The Unequal Opportunities in Personnel Management Available to Purchase

Women are kept longer in the lower strata of personnel work and the dissatisfaction expressed by personnel women regarding their opportunities for development and promotion are not without foundation. The findings from a study conducted by the Institute of Personnel Management among a 10 per cent random sample of its membership (900 respondents) shows that women are not given the same opportunities for grounding in industrial relations or general management activities at the earliest stages of their careers, being directed instead to traditional “female” personnel areas such as recruitment and welfare. The tendency for smaller firms to employ women means that their salaries are usually lower than men's, and then they are not encouraged into senior managerial training, due to financial constraints. There is an urgent need for more positive action in the development of female personnel managers' careers.