understanding the underrepresentation of women in senior leadership: root causes and solutions elba...
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Understanding the underrepresentation ofwomen in senior leadership:
Root causes and solutions
Elba Pareja-Gallagher
October 16, 2015
@ShowMe50org
ShowMe50
www.ShowMe50.org
Achieving Gender Balanced Leadership
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• The “business case” for gender balanced leadership
• The root causes of the stubbornly low numbers
• An integrated strategy that starts at the top and engages
men
• The solution requires you. We can achieve our potential
and own our success by becoming catalysts for change
inside our companies.
Learn about Solutions
significance
Senior Leadership in Corporate AmericaWomen remain grossly underrepresented
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Women in Management1
>51%
Women CEOs2
Less than 5%
Women Board Directors3
19%
1 Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm2 Catalyst http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-ceos-sp-5003 Catalyst http://www.catalyst.org/blog/catalyzing/disrupting-default-gender-diversity-corporate-boards
9/30/15 Wall Street Journal• Remain underrepresented at every level• Face more barriers and less likely to reach senior
leadership positions• See an uneven playing field—a workplace tilted against
them
Studies show a correlation between gender diversity in leadership positions and improved financial performance
ShowMe50TM infographic. Data source: http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/bottom-line-corporate-performance-and-womens-representation-boards-20042008https://publications.credit-suisse.com/tasks/render/file/index.cfm?fileid=8128F3C0-99BC-22E6-838E2A5B1E4366DF
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“The closer that America comes to fully employing the talents of all its citizens, the greater its output of goods and services will be. We've seen what can be accomplished when we use 50% of our human capacity. If you visualize what 100% can do, you'll join me as an unbridled optimist about America's future.”
- Warren Buffett
Gender Diversity in Leadership Positions = $$$
©2013. Time Inc. All rights reserved. Translated from FORTUNE Magazine and published with permission of Time Inc. Reproduction in any manner in any language in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.
• Boost productivity• Optimize 100% not just 50%
From the pages of
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Leverage Talent
6ShowMe50TM graphic. Data from: http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/why-diversity-matters
Better Reflect the Marketplace
7ShowMe50TM infographic. Data from: http://www.bcg.com/expertise_impact/publications/PublicationDetails.aspx?id=tcm:12-39511
Strengthen Corporate Reputation
8ShowMe50TM graphic. Data from: http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/why-diversity-matters
Increase Innovation
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ShowMe50TM infographic. Data from: http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/first-step-link-between-collective-intelligence-and-diversity
If all that is true, why don’t we have gender balanced leadership?
Root Causes of Gender Imbalance in Senior Leadership
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1
Root Cause
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2
Root Cause
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3
Root Cause
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Root Cause
Root Causes of Gender Imbalance in Senior Leadership
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What’s the solution?
Influence our companies to changeOptimize 100% of the workforce leveraging the ShowMe50 Win-Win Checklist
Who wins? Employees, Customers, Communities, Shareholders
1 Catalyst: Beyond Flexibility, Work-Life Effectiveness as an organizational tool for high performance; 2008.
Education of employees and managers about stereotyping and gender bias
Objective and transparent performance evaluation and talent management systems
Work-Life Effectiveness (WLE) approach to workplace flexibility1
Accountability
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What Does Gender Bias Look Like?
http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7fLH/pantene-labels-against-women
Education of Employees and Managers About Stereotyping and Gender Bias
Provide skill based training to educate managers about stereotyping
Teach techniques to override automatic tendencies to use stereotypes
Implement a system of checks and balances to safeguard against stereotypic bias
Adapted from Catalyst: Women Take Care, Men Take Charge: Stereotyping of U.S. Business Leaders Exposed
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Objective & Transparent Performance Evaluation and Talent Management Systems
Partially adapted from Catalyst: Women Take Care, Men Take Charge: Stereotyping of U.S. Business Leaders Exposed and A Bright Spot Case Study: How Diverse Slate Policies Help Close the Gender Gap
Clearly define and communicate performance evaluation and candidate job selection criteria
Create explicit decision rules about how evaluation criteria are weighted and applied
Post and effectively communicate all jobs internally
Implement diverse slate policies
Utilize panels of diverse, bias-trained interviewers for candidate selection
Publish career development programs and their qualifications
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Establish work practices that create business agility
Use employee needs, interests and concerns about burnout as a catalyst for creatively designing work
Give employees with significant parental responsibilities more time to show they’re qualified for promotion
Establish alumni programs for women who need to step away from the workforce; tap their expertise to show that returning is possible
Work-Life Effectiveness (WLE) Approach to Workplace Flexibility
Adapted from Alice H. Eagly and Linda L. Carli, Women and the Labyrinth of Leadership and Catalyst: Beyond Flexibility, Work-Life Effectiveness as an organizational tool for high performance.
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Accountability
Starts at the top with the CEO
Commit and sustain financial resources
Hold senior management accountable for diversity within all business activities and evaluate managers based on their ability to achieve diversity goals
Show results: move statistics meaningfully toward achieving 50% women in director and above positions
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Integrating men in the gender conversation• Two gender solution
• Engage men in dialogue
• Grow revenue• Improve profit• Enhance reputation
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Infuse Gender IntelligenceGreat minds think unalike
https://youtu.be/ha_BBtu_XME
How do we execute?
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We CHANGE the Landscape
It starts with YOU – your leadership courageOwn your success, be a catalyst for change
Three things we can do to advance women’s representation in leadership positions: (1) invest our time, (2) invest our political capital and (3) invest our money.
- Sallie KrawcheckChair Ellevate Asset Management, past CEO, Merrill Lynch and Smith Barney
LinkedIn Post 5/27/15, What We Can All Do To Close A Gap That Matters
What’s your significance?
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• Create motivation to act
• Provide ability to execute through seven toolkits
Learn the facts and start the gender conversation at work with women and men
1. Introduction and Overview2. Gather Facts About Your Company3. Learn About Gender Bias4. Learn to Influence Change5. Build a Coalition6. Talk to Your Boss and HR7. Sustain Momentum
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Key Takeaways and Next Steps
• Companies will benefit financially when there is gender balance in leadership
• Leverage the free toolkits, presentations, Q&A and other resources on ShowMe50.org to learn the facts and increase your confidence
• Start talking about gender intelligence with women and men at work
• There is power in numbers – join with peers to talk to HR about how you can work together to build a roadmap of policy changes
• We cannot keep waiting for corporate executives to voluntarily change, it’s time to nudge them
Use your political capital to drive a grassroots movement inside your organization
#NoMoreExcuses
Institutional Investors, Corporate Executives and D&I Experts are coming together for a symposium to drive change
Skytop Strategieshttp://skytopstrategies.com/gender-equality-in-the-c-suite-and-board-room
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