senior jobs in business, overall:

• 33% said they were nothing unusual – men and women were equal (29% London)

• 29% said women had to work harder than men to get to the top, and for a longer period of time too (30% London)

• 15% said they were an inspiration to others, and good leaders too (16% London)

• 12% said they had a reputation for being aggressive and controlling (14% London)

• 3% said they were there to make up the numbers, and not as well qualified as men (2% London)

Sarah Churchman, director of diversity, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP commented:

“The City has worked hard to shake off its alpha – male image and environment, but the underlying impression is still that women have to battle harder to get to the top. It’s in our nature to feel we have to prove to ourselves, and others we can do the job. But in the process, employers need to ensure it’s not burning out the best of our City women, because it’s the economy as a whole that suffers when we reduce the pipeline of future leaders.”

Respondents from the south west and Northern Ireland felt the strongest that women had to work harder and longer than men, with respondents in Scotland, East Anglia and Northern Ireland praising women the most for being an inspiration.

Nationally, the percentage of female respondents who felt they had to work harder than men to get to top jobs, was almost twice that of male respondents(39% vs 19%). 44% of male respondents felt women were equal, in comparison with only 23% of female respondents. Only 11% of men thought women were good leaders and an inspiration, nearly half of what women believed to be the case.

Sarah Churchman, director of diversity, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP commented:

“It’s no surprise that men think that equality has progressed more than women. Some men don’t notice the culture of the corporate working environment that remains inherently male. The fight to the top seems to be getting tougher as companies put pressure on learning, promotions, and pay rises. Job insecurity could reverse the progress we’ve made in equality because it breeds self-protection, presenteeism, and a tougher fight to the top for all – but the fight is always harder for the outsider.”

Research by PwC on the impact of the recession on the City found that 74% of women believed the recession will be an opportunity to exit corporate life – using redundancy as a new start, potentially fracturing the pipeline of women’s development for leadership positions in UK business.