Career structures for women in the water industry in the UK, with particular reference to Anglian Water

This dissertation addresses the relative career success achieved by men as a group compared with that achieved by women as. a group within the 'white-collar' workforce of the Anglian Water Authority.
Hence the research on the grading and job distributions and also into the perceptions of the study group are all related to one complete work enterprise. It should be noted, however, that since all of these people were in AW's employ comparisons are not made with others who might have applied to work for AW in different circumstances.
In 1984, when the analysis of the jobs, their interrelationships, the occupancy by the sexes, qualifications, age and length of service was carried out, there were 3185 white-collar staff. Of these, 857, approximately 27% were female.
At that time, and still today, Anglian constituted approximately 10% of the UK water industry. Whilst the workforces of the other nine water authorities are outside of the scope of this thesis, it can nevertheless be reasonably assumed that the findings at Anglian would be mirrored throughout the water industry. The same functions exist.
The same operating ethos applies. The terms and conditions of service are uniform. Officers from all of the authorities and drawn from a wide range of professional disciplines, frequently meet to deal with matters of common interest and to exchange views.
The major elements of work in this dissertation are a literature
search, a study of the workforce and its distribution to jobs, and an analysis of the views and feelings of these employees about jobs/careers and their own needs from their working lives.
These views being acquired by the questionnaire process in the autumn of 1986.
The overriding aim of this entire piece of work has been to detect any differences which might exist between men's and women's career success at AW and then to seek explanation for such that were discerned. It is hoped that the outcome has provided rarely available evidence from the practices of one large employer, that sheds light on the complex and socially important subject of equal opportunity.