More still needs to be done to promote security as an industry for women, and especially in senior management roles, says the Managing Director of a guarding company. John Fitzpatrick, pictured, MD of Danhouse Security, says that the figure of one in ten security officers as female hasn’t meaningfully moved in the past six years.
While the UK has seen, according to Security Industry Authority (SIA) licensing stats, a six percent increase in the number of licensed female security officers between 2022 and 2023, very few are in executive positions, which means businesses are missing out in building high performing teams, he argues.
John is calling for an industry-wide initiative that better recognises the need for a more diverse workplace. He says: “Companies and industries with a more diverse workforce are proven to perform better than those that are less diverse,” he says, “which makes it an industry challenge, and not just an individual business challenge. The penalty for lagging on diversity is growing.
“Those organisations that employ women in security roles are benefiting from the intelligence, diversity of perspectives and capacity for innovation which comes from having gender-balanced and inclusive teams. Ten years ago, there were very few women in security, other than those providing front-of-house services. While times are changing, progress is woefully slow.”
According to the SIA, applications for licences from women have risen marginally from 9.2pc in 2016 to 10.9pc in 2024. A demonstrable diversity and inclusion strategy enables organisations and industries not only to attract the best people, but also retain the talent they have, John adds. “It makes the industry a more attractive place in which to work, as well as significantly increasing the talent pool for those looking to recruit. This in turn improves the overall quality of the security industry workforce.”
He would also like the diversity conversation not only to focus on gender: “It needs to consider not only gender but also the ‘intersectionality’ of the workforce to represent age, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation and working with a disability status,. It’s certainly something that we are focusing on and benefiting from – but it is not something that can happen overnight. We need to build the trust of prospective applicants and we provide reassurance and evidence that a diverse workforce is welcomed and listened to.”
SIA blog
See also the SIA’s blog – https://thesiauk.blog/sia-at-20/.
