Aequus Partners' Diversity and Flexibility e-newsletter, February 2010
Dear ColleaguesAre you experiencing gender fatigue? There is plenty of research out there telling organisations that gender inequality is still the state of play. Nothing new there. The burning question is – what can we do about it?
In this newsletter we focus on innovative approaches to getting gender back onto the agenda. Three international reports from the USA, Switzerland and Australia highlight the need to:
- reframe the debate – so we move from gender fatigue to gender energy. This reframing includes looking at the intersections between gender, race and age;
- address unconscious biases and stereotypes – held by men and women, which are often embedded in talent assessment practices;
- focus on the evidence – not our assumptions, about where women land in organisations; and
- hold ourselves accountable for decisions – to ensure that women and men have the same development and visibility chances.
- Swiss research Gender fatigue: The ideological dilemma of gender neutrality and discrimination in organisation
This is a qualitative study conducted in two organisations in Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Switzerland. It is based on 26 in-depth interviews and job-based observations of 16 people. The major aim of the study was to investigate the ways in which workers navigate the dilemma of simultaneously acknowledging gender discrimination in the workplace whilst holding the view that their workplace is gender neutral. A critical finding from the study was that many workers currently experience what the author has described as gender fatigue, ie: many employees had lost the energy to acknowledge and oppose gender discrimination. An important message from this study is that prior to launching new initiatives to address gender gaps there is a need to first understand the current mindsets, attributions and attitudes of women and men (at all levels) in relation to gender (and race and age) in their organisation.
- USA report: Pipeline’s broken promise
This Catalyst research follows the career progress of over 4000 women and men with MBA’s and compares their job placement opportunities, career advancement, remuneration and satisfaction in light of increased numbers of women graduating with advanced professional degrees and entering the workforce. The promise of the pipeline for women into senior leadership is found to be wanting, so a number of CEOs, Chairs and senior executives give “advice from the top” as to what companies can do to facilitate real change.
- AUS discussion paper: The business case for women as leaders - one woman is not enough
Is identifying and promoting female talent a top priority for your leadership team? Is organisational culture driving female talent out? Are you managing your female talent for leadership roles? In February 2009, Chief Executive Women (CEW) released a report which argued that Australian companies which fail to recognise and promote women as leaders are missing out on a significant and measurable competitive advantage. The “Stupid Curve” reveals that organisations appoint 90% of leaders from only 50% of the workforce; the male population. This means that “one woman is not enough”. Companies need to strive for a critical mass of women leaders. Recommendations to maximise diversity benefits include ensuring that there is support “from the top,” implementing practical and flexible goals, educating and training leaders and measuring outcomes.
- Website: The Conference Board Review
An interesting article on The Conference Board Review website on the benefits of an organisational focus on dual careers and caring responsibilities.
1. Swiss research: Gender Fatigue: The ideological dilemma of gender neutrality and discrimination in organisations
This is a timely article given the renewed emphasis on closing the “gender gap” in organisations. Many organisations are now looking for ways to address gender issues in a different and more energetic way. A potential problem with this approach highlighted by Elisabeth Kelan (King’s College, London) is that in many organisations gender discrimination has become implicit and there is now either reduced capacity or reduced will to confront gender inequities. “Gender” has become invisible or has gone underground.
Moreover, the evidence indicates that many people have come to construct their workplaces as gender egalitarian or gender neutral, even though gender inequality continues to exist in terms of promotions and remuneration. However, whilst describing their workplace as gender neutral, employees describe the ideal worker more in terms of stereotypically masculine characteristics and behaviours, and gender neutral behaviour as more stereotypically masculine behaviour. These are the issues investigated in this paper.
1.1 Aims
The major aim of this study was to investigate the way in which workers in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector navigate the dilemma of simultaneously acknowledging gender discrimination whilst at the same time holding the view that their workplace is gender neutral. More specifically, the focus is on how these ideological dilemmas are created and what strategies employees use to make sense of them.
1.2 Method
Data were obtained from two organisations in the ICT sector in Switzerland. The ICT sector was chosen because of its location in the emerging knowledge economy and because ICT work is commonly perceived as egalitarian where job success is more likely to be based on performance. The assumption here is that if performance is the only relevant measure, the ICT sector is a true meritocracy where gender should not matter. This is also a sector, however, which is male dominated where there is a 25% gender pay gap. Overall, 26 qualitative interviews were conducted with 16 men and 10 women. 16 people were also job-shadowed for several hours. The age range of participants was 25 to 54, with most being in their late thirties. Data were analysed using a qualitative research software package.
