The Power of Women's Leadership

Guest blog by Renee' Aloisio and Kate Kennedy. As one of the state delegates to Vision 2020, I have enjoyed working with them and the other amazing women who are part of this effort. Thanks to GoLocal for the original.

As the Rhode Island economy plods along its slow recovery, our state's businesses continue to seek out any kind of competitive advantages to get ahead. One such advantage that has been widely documented and reported is the power of women's leadership. Some companies are making serious investments in this area, while others have yet to take full advantage of the opportunity.

Research indicates companies led by women or with a higher representation of women board directors experience higher financial performance. The correlations are found across industries ‒ from consumer discretionary to information technology. Here in Rhode Island, women currently make up 48% of the workforce, and many women can be found in entry- and mid-level management positions. But when we look at the top levels of management, executive officers hover at somewhere just above 10% and board seats are filled by a slim 16%. A clear indication that we can and should be doing better.

Vision 2020 Rhode Island's upcoming report, Women, Leadership and Wages, reviews the findings of a survey conducted with 22 of the state's largest not-for and for-profit businesses. The survey is focused on initiatives and best practices that advance women, such as commitment to women’s leadership, advancement of women into senior leadership, wage equity and women on boards. The report also examines obstacles and barriers to advancing women into leadership.

The findings at times fall below where we would hope Rhode Island businesses could be: for example, only 23% of for-profits and 1% of not-for-profits surveyed have a clearly defined strategy and philosophy for the development of women into leadership roles. However, some best practices are being utilized to advance women, such as requiring a diverse slate of candidates for executive searches and conducting wage equity audits that look for inequities in compensation between men and women serving in the same position. This report can and should be used by for-profit and not-for-profit leadership teams, human resource departments and board of directors to spearhead meaningful conversations for improving the advancement of women in their organizations' leadership team. The real benefits of paying attention to these measures ‒ short and long-term, financial and workforce ‒ can offer an alternative for contributing to companies' competitive positions and thus Rhode Island's economic growth.

On behalf of Vision 2020 RI's Corporate Sub-committee, we invite members of the business sector and other interested parties to attend and hear more about the report's findings at Leading Women's breakfast, The State of Women's Success, being held on September 11th at 8:00 at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick. We appreciate the willingness of companies who participated in the survey, and we urge all members of the business community to participate in ongoing research to share successes and challenges in advancing women's leadership as we work together to advance Rhode Island's economy.
Vision 2020 was developed by the Institute for Women's Health and Leadership at Drexel University College of Medicine to make equality a national priority through shared leadership among women and men. The organization’s goal is to advance women’s equality before the landmark 100^th anniversary of women’s suffrage.

Renee Aloisio is Director of Internal Operations at LGC&D and Kate Kennedy is the Executive Director of Rhode Island Business Group on Health.

The report, Women, Leadership and Wages will be available online at www.leadingwomen.biz and at www.wfri.org on September 11. Hard copies will be distributed at the event.

Lead ON!
Susan   
Susan Colantuono is CEO of Leading Women and author of No Ceiling, No Walls and Make the Most of Mentoring. Follow her on Twitter |  LittlePinkBook  |  Facebook  |  Google+  |  LinkedInGroup |  LinkedIn

Develop Top Talent - Challenge Managers' Mindsets

Following up on our blog about the Final Frontier for Women's Advancement check out our new video.

Managers have mindsets about women and men, about leadership and careers. Many of these mindsets create barriers for women and get in the way of developing top talent. Helping managers take action to minimize gender barriers is the new frontier in women's advancement -- and one that Leading Women is uniquely positioned to address.

For decades we've tracked over 15 gender-based mindsets. Our research tells us that the impediments created by these mindsets differ by country and corporate culture. With this knowledge we work with you to identify the barriers most prevalent in your business locations and prepare managers to make more equitable and effective talent decisions.

Read more about gender dynamics and ways the mindsets of managers create barriers to women's advancement here.

To explore the ways Leading Women can support your efforts to develop top talent and remove barriers to women's advancement, email us at info@LeadingWomen.biz or call us in the U.S. at +1-401-789-0441.

Lead ON!
Susan
Susan Colantuono is CEO of Leading Women and author of No Ceiling, No Walls and Make the Most of Mentoring.
Follow her on Twitter |  LittlePinkBook  |  Facebook  |  Google+  |  LinkedInGroup |  LinkedIn

So Glad to be Back!

