UWE Bristol’s business liaison manager Aimée Sykes has been included in an international list of future leaders working hard to promote the representation of women in the workplace.
Aimée, pictured, is at number 20 in the HERoes Women Future Leaders Role Model rankings, one of three annual INvolve HERoes Women Role Model lists released last week. 
Supported by Yahoo Finance, the lists celebrate businesspeople playing a key role in breaking down barriers at work for women and are use their positions to keep diversity and inclusion at the top of the agenda.
Describing the featured women as ‘phenomenal role models’, Aimée – the only woman from the South West on the list – said she was honoured to be recognised but added that she was “saddened that it’s 2020 and we still have so much more work to do” to eliminate inequality.
“I am part of numerous communities, at my workplace, across my sector, and within my city, and my place on this list is a testament to the changes they are all making collectively,” Aimée said.
“Some universities have been able to eliminate the gender pay gap, which is fantastic, but we’re not seeing this across the board.
“We’ve definitely seen an increase in women taking senior positions within the sector, but there is a lot of work still to do in ensuring all women, and particularly black women, are receiving these opportunities to progress.”
This year’s HERoes Role Model Lists include high-flying professionals from 26 different countries – more than any previous year.
British success stories have been recognised side-by-side with senior executives from global multinationals, with four British women in the top 10 of this year’s global HERoes Women Executives Role Model List.
Ann Cairns, executive vice-chairman of Mastercard, takes the second spot, with June Felix, the chief executive officer of IG Group at three, Rachel Lord, senior managing director, head of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) BlackRock (number six), and Penny James, chief executive officer at the Direct Line Group (number nine).
Dr Jennifer R. Jackson, president of Capital One Canada, who is based in Toronto, heads the 100 Women Executives List while JiHye Bae, head of credit cards for Standard Chartered Korea (SCBK) tops the Future Leaders list from her base in Seoul.
The release of the lists comes as research by INvolve, in conjunction with HR Data Hub, shows that much more needs to be done to address gender equality in business. An analysis of 250,000 professionals found that 77% of people with salaries over £73,000 are men, while women make up the majority (56%) of those professionals who are in the lowest pay bracket of up to £17,000.
The research also found that women have spent longer in each role at the lower end of the pay scale, but as they become more senior, this dramatically reduces.
For instance, a woman has spent an average of 10 years on a salary of £21,000, compared to a man’s eight years, but has only spent five years at a salary of £165,000, compared with eight for men.
