Promoting Mrs Right

While women are certainly making inroads in the corporate world, gender disparities continue to exist, particularly at the upper echelons of management. A recent study by the World Economic Forum (WEF) found that leading global companies are failing to capitalise on the talents of women in their workforce.

According WEF’s Corporate Gender Report 2010, female employees tend to be concentrated in entry and middle level positions and remain a rarity in senior management or board positions in most countries and industries. Some 600 leading companies across 16 industries in 20 countries participated in the survey, prompting a warning from its co-author Saadia Zahidi.

“The findings are an alarm bell that the corporate world is not doing enough to achieve gender equality,” she said. “While a certain set of companies in Scandinavia, the US and the UK are indeed leaders in integrating women, the idea that most corporations have become gender-balanced or women-friendly is still a myth.”

That current state of affairs has pushed governments in Europe to consider legislation to enforce corporate equality. They might be taking a leaf from Norway, which requires that women constitute 40% of board members in all publicly-listed companies.

“Women account for one-half of the potential talent base throughout the world and therefore, over time, a nation’s competitiveness depends significantly on whether and how it educates and utilises its female talent,” Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, WEF, said.

As women strive towards higher corporate positions, it comes as no surprise that Eunice Lee cites the balancing of roles as their biggest challenge. The Senior Director, HR, McDonald’s says women are still having to play the multiple family roles of wife, mother and daughter. Balancing these can be difficult enough; add to that the stress of handling a full-time career, and many women are simply stretched too thin.

The ways in which women juggle these roles, and the support they have in doing so, may have some influence over their eventual career destinations. Carole Field, Director, Praesta, says society often takes this question off the table. Cultural and social circumstances may dictate that a woman should spend more time taking care of her family and less time at work. And despite the increasing numbers, many workplaces still appear as male-dominated environments – whether the demographics back this up or not.

This is a particularly tricky area for multinational corporations to navigate. Companies with operations in countries which adhere to more conservative societal and cultural rules may be hard-pressed to find women who are expressly looking for career development. Some career women may prefer to stay at a “plateau” stage, where work is predictable and consistent, so they can focus their energies on raising their children rather than embarking new projects and competing for leadership positions.

In this situation, creating gender equality may be on the HR agenda but there are few willing participants to help drive that change. “It’s a multi-faceted issue,” Field says. “There is no simple solution; small shifts are needed.” Experts say the best way to approach this conflict is to find a balance between the goals of both the corporate and the local cultures.

HR does not have the power to change wider contexts at least not in the short term – but it can provide a more supportive organisational context which helps women looking to advance to do so. It comes down to the fundamental tenet of the women’s equality movement: choice. If capable women choose to be leaders in an organisation, cultural and societal rules should not stand in their way. Although challenges will persist, HR can do its part to create an environment where gender disparities have no place.

Different but equal

The conversation about boosting women’s leadership potential often leads to familiar questions: what value do women bring to the leadership table? And how is this value different from men’s contributions?

Many HR professionals and employees shy away from discussing the unique advantages a woman may bring to the leadership field, fearing it will perpetuate the generalisations they are actually trying to distance themselves from.

It’s something US Supreme Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor knows only too well. Last year, she commented that her culture (she is of Puerto Rican descent) and gender gave her a different mindset which made her the better choice for the role than a male.

Some detractors quickly questioned if an individual who made a sweeping statement about the differences between genders would have a balanced perspective as a judge.

However, some differences between the typical leadership styles of men and women cannot be ignored, and they don’t necessarily condone gender stereotypes either. “It’s dangerous to generalise, but there are differences between men and women in management style,” says Sharon Patrick, Chief Operating Officer, Martha Stewart Living. Numerous studies support Patrick’s claim, showing no difference in overall skill level or competency between gender – but variables in the way genders go about a leadership task.