When Google merged ALL of my accounts (why the heck did they do that?) I couldn't figure out how to log into blogger. Finally, they created a fix. It's good to be back.

Leadership Lessons: What Men Know...about Mentoring

Recently a man who serves as an executive sponsor of his organization's women's initiative attended a presentation I gave. Having heard what I said about The Secret 33%™ he commented,

"It’s hard to imagine business skills not being a big part of what goes on especially when you look at the discussions that happen at the executive director and officer level. The discussions that go on in the room among the people are really related to the business – how does the business go forward, how does the business evolve, where should the business be heading. That is where a lot of the...time on people’s calendars...on email and the content of email – it really is on the business and it’s very hard to imagine mentoring not addressing although our formal training doesn’t... Those of you who were listening to presentations would have observed that 99% of the discussion in his hour presentation was on strategy, and outcomes...” G.P. Chief Engineer

Like many organizations, the one referred to above puts little, if any, emphasis on formal education on business, strategic and financial acumen. Men (and women who are smart about how to use mentors or who have business-savvy mentors) are likely to get informal grooming on the business of business.

How does this compare with the content and competencies furthered by your company's women's initiatives?

At Leading Women, we know that business, strategic and financial acumen represent The Secret 33% of the career success equation for women. To learn more about what that means, why it's important, and what you can do about it; contact us and/or pick up a copy of No Ceiling, No Walls. You'll be glad you did!

Quantum Leap Forward: New Tools for Women's Advancement

"When it comes to women's advancement>"...in the last two years we’ve almost hit a point of stagnation, where we’re not seeing even that incremental change in the representation of women at the top. So it’s time to say, 'We’ve come this far, why haven’t we gone as far as we would like?' Companies need to take a more careful look at the programs they have in place around talent management and hiring practices to determine where there might be hidden biases." (e.a.) Christine Silva, Catalyst quoted in IT Business Edge

If your numbers aren't moving in spite of all your programs based on conventional wisdom, it's time to take a look at what Leading Women has to offer. Consider for example our 4-part series on Power Tools for Career Success (recently delivered to Professional Women in Healthcare).

1. The Secret 33%™ For decades, the paradigms underlying leadership development have been viewed as neutral - in spite of the fact that much the research at the root of these paradigms (dating back to the late 70s) was done on men. As a result, most leadership development initiatives over-focus on 2/3 of the leadership definition, leaving women at a disadvantage. This module explains the negative impact of the Missing 33%™ on leadership, career advice, mentoring, executive presence, self-promotion and more. It goes further to explain what it takes to turn The Missing 33% into The Secret 33% of the career success formula for women.
   
2. Think Like a CEO: Developing Business Acumen Anyone can think like a CEO if she is able to step back and look at the big picture of her business. This means understanding the 4 key outcome areas that executives pay attention to and keep in balance. While this knowledge won't guarantee advancement - without it women will undoubtedly hit a plateau in their careers.
   
3. Show Them the Money: Strategic and Financial Acumen Once women understand the 4 key outcome areas that executives pay attention to and keep in balance, they are able to more deeply understand and interpret strategy and the role financials play in setting and assessing strategy. This module delivers a simple model that makes this crystal clear.
   
4. Speak the Language of Power Without Losing Your Voice This capstone session provides women with actionable tools for demonstrating their enhanced business, strategic and financial acumen - and to do so with grace and authenticity.
   
   To see what else we're keeping our eye on these days, check us out on Facebook.
   
   Lead ON!
   Susan
   Susan Colantuono is CEO of Leading Women and author of No Ceiling, No Walls.
   Follow her on Twitter |  LittlePinkBook  |  Facebook  |  LinkedInGroup |  LinkedIn
   

A New Look at Leadership Development for Women

Over the years, I've been involved with Linkage through their Global Institute for Leadership Development and their Women in Leadership Summit. So I was delighted when I was contacted to take part in a series of interviews on leadership for a global research study on the identification and development of leaders. The result of this work will be in an upcoming book by Phil Harkins, the CEO of Linkage - and a well known expert on leadership.

The interview was far ranging and today I received this note from the interviewer.

"Thank you very much for your willingness to support our leadership research at Linkage. Your discussion of the excess emphasis on traits (rather than results) in modern business is one of the key highlights that came out of this series of interviews. Your candor has been extremely helpful to us..."

Here are 4 of the key points I made during the interview.

