Companies need people on the inside who reflect the people they serve. There is a value proposition in having diversity of thought to provide better options to solve problems / get better outcomes. Yet, organizations are struggling to address gender inequality.
At the current pace, it will take 100+ years for women to be represented equally in the C-suite in corporate America. While college hires are fairly balanced, women receive 30% less feedback, 20% less exposure to senior leaders, and are 30% less likely to get a first promotion. Men more often get plum assignments with higher budgets and P&L responsibility (Catalyst, 2012). 75% of HR leaders say gender diversity is a top 3 agenda item; yet, only about 1/3 of CEO’s agree with this.
One fallacy is that women have children; yet, they are actually more likely to stay in their jobs and have lower attrition than men. Another fallacy is that work and family balance is a primary concern; yet, that is for both men and women. The primary difference between the genders is the perceived stress with leadership positions (Source: McKinsey / LeanIn.org).
Some companies are deploying unconscious-bias training to help build career pathways. Nobody intentionally drives a process that is unfair or imbalanced; yet, we bring a set of perceptions and unconscious beliefs that affect our job roles. Companies need data and process to interrupt this pattern.
In addition to unconscious bias training, we are making progress through other programs to help women address lack of confidence, being risk averse, being unwilling to speak up for themselves, failing to ask for raises and promotion, and hiding their talent:
· Women Unlimited, Inc. (Dr. Rosina Racioppi) – Mentorship / Leadership program for Corporations
· Diversity Woman (Dr. Sheila Robinson) – magazine and conference
· 29% of protagonists in popular American films in 2016 were women, an all-time high (Source: Variety).
Personally, my favorite was Amy Adams in Arrival!
What is your company doing to address gender inequality?