1.3 Findings
Findings were summarised in terms of two major topics: (i) navigating the dilemma (with three sub-themes); and (ii) gender fatigue. The author also makes some general observations about the process of interviewing people. First, most people assumed that gender discrimination was something that happened mainly to women. Second, most people appeared to be uncomfortable in talking about gender issues.
(i) Navigating the dilemma
- Gender neutral organisations: Most people held a strong belief that their workplace was gender neutral and that gender did not play a role in their organisation.
- Diminishing gender discrimination: Most interviewees acknowledged that while there is the potential for gender discrimination in their organisation, it is highly unusual for it to occur between work colleagues. More examples were reported of gender discrimination in interactions with customers. When gender discrimination was mentioned it was reported as something that had happened in the past, and a “hurdle” that had to be overcome.
- Discrimination as individual responsibility: Two other strategies were reported as being used to help make sense of the gender dilemma. First, discrimination was attributed to “insecure macho men who have to prove themselves”. These men were seen as lacking in education or were “old-fashioned”. Second, women should take personal responsibility for overcoming or avoiding the discrimination. Rarely was gender discrimination attributed to structural or systemic problems.
In a further level of interpretation, Kelan argues that the data demonstrate that participants were suffering from gender fatigue: they had lost the energy to acknowledge and oppose gender discrimination. This leads to people adopting a position that involves dismissing the relevance of gender in the workplace. She argues that this interpretation is also supported by the observation that most participants were reluctant to talk about gender.
1.4 Conclusions and recommendations
As is pointed out by the authors, the conclusions for this study are limited by the nature of the sector (ICT employees) and the size of the sample (employees drawn from two companies). The study does, however, have a strong theoretical and empirical base both in terms of design and data interpretation. Additional research is needed in other organisations in other countries, focusing on gender discrimination and other forms of discrimination. For example, is there evidence of a race or age dilemma or of race or age fatigue?
Nevertheless there are some applications of this study worthy of consideration, especially if it is the intention of an organisation to engage in a sustained focus on gender.
- The most important message from this research is that there is a need to understand the current mindsets, attributions and attitudes that all levels of staff have in relation to gender in their organisation. This will provide valuable information to help design new initiatives to address the gender gap.
- Conduct interviews with both men and women, racial groups and age groups to identify whether your organisation shows signs of “discrimination” fatigue (eg a reluctance to discuss discrimination issues). Including race and age in this analysis is critical to ensure that gender perspectives of different racial and age groups are included.
- Conduct facilitated focus groups (with single and mixed gender, race and age groups) to investigate group-based gender, racial and age experiences. This will help to highlight that discrimination is not an individual issue.
- Communicate the findings from the above activities to provide a “voice” for inequalities to challenge the status quo. When inequalities are “voiced” the possibility of the status quo being enforced and strengthened is reduced.
- Identify and communicate common stereotypes experienced in your organisation and develop strategies for people to use to overcome these, especially in relation to the reducing the impact on an individual’s job performance.
2. US research: Pipeline’s broken promise
Over the past 15 years women have been graduating with advanced professional degrees in record numbers, often surpassing the rates for men. At the same time, companies have been implementing diversity and inclusion programmes to help foster women’s full participation in leadership. Despite these advances, women remain excluded from senior leadership positions in numbers equal to men.
Catalyst, a leading non-profit diversity organisation, has released ‘Pipeline’s Broken Promise: The promise of future leadership – a research program on highly talented employees in the pipeline’. This report details the journeys of over 4,000 male and female MBA’s in relation to their job prospects, career progression, remuneration and leadership opportunities. What emerged from the research was a “pipeline in peril”, one where women lag behind men in advancement and remuneration from their first professional job.
2.1 Introduction and background
In 2007 and 2008 Catalyst conducted an online survey of 9,927 alumni who had graduated between 1996 and 2007 from MBA programmes at 26 leading business schools across Asia, Canada, Europe and the US.
The survey group discussed in this report were those alumni who had graduated from full-time MBA programmes and worked full-time in a company or firm at the time of the survey, a sample of 4,143 women and men.
2.2 Findings
The research findings are presented in four general themes: (i) job placement and remuneration; (ii) career advancement; (iii) career track; and (iv) career satisfaction.
(i) Job placement and remuneration
Right from graduation, men are more likely than women to begin post-MBA jobs in higher positions than women. Even accounting for years of experience, industry and region, women were still more likely to start at a lower level post-MBA. Men were also more likely to take on their first assignment with greater responsibility than women’s first assignment. The argument about differences in career ambition did not hold. These findings were consistent even when looking only at men and women who aspired to CEO/senior executive level positions. The parenthood argument did not hold. These findings were consistent even when considering men and women without children.