1. I shared my definition of leadership: "Leadership is using the greatness in you to achieve and sustain extraordinary outcomes by engaging the greatness in others."
2. Women have been under-served by most leadership development initiatives because they over-focus on interpersonal skills (the 1/3rd of the leadership definition that has to do with engaging the greatness in others). For decades the a collection of competencies labeled interpersonal skills is one where women are consistently rated by their bosses as outperforming men.
3. The individualistic culture in the U.S. drives an overemphasis on seeking individual traits of leaders (the 1/3rd of the leadership definition that has to do with the greatness in you). This also under-serves women because of the competencies sought by boards and CEOs when identifying C-suite candidates and high potential employees, only 24% have to do with personal traits.
4. Of the competencies sought by boards and CEOs when identifying C-suite candidates and high potential employees, 50% have to do with business, strategic and financial acumen. These have to do with the 1/3rd of the leadership definition that has to do with achieving and sustaining extraordinary outcomes. Specifically, they are looking for evidence of these competencies via impact on the business. In study after study over the past several decades, men have been rated as outperforming women in these areas. That's why we call these extremely important competencies The Missing 33%™of the career success equation for women.
   

For decades, the paradigms underlying leadership development have been viewed as neutral - in spite of the fact that much the research at the root of these paradigms - dating back to the late 70s - was done on men. As a result, most over-focus on 2/3 of the leadership definition, leaving women at a disadvantage.

To illustrate: In our work with companies on their women's initatives, we analyze the competencies that they embed in their performance and leadership development systems. In one F500 company, only 18% of its management competencies focus on business, strategic or financial acumen (The Missing 33%) - while 48% focused on personal traits. So, if a woman were to cultivate her personal traits per their system, she would hit a glass ceiling pretty early in her career because she would lack the business, strategic and financial skills required to advance.

And while some companies place more of a balanced emphasis between personal traits and engagement skills, the minimal focus on business, strategic and financial acumen is not uncommon!

How does your organization emphasize The Missing 33% in its performance, succession, leadership development, women's initiative content and other advancement systems?

To learn more about The Missing 33%, why it's important, and what you can do about it; check out this short video, and pick up a copy of No Ceiling, No Walls. You'll be glad you did!

Lead ON!
Susan
Susan Colantuono is CEO of Leading Women and author of No Ceiling, No Walls.
Follow her on Twitter |  LittlePinkBook  |  Facebook  |  LinkedInGroup |  LinkedIn

3 Important Questions!

Are you a Businesswoman or a Woman in Business?

Earlier this month I enjoyed delivering a webinar to a number of Professional Women in Healthcare. The topic was Think Like a CEO: Developing Business Acumen. Implicit in the topic is the question, do you think of yourself as a "woman in business" or as a businesswoman. I recommend that your answer should be that you think of yourself as a businesswoman. Here's why:

A "woman in business" can be said to be a woman working in a business, but a businesswoman is a woman who "gets" and is advancing the business of her organization. She understands the business of business, has strategic and financial acumen and is more likely to be considered as a "high potential" candidate for advancement.

So, how do you think of yourself?

What's the Brand of Your Women's Initiative?

It was an honor to consult with a large financial services organization as it launched launch its women's initiative - including a recommendation to initiate a women's leadership employee resource group. During the discussion about recommendations to the executive team and goals for the initiative, the topic of work/life balance and flex-time arose.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to offer advice, here's what I said,

"It's important to think about you you want your executives to see your efforts. Do you want to lead with the stereotypical work/life balance issues, or do you want to lead with a focus on leadership development and building the business?"

They made the right choice. What's your answer?

What are you Doing about The Missing 33%™?

In presenting The Missing 33% to the global women's council of a F500 company, I discovered that only 18% of its management competencies focus on business, strategic or financial acumen - while 48% focused on personal greatness competencies.

This is nearly the reverse of what our research indicates are the skills that executives and boards seek in C-suite candidates and high-potential employees. Of the skills sought for these movers, 50% have to do with business, strategic and financial acumen and 24% with elements of personal greatness.

How do you measure up in the area of business, strategic and financial acumen? How does your organization emphasize these in its performance, succession, leadership development, women's initiative content and other advancement systems?

At Leading Women, we consider business, strategic and financial acumen to be The Missing 33% of the career success equation for women. To learn more about what that means, why it's important, and what you can do about it; check out this short video, and pick up a copy of No Ceiling, No Walls. You'll be glad you did!

