Anyone here from PwC who is so disappointed right now?

[TeamLauraOrHemione]

As the title says... I am so so sad and disappointed that with the chance to be the first big 4 firm to appoint a female senior partner, we have appointed yet another white man. I'm sure Marco will do a fine job, but talk about emphasising that as a firm we are super good at talking the talk, but awful at walking the walk.

Anyway all official channels are full of the usual sycophants so was hoping there might be someone here who feels like me

Link for non PwC people who have no idea what I'm on about: www.ft.com/content/0c86798f-4eae-4819-8970-40f7d82dc81d

It’s a sad day. I was rooting for hermione

I have worked at EY for 2 years and can’t say it’s particularly women friendly. We talk a lot about diversity but it never seems to get through and make a difference. The gender pay gap is a joke.

This so depressing!

74% of partners at PwC are male yet the theres a 53/47 split make and female across the firm 😭

Oh wow I actually know one of the other candidates

If anyone is quite clued up about firms which really are serious about diversity it would be good to know who they are!

Yes, very disappointed here.

Although not surprised, to be honest. It has always been a boys club, and will continue to be for the next four to eight years.

I am yet to come across a firm that is genuinely in its diversity. Even ones with senior female leaders still seem to falter along the way although, to be fair, I haven't worked in or with any of those organisations so I'm willing to believe I'm wrong.

Lots and lots of talk. Very little action.

And even when it is sort of good, it's bad. I had a client once who had a decent roster of senior female leaders, including one brought in at suitably senior level who was genuinely great. But we weren't allowed to suggest anything that would increase her profile - no press release when she joined, no conference speaking slots, no awards. Why? because.... "we don't want other people to poach her".

Aaah, but now the boys club will be down the local pub rather than at The River Cafe. HUGE progress.

Sorry, i'm really angry today.

Oh which one? They are both great, but I sit in tax and am honestly a bit in awe of Laura Hinton she is so damn bloody good

Are your local female partners also noticeably not liking the LinkedIn posts saying how wonderful it is that Marco got the job? That's at least making me feel slightly better.

No idea about PWC but it’s not the only place/industry without diversity. I was invited to annual county agricultural dinner recently. I was one of 4 women last year in a room of 400 men. This year there was 10 of us. It was like going back in time!

He’s a geezer — chatty, charismatic, bright. He’s not posh, like you see with some of these business leaders

^

That's what they want, right?

I hadn’t noticed, but I’m going to have a look now!

I suspect he's done enough not to be considered too common though. Laura Hinton is famously proud of her roots (screenshot of an interview a few years ago), but I'd hazard a guess that it's all a bit too rough for some.

All the better for the companies who aren't doing this- they get to have strong women candidates. Vote with your feet

Gutted, I started at PwC when Laura was people partner and was so in awe of her, more so when I discovered her background.

Ex PwC here. Sat in Consulting and have worked with both MA and LH. I have a considerably higher opinion of LH. Did Marissa Thomas drop out?

When Kevin Ellis appointed his first board, it was around the time we got a new firmwide messaging function. Some brave soul posted "I'm delighted to see there are now as many women on the board as there are white men called Richard." The comment didn't last long, but some naughty people had screenshotted it...

She didn't get the support in the earlier rounds apparently.

Whats M like?

I only know LH and respect her immensely!

This is brilliant. I was really hoping someone might be similarly brave when it was posted to the News thread internally yesterday, but unfortunately just full of "Congratulations Marco" and "And well done to you too Kevin", like either of them are going to care what some junior person thinks.

I'm not consulting but City, so similar culture.

This is exactly how it works. It's not day to day blatant sexism, you get loads of support in one to ones, plenty of good opportunity projects and great feedback, it's just somehow the guys are seen as ready to promote on much less while you are still earning it delivering those "great opportunities".

Then you age past the "young and on the up" band and get pegged as a super competent safe pair of hands but not a leader.

I’m public sector and this is so true for us too:
Then you age past the "young and on the up" band and get pegged as a super competent safe pair of hands but not a leader.

So many immensely competent middle grade (part time or ex part time) women who just don’t demonstrate ‘leadership’ or something else nebulous and whose applications for promotion somehow never work out.

This is so true! It's like if you 40 without making a director grade that's it little chance after that

I am in banking and this is so true in my sector too. We even have a female CEO and lots of female leaders, but you have to be so much better than the men to be promoted. I am middle manager currently suffering under a male manager much less competent than me, but members of the boys club.

Not PWC, but I worked in Deloitte for several years. For an organisation oozing with money and promising the world to women I've never worked anywhere where women were more overlooked. I never actually had my head patted or a 'never mind, dear', but I could see male managers struggling not to do it.

A company I worked for announced a new Equality and Diversity Committee and proudly displayed it on the website. All middle aged white men with a token white woman from HR. They invited questions for their first committee meeting and I asked if they thought that was a good look... never got a reply.