In addition, women’s first post-MBA salary was lower than men’s, taking into account years of experience, time since MBA, job-level, region and industry. These salary differences are not due to career aspirations or parenthood. On average, women are being paid $4,600 (US) less for their first job than men. Over time, women’s salary did not keep pace with men’s, and this was consistent despite career aspirations or parenthood.
(ii) Career advancement
Even after taking into account experience, time since MBA, industry, region and first post-MBA position, men were more likely than women to hold a higher position at the time of the survey. Men were twice as likely to be at the CEO/senior executive level, whilst more women were at the entry or first level ranks. Again, the findings hold even when considering men and women who aspire to a CEO position, and men and women without children.
Having experience in people management does make a difference for both men and women, and those who had this experience in their first role were more likely to have reached a higher level position. When men and women both started their first post-MBA job at entry level or one level higher, men significantly outpaced women in moving up the career ladder despite years of experience.
(iii) Career track
Women and men were equally likely to “job hop” and the frequency of changing employers did not lead to greater career advancement. The top reason for leaving the first post-MBA job was career advancement for both women and men, although more men left for better salary or benefits and more women left because of a difficult manager. Very few gave child rearing as the reason for leaving, women no more likely to do so than men.
Women were no more likely than men to take a non-traditional career path (eg non-profit, government or education sector positions). Nearly 90% of women and men had worked full-time in companies and firms since receiving their MBA. There was no difference to men in terms of advancement, salary growth or satisfaction whether they took the traditional or non-traditional career path. However, women who took the non-traditional path paid a penalty when they returned to full-time company roles and advanced less quickly than women who had stayed on the traditional path post-MBA.
(iv) Career satisfaction
Aside from those at entry level, overall, men were more satisfied with their career (37%) than women (30%). Women who stayed on the traditional career path were more satisfied with their careers than women who opted for a non-traditional path for a time.
2.3 Advice from the top
Catalyst asked CEOs and senior executives for their advice as to how these negative outcomes for women could be improved.
(i) Job placement and remuneration
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Current systems are not designed to correct inequity:
- If you enter the system at the wrong level from the beginning, the system won’t adjust the imbalance. Assess current systems to “make sure there isn’t inherent bias in the placement process” (Anne M. Mulcahy, Chairman, Xerox Corporation)
- Senior leadership “have to work to assure that there isn’t implicit bias getting into the process that somehow draws an assumption that a man’s desire for a managerial position is greater than a woman’s.” (Sharon Allen, Chairman of the Board, Deloitte, LLP)
- “Companies should be developing more programs with stretch assignments for women. Why not identify critical international roles with P&L responsibility and prioritize women and minorities for these key development roles?” (Thomas Falk, Chairman & CEO, Kimberly-Clark)
Build in checks and balances against unconscious bias:
Incremental change is not enough:
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Collect and review salary metrics
- “Companies have the data – how often is it reviewed? We need to ensure that any gaps are being addressed.” (Teresa Finley, CFO International Operations, UPS)
- Is there “…the presumption that men are qualified and ready but women have to prove themselves first? Companies need to take care to make sure they’re placing new hires based on qualifications, not presumptions.” (Maureen McGuire, CMO, Bloomberg)
- Programmes needs to be targeted to women at all levels, not just those next in line for leadership positions. Some of the rhetoric needs to be challenged “business unit managers must travel all the time. Do they travel? Yes. All the time? No, it can be managed.” (Richard Templeton, Chairman & CEO, Texas Instruments)
- Ensure that talent is evaluated and people are moved into appropriate assignments. Help women to make use of opportunities that are available to them.
- In many organisations there are many more men relative to women. This leads to informal mentoring and coaching being available to them which in turn opens the door for like-minded bias to creep in. “I realised how careful managers have to be not to respond to self-promotion, but be proactive in indentifying high-performers based on competencies rather than stereotypes.” (Mary Cranston, Senior Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP)
- “When I hear someone say the women doesn’t want that job promotion, I cringe…did she really say it? Or did someone say to her that she doesn’t want it? It’s a silent problem. Asking begins to address the problem and how we ask matters.” (James S Turley, Chairman & CEO, Ernst & Young LLP)
Make assignments based on qualifications, not presumptions
Provide development across all levels
Don’t leave talent development to chance
Guard against stereotypes that influence judgement
Ask, don’t assume
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Provide adequate training for all people managers
- “I find it very revealing that women were more likely to leave their first job because of a difficult manager. This tells us we still aren’t getting through to first line managers. Have we provided adequate training?” (Beth Horowitz, Former President & CEO, Amex Canada, Inc)
- It is very important for new recruits that their first supervisor is skilled to coach, develop and mentor individuals. A focus needs to be placed on these early management relationships.