Lead ON!
Susan
Susan Colantuono is CEO of Leading Women and author of No Ceiling, No Walls.
Follow her on Twitter |  LittlePinkBook  |  Facebook  |  LinkedInGroup |  LinkedIn

Keeping an Eye on Progress

This week, the Calvert Group, a socially responsible mutual fund, released a study of the Corporate Diversity Practices of the S&P 100 companies and the findings are mixed. While some of the companies -  are doing very well, others fall short.

"We are very concerned about the fact that women and minorities continue to be underrepresented at the highest levels of management," says Calvert Group President and CEO Barbara J. Krumsiek of the study. "Without a pipeline of female and minority executives in highly paid, highly responsible positions, it will be very difficult to achieve board diversity, which is critical to strong governance and good management."

We congratulate the companies that scored 80% or higher - including several of our clients: Johnson & Johnson, Campbell Soup, AT&T, Pfizer, PepsiCo, CVS Caremark and Bank of America. It's an honor to be working with these innovative companies.

And we encourage those scoring lower to continue their efforts to create cultures that enable diverse talent to rise to the top.

On another note:



Lead ON!
Susan
Susan Colantuono is CEO of Leading Women and author of No Ceiling, No Walls.  Follow her on Twitter.

Generational Challenge for Women's Networks + More

The Vancouver Sun reports on the concept of "gender fatigue"

"Women bosses are no longer unusual in the corporate world, where many top-flight companies see gender and diversity programs as a "must-have."

Flexible working, parental leave, mentoring and women's networks have become the norm in many businesses.

But gender diversity's move into the mainstream gives an impression that gender issues at work have been "solved," which makes more subtle discrimination harder to spot and can even disadvantage young women starting their careers.

"Younger women find it difficult to connect to women's networks in the workplace, because they view these networks as something that belonged to their mother's generation," said Elisabeth Kelan, a lecturer in Work and Organisations in the Department of Management at King's College in London.

Kelan describes this situation as "gender fatigue," where people in the workplace lack the energy to tackle afresh something that they no longer see as a problem."

This reminds me of the 27 year old woman who said to me without any realization of the irony, "Where I work there is no discrimination and I'm not disadvantaged," and then minutes later in the same conversation, "I don't know why I didn't get the job that Jim got. I was definitely more qualified."

So internal (and external) networks face a challenge of how to make their relevance crystal clear. And older women members of this network can take an active role in mentoring younger women and helping them understand the value of connecting with other women.

This assumes that the networks are actually focusing on information and activities that add value to women's lives and careers. At Leading Women, we do several things.

1. Introduce successful women as role models.
   
2. Filling the Missing 33% of the career success equation for women
   
3. Supporting the alignment and relevance of internal women's networks.
   

COMMENTS Welcome: How is your company or network ensuring relevance for all generations?

If you haven't seen it, please take a look at the wonderful Female Factor video from the International Herald Tribune.

UPDATE: I just read Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's address to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Notable comments:

"Women are the majority of the world’s farmers, but are often forbidden from owning the land they tend to every day, or accessing the credit they need to invest in those farms and make them productive.
Women care for the world’s sick, but women and girls are less likely to get treatment when they are sick.
Women raise the world’s children, but too often receive inadequate care when they give birth. And as a result, childbirth remains a leading cause of death and injury to women worldwide.
Women rarely cause armed conflicts, but they always suffer their consequences. And when warring sides sit at one table to negotiate peace, women are often excluded, even though it is their future and their children’s future that is being decided.
Though many countries have passed laws to deter violence against women, it remains a global pandemic. Women and girls are bought and sold to settle debts and resolve disputes. They are raped as both a tactic and a prize of armed conflict. They are beaten as punishment for disobedience and as a warning to other women who might assert their rights. And millions of women and girls are enslaved in brothels, forced to work as prostitutes, while police officers pocket bribes and look the other way."

AND

"The other day I heard The New York Times columnist Nick Kristof, who has done so much to bring to a wide audience the stories of individual women who are working and suffering because of conditions under which they are oppressed. And he said, you know, in the 19^th century, the great moral imperative was the fight against slavery. And in the 20^th century, it was the fight against totalitarianism. And in the 21^st century, it is the fight for women’s equality. He was right, and we must accept – (applause) – and promote that fundamental truth. (Applause.)"

As I've written study after study correlates improvements in the status of women with overall improvements in the standards of living. I love Kristof's notion of the 21st century as the time to fight for women's equality.

Lead ON!
Susan
Susan Colantuono is CEO of Leading Women and author of No Ceiling, No Walls. She blogs on networking for PINK Magazine. Follow her on Twitter.