Women tend to stray from the traditional male-dominated style of management; one that is hierarchal and action-oriented. While a woman’s approach to leadership is by no means softer, it is often more open and inclusive, and more likely to encourage participation.

Another advantage that women bring to the boardroom is a closer affinity with end consumers. Where women are not the end purchasers of a product or service, they are often considered key influencers in those economic decisions. As the marketplace grows more competitive, organisations should be looking to maximise that influence; having women in leadership positions is one tested way to do it.

Lee believes women build a culture of warmth and understanding which is well-needed in organisations today. “Women can help to create an environment with a strong sense of family and belonging, and build lasting relationships in an inclusive environment,” she says, adding that women’s management styles compliment the more assertive, direct and focused masculine approach.

The fortunate businesses are indeed those in which these differing styles are complimentary, rather than confrontational. As companies initiate projects to empower women in the workplace, men should not be excluded – since both genders can learn the strengths of each other’s approach. Many women are incorporating the best of the traditional styles, such as a focus on performance, into their leadership portfolios, while more men are adopting the consensus-building and inclusive style that comes more naturally to women.

Field urges employers to ask themselves “what systems are in place in the working environment which can help women rise up the career ladder; if there are systems in place, are they working; and if there are no such systems, how can HR effectively implement them?”

The answers will indicate how close HR is to empowering women and what steps need to be further taken.

Lee says companies can make a concerted effort to provide more opportunities to inspire women. At McDonald’s, HR has formed a global leadership network for its female staff. It aims to provide women with “inspiring” choices to fulfill their aspirations and grow their careers. A conference was recently held in Singapore, allowing McDonald’s women to share their experiences and build confidence to grow into leaderships roles. As more local chapters are set up, more women who wish to develop their competencies for leadership roles will find the support they need, Lee says.

Importantly, leadership roles need to take other responsibilities into account. Many women believe they must sacrifice their families to focus solely on work in order to attain the highest offices. “Sometimes women lose confidence in their abilities after being away for a while,” says Rhodora Palomar Fresnedi, Global Vice President for Diversity, Unilever. “They feel they have lost fluency in business language and cannot return.”

 But if HR implements the proper frameworks, this does not need to be the case. Fresnedi suggests organisations implement policies and practices which enable women to transition back smoothly after taking maternity leave.

Acceptance

HR’s role is not simply about creating gender equality on the surface level. If employers throw themselves into these initiatives simply to squeeze the male to female ratio, they will be doing all their employees a disservice by not addressing a larger issue. Changing the mindset of the organisation should be HR’s chief purpose.

“Adults learn by observation,” Field says. “Organisations must display the behaviours that are rewarded.” The conversation about women’s equality in the workplace needs to be ongoing and HR must include everybody in the process. When employees in all departments realise they are working for an organisation which does not want its women’s careers to remain stagnant, they will play their part in implementing change, she says.

Gender-equality advocates similarly advise female employees to exceed their expectations beyond mere titles, responsibilities or pay levels. They say women should make it a priority to be a part of the shift in perceptions about their presence in the leadership pipeline.

“Women will downplay or attribute their success to luck rather than claim the prize,” Field says. Although modesty is admirable, the reluctance to accept credit should be eliminated. Women also adhere to social constructs which make it difficult for them to form social networks in business in some of the traditional ways. One example is a female executive with young children who won’t go out for drinks with her colleagues because she fears being perceived as an irresponsible mother.

For Linda Chavez-Thompson, the first female President of the American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organisations (the peak Union body in the US), being tenacious in the workplace was a survival strategy. She felt a constant need to prove to others – and, in trying times, to herself – that she was in the right place. When she was starting out as a business manager, people still thought of her as a secretary. “I’d say I’d rather be president,” she says today.

The experience taught Chavez-Thompson an important lesson about how women unwittingly allow themselves to be cast in roles based on gender rather than skill. “Women who want to be leaders have to be up-front and honest about it - not only with themselves but also with the men they work with and the men they share their lives with,” she says.