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Rethink benefits as times change
- Companies who are willing to change benefits and policies that support working families will be in a better position to develop and retain talent.
- Companies need to do microcosm analysis on managerial hires, skills, capabilities, how these are placed. “There’s a feeling that a level playing field exists. These findings tell us this hasn’t been realised yet.” (Anne M Mulcahy, Chairman, Xerox Corporation)
- Companies need to re-examine their recruitment, retention and advancement efforts to engage the entire workforce. They need to work to obtain and retain top talent and “provide extensive leadership and development opportunities for all managers, not just the senior executives, all in a flexible work environment.” (Brenda C Barnes, Chairman & CEO, Sara Lee Corporation)
Don’t assume the playing field has been levelled
Accelerate efforts to level the playing field
For the past two decades, the leadership and gender debate has centred on parity in education, women’s increased workforce participation and company diversity and inclusion programmes to deliver a talent pipeline where women are poised to achieve senior positions. This research shows that these hopes were ill-founded and that these women are lagging men in job placement, career advancement, remuneration and career satisfaction.
The last piece of “advice from the top”: concerted and coordinated efforts are needed to compete in the war for talent. “Companies have been working on this, and I thought we’d seen progress. This is a wake-up call for corporations. First, we need to put pressure on business schools to coach women and men during the job placement process. Second, companies need to be looking at where women land when they come into the corporation. Then we need to make sure they’re getting the same development and visibility chances as the men. In this war for top talent we can’t afford to do otherwise.” (James S Turley, Chairman & CEO, Ernst & Young, LLP)
To read the full report go to: www.catalyst.org/file/340/pipeline's_broken_promise_final_021710.pdf.
3. AUS discussion paper: The business case for women as leaders - one woman is not enough
Chief Executive Women (CEW) is a by-invitation voluntary organisation of over 150 women leaders in Australia which aims to encourage and promote the effective use of female talent by Australian business, government and the community.
3.1 Introduction
Recent overseas research cited in this report shows that the greater the number of women in senior positions in an organisation, the better a business performs. For example, McKinsey & Company argues UK companies with a higher proportion of women in their top management have better financial performance such as 10% higher return on equity, 36% higher stock price growth and nearly double the EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Taxes) growth compared to the industry average. The authors argue that the presence of one women “is not enough”. Women leaders must be present in sufficient numbers to drive cultural change and deliver better business results. The authors do not suggest that women are inherently more talented than men; rather, companies which recognise talent in any form and make good use of it are the ones who reap the benefits of improved organisational outcomes.
3.2 Women in leadership – the Australian picture is worse than we think
The “Stupid Curve” (a phrase coined by former Deloitte USA Chairman Mike Cook) demonstrates that Australian companies are wasting a significant amount of the internal talent. In Figure 1 below, shows that organisations select nearly 90% of their leaders from only 50% of the workforce (the male half). As a result, the other 50% (the female half) of the workforce is overlooked and underutilised. In essence, although women roughly represent 50% of the workforce, men have a nine times better chance of reaching executive level than women.
Further, a 2006 EOWA analysis on the gender income distribution of top earners’ remuneration in ASX200 companies found that overall median pay for leading women executives is only 58% of the median pay for men. In particular, the pay gap is most prominent in the financial services sector.
3.3 Talent management is critical to performance
The report cites research which shows that gender balance in talent management not only has a positive effect on performance, it also fosters inclusive cultures that optimises employee skills and in particular, employee engagement, a recognised factor in organisational performance. For example, a 2007 Towers Perrin’s Global Workforce study found companies with the highest percentage of ‘engaged’ employees saw a 19% increase in operating income and 28% in earnings per share year on year. On the other hand, companies with the lowest engagement scores was year on year declines of 32% in operating income and 11% in earnings per share.
These findings demonstrate that organisations that recognise talent in any form and make good use of it are indeed benefiting the most. However, it is important to note that one woman is not enough. Summarising the data, the authors conclude that 20% of female employees is required at each level and in each function of an organisation for a culture to start to change, 30% for a noticeable difference and diversity benefits kick in only at 40% where gender would presumably no longer be an issue.
