"The Harvard Business Review published an article in 2009 on this very topic called "Women and the Vision Thing," with interesting information and conclusions. Originally, their study found that women tested higher than men in many leadership categories except one: envisioning, or the ability to recognize new trends and opportunities and develop new direction for the organization. The perception of women as poor visionaries, in this study, comes from male peers. Now, the newly released and well researched "Athena Doctrine" by John Gerzema and Michael D'Antonio reported that being a visionary is a neutral trait, that it was neither a masculine or a feminine trait.
So which is it? Are women visionary or not?"Here's the thing, John and Michael interviewed lots of people, but they didn't focus on how bosses make decisions about advancement. They don't make the distinction between traits and proven skills. Sure, women have vision. Who among us doesn't imagine ourselves 10 pounds thinner, or our kids being the next great success or our partner being more romantic?
"When she would focus more on herself than on the property or the product we had, it became more of a liability than an asset to our company."To highlight contributions to moving the business forward, you have to understand the business of your business and be able to Speak the Language of Power™ - which is the language of business outcomes. If this language is Greek to you, pick up a copy of No Ceiling, No Walls. It will help you be graceful and authentic when you capture opportunities to self-promote.
"You’ve shown us, Boston, that in the face of evil, Americans will lift up what’s good. In the face of cruelty, we will choose compassion. In the face of those who would visit death upon innocents, we will choose to save and to comfort and to heal. We’ll choose friendship. We’ll choose love."Rather than call for vengeance and retribution, he chose to focus on compassion and love. And later he reminds the people of Boston of their inner strength and the support of others.
"And that’s what you’ve taught us, Boston. That’s what you’ve reminded us -- to push on. To persevere. To not grow weary. To not get faint. Even when it hurts. Even when our heart aches. We summon the strength that maybe we didn’t even know we had, and we carry on. We finish the race. We finish the race.
And we do that because of who we are. And we do that because we know that somewhere around the bend a stranger has a cup of water. Around the bend, somebody is there to boost our spirits. On that toughest mile, just when we think that we’ve hit a wall, someone will be there to cheer us on and pick us up if we fall. We know that."From Governor Patrick
"I am thankful maybe most especially for the countless numbers of people in this proud city and storied Commonwealth who in the aftermath of such senseless violence let their first instinct be kindness. In a dark hour so many of you showed so many of us that darkness can not drive out darkness as Dr. King said.
...we're organized around a handful of civic ideals...equality, opportunity, freedom and fair play...we must not permit darkness and hate to triumph over our civic faith. It cannot happen, it will not. We will recover and repair, we will grieve our losses and heal, we will rise and we will endure. We will have accountability without vengeance, vigilance without fear....the grace this tragedy exposed is the best of who we are."And Mayor Menino whose theme was love.
"It is a good morning because we are together, we are one Boston. No adversity, no challenge, nothing can tear down the resilience, the heart of this city and its people...love has covered this resilient city...Love the brave ones who felt the blast, but still raced to the smoke...We love the fathers and brothers who took shirts off their backs to stop the bleeding. The mothers and the sisters who cared for the injured. The neighbors and business owners the homeowners all across the city who opened their doors and their hearts to the worried and the scared...we'll get through this together."In his own way, each of these politicians sought, grabbed hold of and held up to the light all that is great in the people of Boston. They called for unity rather than divisiveness. They reminded people of their inner strength and how it compels caring acts. They help people turn aside fear. These are things that true leaders do - in all walks of life.
What Vision 2020 Asked
1. Does your Human Resource function conduct wage equity audits that look for inequities in compensation between men and women at the same level/position?
- Yes, annually.
- Yes, every other year.
- Yes, less often than every other year.
- Yes, we conducted a one-time baseline.
- We don't do wage equity audits at this time.
2. Without divulging any confidential information, please indicate the results of your audits.
- We have not done wage equity audits.
- We have frequently made adjustments to restore wage equity.
- We have occasionally made adjustments to restore wage equity.
- We have rarely made adjustments to restore wage equity.
- We have never found inequities and therefore have not made adjustments.
