Partner hiring trends in professional services—the gender diversity lens, with Helen Tudor, Sheffield Haworth

Helen Tudor, MD of executive search organisation, Sheffield Haworth, and Fiona Czerniawska, CEO of Source, caught up with Emma Carroll, Source’s Head of Content, on the latest episode of our The Future of the Firm podcast.

Helen and Fiona shared their insight on the following matters and more:  

• There has been a decline in the proportion of female partners appointed, from 29% in 2022 to 26% in 2023. This is against the trend we’ve seen over the past 10-15 years.  

• Firms that hire female leaders from outside their direct competitors and similar organisations achieve greater diversity.  

• In a difficult economic environment, firms want senior hires that can hit the ground running and are less likely to take risks on people who don’t have all the requisite skills or those that will need more investment. 

• Clients themselves are looking to work with more diverse consulting teams.  

• Current employers of strong female candidates will work hard to keep them, and low salary offers (even in the current environment) won’t be accepted. 

• Firms look for people with strong networks, and this can prove a problem for some non-consulting candidates, including those in industry and people who have been out of the market for a while. 

• During restructures, redundancy criteria can inadvertently result in high-potential people exiting. Firms should consider this carefully.  

If you enjoyed this conversation, don’t miss our sister podcast, Business Leader’s Voice. In our latest episode, we debate whether organisations have pursued the cult of leadership to such an extent that they have forgotten how to manage.