3.4 Myth busting
The report highlighted common myths that surround women and leadership which contribute to a lack of action.
(i) Myth One: Good Equal Opportunity policies take any gender bias out of the system
Although organisations may have formalised equal employment opportunities (EEO) policies which imply that the organisation is gender neutral, these policies may disguise historical assumptions about job and career paths which often disadvantage women as EEO policies are not necessarily put into practice.
(ii) Myth Two: The best way to promote diversity is to treat all people in the same way
The authors argue that organisations experience tensions when employees perceive that ‘special treatment’ females receive is unfair. An organisation benefits from implementing an inclusive culture that values and respects individual employees’ different backgrounds. Achieving an inclusive mindset is the most difficult, but most important change for Australian organisations seeking to respond to diversity in the workforce and society.
(iii) Myth Three: Family demands are the main factor behind women giving up leadership aspirations
CEW suggest that organisational culture is the underlying cause of females leaving organisations, irrespective of the actual trigger to leave. For example, early leavers may cite better opportunities elsewhere as the reason for leaving, where in fact they have become disillusioned in a culture which sees male peers getting ahead on salary and responsibility. Mid-career leavers may cite family responsibilities, but the implicit criticism of “lack of commitment” or poor flexible job offerings may be the underlying cultural reason.
3.5 Making progress – CEW CEO Kit for Attracting and Retaining Female Talent
Working with their members, CEW developed the CEO Kit to help organisations stem the loss of female talent.
At the centre of the Kit are 5 core questions and methods to guide organisations to gather and analyse data and act on issues. The questions are:
- Is identifying and promoting female talent a top priority for our CEO, leadership team and board?
- Are we appointing our fair share of female talent?
- Is organisational culture driving our female talent out?
- Does our pay distribution by gender tell a story?
- Are we managing our female talent for leadership roles?
By prioritising and setting challenging, achievable, evidence-based targets, CEW strongly believes Australian companies should commit to significantly increasing female representation at senior levels and on boards in the next five years.
Key concepts behind this argument and embedded in the Kit include:
- Change must be driven from the top:
Organisations should examine statistics to set priorities and develop and implement action plans. Goals must be measurable as facts are critical to ensure that ‘what gets measured gets done.’ - Organisations need to engage with the business case for change:
To start, organisations should audit their culture and work practices to identify factors which inhibit productivity and retention, not only of women but for all workers including older and younger employees. Following this, it is important to create understanding and respect for gender differences and change ‘straight line, ever upwards, time-based’ career path assumptions. Initiatives suggested include ‘gender awareness’ education in leadership training programmes, insisting that leaders lead by example such as taking holidays and leaving the office at reasonable hours and creating a women’s network where female employees can share experiences and tips for successfully navigating their way through male oriented organisations. - Review interview and talent assessment practices;
CEW recommends reviewing these practices to identify hidden factors which may prevent women from moving forward into more challenging career roles. Also, tracking graduate hires by their year of employment may ensure that females don’t fall behind male peers on factors such as promotion, variable and fixed pay, or moves into career-making operational roles. - Change should be an incremental process with long-term strategic commitment and practical and flexible tactics.
The report suggests that it is important for organisations to measure and report results by setting programme targets, milestones and KPIs and report to the Board/internally on an ongoing basis. Organisations would also benefit from including questions related to challenges faced by women in engagement surveys and analysing the results by gender.
In summary, CEW recognises that achieving a critical mass of women leaders will be a tough but highly rewarding journey. Although Australia has made slow and incremental gains in the past, the research presented in this report demonstrates that companies continue to under-utilise and lose female talent with negative social and business consequences. On the other hand, companies which strive for gender equity experience positive business performance and greater employee engagement. The report’s recommendations aim to assist organisations in more rapidly recognising the importance of using all talent available and to take strategic steps towards making use of and benefitting from better managing talent in their workplace.
To download the report, see http://lgwomen2010.org.au/document/show/15 and for more information on CEW, see their website, www.cew.org.au/.
4. Website: The Conference Board Review
The Conference Board Review is the quarterly magazine of The Conference Board, a business membership and research organisation which discusses leading-edge issues at the intersection of business and society.
The Winter 2010 edition contains an interesting discussion piece by writer and academic Alison Maitland, focusing on the benefits of men in the workplace, for both men and women alike. To read the article, go to www.tcbreview.com/workspace-w10.php. Thanks to Dianne Jacobs for bringing this to our attention.
Regards,
Juliet Bourke and Dr Graeme Russell
Partners
Aequus Partners
www.aequus.com.au
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