Have you ever noticed that women are hugely underrepresented in the security field? This ranges from female door staff to female office workers and there is little argument that suggests it has to be this way.
Why would you employ women? Why not?
Although biologically speaking women are weaker than men, it does not make them any less capable of performing a task. When it comes to working on a door, it may be preferred for there to be a male presence due to likelihood of fights, but it also may be the case that a women’s presence is wanted in order to mediate and convey a softer approach. Either way, women shouldn’t be disregarded from the profession.
When looking at European statistics, you will see that the security industry turns over around €34.572 billion a year, emanating from around 41,000 companies, employing around 2 million workers. Shockingly, only 17% of those employees are women, but why?
Not only is there the difficulty of changing the minds of an older generation of men that are currently in charge of most companies, there is also the problem of retention of female employees once they’ve been hired. This is because they can become subject to discrimination from fellow employees, but also because the recruitment processes set in place are not shaped to mitigate gender discrimination.
Society has finally come to the conclusion that women should be equal, in terms of pay and in terms of job opportunities. Despite this being the general consensus, it will be years before processes are implemented that will facilitate such a change.
Women are known for having better ‘soft skills’ than men, which is vital when working in the security industry because your success is based on whether or not you’re accepted and respected. Women are also better at identifying faults and confronting them in order to move forward. Furthermore, women bring a more inclusive ethos to an organisation, helping with retention of staff and productivity.
At Consec we strive to ensure that men and women are treated equally in terms of job and pay. This is reflected in the fact that we are a living wage employer, and half of our office staff are women. We will continuously strive to promote the employment of women in the security industry.