Why Vision 2020 Asked
While the size of the wage gap has diminished over the past 4 decades, the gap persists across for and non-profit sectors. The WAGE Project estimates that over the course of her life a high school graduate will lose $700,000 in earnings, a college graduate $1.2 million and a woman with a graduate degree nearly $2 million.The implications for women and their families are significant. Four out of ten women are equal or main breadwinners for their families. These lost earnings impacts the well-being of not only the women, but entire families. And because future security in the form of pensions or other retirement vehicles depends on compensation, the wage gap threatens women’s security in old age.The Institute for Women’s Policy Research estimates that at the current slow rate of closure, it will take nearly another 50 years (estimate is 2056) for women to reach pay equity.What Vision 2020 Learned
Organizations are aware of and actively work to diminish the wage gap. Seventy percent of for-profit respondents of our survey have conducted such a study and 31% conduct them annually. Of the non-profit respondents 88% have conducted such studies with 28% conducting them annually or every other year.There is much controversy about whether the wage gap is fact or fiction. Our data suggests that organizations recognize it as fact. Thirty nine percent (39%) of for-profit respondents and 50% of non-profit respondents have found and corrected inequities. Only 30% have never or rarely found inequities. This number is higher among non-profit organizations where 50% have made adjustments on occasion.Recommendations for Action
Since the 1970s, organizations have conducted analyses of compensation to determine pay equity for women and men performing in the same positions (with similar tenure and performance). Today’s sophisticated Human Resource information systems make it easier than ever to conduct such wage equity audits. Making these audits a regular part of HR’s compensation analysis cycle would ensure that the wage gap in for-profit and nonprofit organizations is eliminated well before 2056.
“Of all the forces that hold women back, none are as powerful as entrenched beliefs.
While companies have worked hard to eliminate overt discrimination, women still face the pernicious force of mindsets that limit opportunity…”
"Traditional advice lays a strong foundation for career success, but it will only take women so far. Take a look and you'll notice that most traditional advice is focused on helping women move from career-start to middle management.Women who are already "leaning in" need more advice about how to move from the middle into senior positions and what they have received has been woefully inadequate. (For more on what this advice looks like, email us.)
"She blasted managers who unconsciously reflect stereotypes when they judge women's performance, saying: 'She's great at her job but she's just not as well liked by her peers,' or: 'She's a bit aggressive.'
"They say this with no understanding that this is the penalty women face because of gender stereotypes,' she said."This is an issue we've been tracking for decades - and working with a few progressive organizations that are addressing it head on. You can view info about our related service line here:
"The rewards are becoming demonstrable. Significant research from the World Bank to the public and private sectors has shown how investments in women yield a “double dividend”: women are more likely than men to invest their incomes in their families and communities, driving GDP up and illiteracy and mortality rates down. This double benefit, combined with pure market forces, now presents Wall Street and women with a unique and mutually beneficial opportunity."
Undoubtedly, if you're a Leading Women follower, you'll notice that all the mentioned strengths have to do with personal greatness (problem solving, empathy, transparency) or engaging others (communicating, coaching, inclusiveness). And while they're important...yawn! Similar findings have been true for decades.
- "Women top the charts in key skills.
- Women outperform men on key leadership competencies, such as communicating, coaching, organizing people, thinking creatively and solving problems.
- Women also score higher than men on traits that are essential in today’s collaborative work environments, such as empathy, transparency and inclusiveness."
"...at all levels, women are rated higher in fully 12 of the 16 competencies that go into outstanding leadership. And two of the traits where women outscored men to the highest degree, were taking initiative and driving for results – two traits which have long been thought of as particularly male strengths.
When global management consulting firm McKinsey asked business executives around the world what they believe were the most important leadership attributes today, the top four results were intellectual stimulation, inspiration, participatory decision-making and setting expectations/rewards — all attributes more commonly found in women leaders."Reported here.
“The world simply cannot afford such a poor representation of half the talent pool when filling key leadership positions is posing such a global challenge. Growing the pipeline of women in management roles is critical to having the talent businesses need to win,” said Mara Swan, ManpowerGroup Executive Vice President, Global Strategy and Talent. “Companies should revisit old-fashioned work models and people practices so that high-performing women are not prevented from rising to leadership positions.”Who's old fashioned? Reported here.
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