A STUDY OF GENDER IN SENIOR CIVIL SERVICE POSITIONS IN IRELAND

Women make up the majority of those employed in the civil service but are underrepresented at the most senior grades, where key policy and operational decisions are taken. Action 8 of the Civil Service Renewal Plan commits to improving gender balance at each level, including senior grades. The present study was commissioned by a high-level steering group set up to oversee implementation of this action. It draws on a combination of administrative data, reanalysis of the Civil Service Employee Engagement Survey conducted in 2015, and in-depth work history interviews with 50 senior civil servants across four departments. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with staff involved in recruitment and promotion within the public service. This rich combination of data yields new insights into the processes shaping gender differences in representation at the most senior grades of the civil service and thus provides a strong evidence base to inform future policy and practice.


Introduction
Women make up the majority of those employed in the civil service but are under-represented at the most senior grades, where key policy and operational decisions are taken. Action 8 of the Civil Service Renewal Plan commits to improving gender balance at each level, including senior grades. The present study was commissioned by a high-level steering group set up to oversee implementation of this action. The objective of the research is to investigate the factors associated with gender imbalance at the higher levels of the Civil Service. It draws on administrative data from the Civil Service Human Resource Management System, along with reanalysis of the Civil Service Employee Engagement Survey (CSEES) conducted in 2015, based on over 11,000 responses. In addition, in-depth work history interviews were undertaken with 50 senior civil servants, 36 women and 14 men, across four government departments. The four departments were selected to capture a range of dimensions, including the proportion of women at senior grades, the proportion of staff working outside head office and perceived promotion opportunities. In-depth interviews were also conducted with 11 staff involved in recruitment and promotion within the public service. This rich combination of data yields new insights into the processes shaping gender differences in representation at the most senior grades of the civil service and thus provides a strong evidence base to inform future policy and practice.

Current Patterns
Women currently make up 63 per cent of civil servants but only 33 per cent of Assistant Secretaries and 21 per cent of Secretary Generals (see Figure 1), although women's situation has significantly improved over the last 30 years. Moreover, there is marked variation in the representation of women at senior grades across government departments. Men are twice as likely to occupy the position of Principal Officer and above as women of the same age, length of service and educational level. Women have made up an increasing proportion of external appointees to the Principal Officer grade over time but remain underrepresented in their appointment via promotion. At Executive Officer level and above, men's advancement to senior grades is found to be 1.5 to three years faster than that of women in the same starting grades who achieve senior positions. Data for the period 2010 to 2015 show that women were much less likely to apply for Assistant Secretary or Secretary General positions than men but that those who did apply were somewhat more likely to be successful.

Perceptions of Promotion
The study highlighted a number of potential barriers to promotion that are particularly likely to have an impact on women. Firstly, the interviews indicated a lack of structured handover and induction with a 'sink or swim' approach common for those newly promoted to senior roles. Many interviewees spoke of the difficulties they encountered in struggling to get to grips with a very new policy area and a new set of internal and external contacts. Managers reported that they themselves were expected to be proactive in sourcing information and 'reading themselves into' the role. One male senior manager observed: In a context where women typically have lower self-confidence levels than men and reported higher workload intensity, a higher position may appear daunting, something that might discourage women from applying for promotion.
Secondly, lack of self-confidence was itself a potential barrier, with women often feeling that they had to excel in relation to all of the specified criteria. Men and women alike spoke of women needing to be sure that they meet all criteria in order to submit an application, as expressed by one female senior manager: It is a bit of a cliché ... but men tend to apply for promotion because it's going, women tend to be much more careful in terms ofdo they tick every single box? Whereas you know lads who probably have less going for them in a lot of ways but have a more selfassured perception of themselves.
Thirdly, and perhaps the most crucial issue, lack of flexible working arrangements at senior grades was viewed as a significant barrier. Administrative data show that women are much more likely to avail of such arrangements than men but that very few staff at senior grades work less than full-time hours (see Figure   2). The data also revealed that openness to part-time working The pattern of lack of flexible working arrangements at senior levels is reinforced by the long-hours culture described by many interviewees and by the high levels of work intensity reported in the CSEES by those at senior grades. Among interviewees, many spoke of the demands of senior management requiring long working hours (often 12 to 14 hour days), with some regularly working weekends as well. Further, staff that availed of flexible work arrangements and reduced working days often found that this change did not correspond with any reduction in workload.
The CSEES data show work pressure rises steadily with grade and reaches very high levels at senior grades. A large majority (70%) of those at Principal Officer level and above felt that they had too much work for one person, 64% reported that they never had enough time to get everything done and 50% reported that there is not enough time to do everything well. Across each grade women were more likely to report greater pressure than men and the gap was widest in the most senior positions.
Fourthly, promotion chances are seen as being enhanced by having certain kinds of experience in the current role, but these opportunities are not equally distributed by department, location or gender. Women at Principal Officer level are more likely than men at the same grade to be involved in service delivery or direct service to the public, roles that may lack the visibility to enhance promotion chances. Women at very senior levels (Director, Assistant Secretary or above) are markedly more likely than their male colleagues to work in service delivery or corporate support, so even very successful women may be more confined to certain occupational niches. Overall, women are less likely to be involved in policy and programme implementation. Since 'policy' is the area most associated with senior positions in the civil service, men's greater access to such work is likely to be an advantage in promotion competitions.

Barriers to Promotion
The study findings point to a number of factors that could facilitate the promotion opportunities of all staff but are likely to have particular benefits for women, given the barriers identified in the study. The confidence of staff, especially women, is likely to be enhanced by a structured period of induction and/or handover as staff move from one role to another, reinforced by mentoring and coaching. Such an approach is also likely to greatly enhance The lack of flexible working arrangements and heavy workload requiring long hours among those at senior grades raises a more general issue of the appropriate nature of work organisation at senior levels. To enhance the quality of work generally, and to achieve real gender equity, a greater openness to flexible working arrangements across grades and functions is required.
There is a need for ongoing monitoring of the profile of women and men applying for, and being successful in, promotion competitions. Information is needed not just on promotion rates by gender but on the profile of the potential pool, actual applicants and successful candidates in terms of age and family responsibilities. There is considerable potential to use the Civil Service Employee Engagement Survey to collect additional information, especially on family responsibilities and length of time in current position, thereby identifying groups of staff who face barriers in applying for promotion, as well as those who succeed in doing so.