Industry Focus
Women in LP
There is a saying about women in business—If you are going to break through the glass ceiling, don’t wear a skirt! Although said by a man, there is a secondary, more implicit message that you have to “wear the trousers” and somehow become “de-feminised” if you want to get on.
The unlikely “poster girl” for this image was perhaps the late Baroness Thatcher who was said to have more testosterone than most of her all-male Cabinet, and was loved and loathed in equal measure for her tough approach to opponents and other world leaders.
According to the U.K.’s Office of National Statistics (ONS) in September 2013, there has been a rise in the percentage of women aged 16 to 64 in employment over the past forty years, and a decrease in the number of men. In April to June 2013 around 67 per cent of women were in employment, an increase from 53 per cent in 1971. The percentage of men in employment during that period fell to 76 per cent from 92 per cent.
A Gender Agenda?
So, why in 2013 is there still salary and power differentiation based upon sex? Is there still really a gender agenda in business? Retail is a largely female industry with women making up 60 per cent of the gender split in the U.K., but most of the top executives and board members are male. This is also reflected in the U.S. with Forbes magazine in the May 2013 issue, asking, “Why are there so few powerful women in retail?” A question that resonates on both sides of the Atlantic.
If the boardroom lacks a healthy dose of oestrogen, the world of retail loss prevention was seen as completely devoid of it and one of the last bastions of male domination. The popular perception has for many years been that the head of LP has to be represented by male, ex-Police officers or military men who measure success by the number of collars felt rather than the external and internal frauds prevented.
The reality, however, is that more women have come into the discipline in recent years and from a wider occupational or sector gene pool bringing with them a wide range of skills and career experience by which to be judged.
Changing Industry
This evolution has not occurred in a vacuum, but has become more of a reflection of the way the industry is morphing to cope with the multi-faceted fraud impacting the high street, whether it is traditional bricks-and-mortar or the online clicks-and-mortar of tablet and smartphone retailing. The focus has broadened for most LP practitioners to looking at both malicious and non-malicious loss.
It is not so much that there are fewer collars to feel, but a question of which battles to fight with a law enforcement community retreating from the front line of retail crime. External shoplifters are no longer seen as the bête noir of the LP department. It is now a wide range of threats, including the “enemy within” meaning the dishonest members of staff who make up to 40 per cent of malicious losses, not to mention the simple day-to-day issues of compliance, education and training, and cross-functional collaboration with finance, operations, legal, procurement, HR, and third-party suppliers.
To meet these challenges, more women have come into the world of LP from a myriad of “sharp-end” operational backgrounds.
Survey Results
LP Magazine EU polled a range of senior female practitioners, many with responsibilities beyond the U.K., about their journey to their current positions. The survey was by way of a straw poll of questions and was deliberately anonymous to encourage more frank feedback.
More than twenty experienced women took part in the survey, collectively representing more than 150 years in retail security. Less than 10 per cent came from a traditional Police background themselves, with the majority coming from other retail departments. This is still the traditional career path for many women in LP. They have worked in general operations as store managers themselves and understand how to lead teams and have experienced dishonest staff and customers first hand. Their move towards loss prevention has often been because of their experience and the fact that they have a flair for investigation work.
Less than 20 per cent have experienced sexist comments or discriminatory behaviour either in retail, or if they came from a Police background, during their time in the force ranks. Five per cent had experienced negative or patronising attitudes while in the retail sector.
Today vs. Yesterday
The respondents were asked what it was like when they came into LP compared to their time now and has that perception changed.
More than 75 per cent said that it was very male-dominated at the time they entered the profession with 40 per cent of those suggesting that very little had changed in terms of the gender mix.
One respondent said, “It is changing, but we are talking baby steps. It is not a significant shift at present.”
Another said, “It has changed to some degree, but not enough.”
One current head of LP said, “When I joined retail from the Police, I was the first woman they had employed in the security department, and I was the first person under 40. All were male with 30 years’ experience.”
Another senior figure said, “I have had Police officers refer to me as the PA and, unfortunately, there are many males in the industry who can be patronising. At times it does feel like an ‘old boy’s network’ still, but I think this is changing. I am seeing more and more women at conferences and events, particularly in the online space.”
Doing More with Less
All argued that operating in an environment of ever-tightening margins required different and more creative approaches to tackling losses. The nature of the challenge and the evolving threats require different skill sets and everyone—male and female LP practitioners—will need to keep abreast of changing technology, the survey findings suggest.
The businesses are putting increasing pressure on LP to do more with less and getting investment for new technology is increasingly challenging.
One respondent said, “In my current role it is more about money not being spent wisely in earlier years, but that was driven by a culture of egos among senior managers. That has changed, and now it is about finding the right solution and the right partner at the right price.”
Softer People Skills
At least half of the respondents referred to “softer people skills” being a broader measure of success.
“People focus is very important in this job rather than just getting the job done,” was another argument.
“We have put all our team through people training, such as Wicklander-Zulawski and Bond Solon, because development skills makes a difference, and it means we are looking to the future and taking good people with us on that journey.”
“I think women bring a lot more conciliation and problem-solving to the businesses they work in,” said another respondent.
Opportunities in Online
Many of the respondents said that the online arena was a “gender leveller” with more women taking on the threats in the virtual world.
“We all need to understand the ever-changing digital world. The online arena has created more opportunities that have not been traditionally seen in security roles. The scope of the job has increased significantly with head count remaining the same. We are now having to look at brand protection, anti-social demonstrations, information security, and PCI compliance. With technology comes more investigative opportunities in respect of social media, which means we are having to re-prioritise workloads. We are constantly reviewing the way we do things in line with the changing risk landscape.”
In this respect, women have been at the vanguard of change and the “professionalisation” of retail LP, calling for greater visibility for the function and more education, particularly of other department colleagues. LP touches almost every part of the business—legal, finance, operations, and HR—and communication is the king or queen maker.
Join the Debate
Getting the business to talk more about its challenges and taking all members of the staff on the journey that increases sales and reduce losses is the Holy Grail. The stores may increasingly have larger glass facades, but there is no longer room for glass ceilings, as more women take an active role in challenging the status quo and reflect the need for new approaches to both traditional and emerging threats.
You can join the debate. ORIS Media is running a round table discussion on Women in LP in the New Year. Contact louise.henham@orismedia.eu to register your interest in taking part.
The stores may increasingly have larger glass facades, but there is no longer room for glass ceilings, as more women take an active role in challenging the status quo and reflect the need for new approaches to both traditional and emerging threats.
