This week’s publication of the Gender Pay Gap data has not really yielded many surprises. It’s been an uncomfortable truth that for centuries men have been paid more than women, and the recent data has shown that even in the 21st century it is still true. Moreover, there is no single sector where women are paid more than men, men receive higher bonuses, and there are more men than women in senior roles across all sectors.
Of course, there are many reasons for this, and taking any data at face value is always dangerous.
But here at Anderson Chance, we have always prided ourselves on treating our male and female employees equally.
That said, we have always employed more men than women. That is not something we have chosen to do, it is simply that in our line of work, there are very few female PIs. It has traditionally been a role that seems to attract men. Perhaps they are lured by the (incorrect) promise of adventure and Boys Own daring-do. Whatever the reason, the female PI is in short supply.
It’s not an obvious career choice, and certainly not one you will see filling up the boards at the Job Centre.
But we think that’s wrong.
The female investigators we do employ are worth their weight in gold and we do all we can to hang onto them – mind you, the same can be said of our male investigators.
Rather than make employment decisions based on gender, we recruit based on skillset. If you have the skills we are looking for and can provide our clients with the exceptional level of service both we and they expect, then we would employ you regardless of gender. It’s as simple as that.
The female PI has long been portrayed in a clumsy fashion. It’s either a cosy, elderly Marple/Wainthrop figure, or a blonde, ice-maiden, honey-trap siren. Neither is accurate. But then again, the male investigators we employ are not like Marlowe or Shoestring.
A good investigator, whether male or female, has a set of skills which can comprise (amongst many others) tenacity, attention to detail, superior research skills, foreign language ability, the ability to “think outside the box”, reasoning, problem solving, an analytical brain – we could go on. In fact it’s almost impossible to say what makes a good investigator, as often there is something indefinable about a person which experience tells us will make them a good PI.
Many people say to us “oh I am very nosy” or “I am really good at stalking people on social media”, thinking that this means they will make good investigators. We are far more likely to be interested in the person who tells us they like doing the cryptic crossword.
Whilst it may be hard for us to tell you exactly what it is that makes a good Private Investigator, there is one thing we can tell you: gender has absolutely nothing to do with it.