Lipstick, Diamonds & Gucci Aren't Enough!

The Missing 33%™ is the hidden secret women aren't being told about career success

Lipstick, diamonds and Gucci won't advance women in their careers. Nor will useful, but insufficient, advice on work/life balance, resilience or authenticity. Women are given abundant advice on how to look and how to be, but it only gets them so far. There's a not-so-little hidden secret that women aren't being told about career success.

After years of studying women at all levels in organizations, I've found that there is a rarely discussed element that holds women back...or propels them ahead. It is one element where they are consistently rated as under-performing their male counterparts. It is one element missing from (or under-taught in) most organizations' leadership development programs. This one element is the vital missing piece of the success equation for women. I call it The Missing 33%™. It is business savvy with all its related skills and knowledge...

Read more here.

AAARGH!! Sensational Headlines Stink

The Glass Hammer posted a story this week titled, "The end of the road for women's networks?" Here's a summary of the case for the title (and AGAINST women's networks):

• networks' underlying assumption is that there's something wrong with women and we need to stop "fixing" women

Here's the case FOR women's networks made by others quoted in the article:

• women's networks play an important role in "fixing" the organizations
• women's networks provide a forum for tips, support and strategies on navigating the corporate environment
• women's networks help women find mentors and dream big
• Gen Y workers have never faced discrimination and women's networks can help them deal with situations they face

So, is it the end of the road for women's networks?

Obviously not, but it could happen if women's networks don't focus on the right things. I don't usually use the blog to write about what Leading Women does, but indulge me for a moment because this is so important.

Leading Women's strategic planning model for women's networks makes sure that women's networks are aligned with the business and deliver programming that advances women. Our clients have gone from a marginalized "nice to do" to being seen as "partners in talent management." Our leadership program grads get promoted. When it comes to women's advancement, we "get it" and are honored to work with amazing women who also "get it".

Scroll down to the 8th comment on the article to see what else I have to say on this subject.

Lead ON!
Susan
Susan Colantuono is CEO of Leading Women and author of No Ceiling, No Walls. She blogs on networking for PINK Magazine. Follow her on Twitter.

The Health of the Pipeline

Intending to study processes for identifying and developing high potential employees, DDI stumbled upon a disturbing finding - men and women are increasingly viewed differently as they move up the ladder. (Why am I not surprised?)

The report, titled Holding Women Back - Troubling Discoveries and Best Practices for Helping Female Leaders Succeed, included these findings:

• 50% of the participating companies identify high potential employees who receive accelerated development opportunities.
• At first-level management, there are 28% more men than women identified as high-potential.
  
• At the executive level, the gap increases to 50%.
• At the executive level 41% of men have multinational experience, only 25% of women.
  
• In companies where women overall are tokens or in the minority, they saw drastic fall-off in the % of women identified as high potential from first-level to executive management.
• In industries with gender balance overall, women at the first level represent half of managers, but around 1/3 at the executive level.
• In majority-women industries where women represent 80% of first level managers, they only hold 35% of executive positions.
• In all industries, men are more likely to be viewed as high-potential.

As long as women believe conventional wisdom about leadership with its over-focus on interpersonal skills and personal excellence, we will never be able to reverse these trends.

To be seen as high-potential women have to develop...and demonstrate...business, strategic and financial acumen. These are essential ingredients for leadership success in business and they are topics that I address head-on in my new book, No Ceiling, No Walls.

Lead ON!
Susan
Susan Colantuono is CEO of Leading Women. She blogs on networking for PINK Magazine. Follow her on Twitter.

The Week in Review

Boards are from Mars, Consumers are from Venus! ION has published its 2009 Report on women in boardrooms and the numbers are appallingly few. The report this year offers a very positive focus on actions to increase the number of women on boards in the face of what could be a wave of turnover due to tenure and age of current directors. Here you can find a link to vote your proxy to influence board composition as well. ION also posts the top 10 on the same page. Among them: Bare Essentials*, Estee Lauder, Kraft*, Avon*, Pepsi*, Xerox*. Do you buy their products? (* means woman CEO)

What's almost as bad as the lack of women directors is the lack of publicity the report has received. What is it about self-fulfilling cycles of old-boy advancement and incompetence that the media doesn't get? This could be a really big story - check out my earlier post on board short-signtedness here. I guess what I call "the myth of meritocracy" is a tough one to bust, even in the face of contrary evidence.

I always appreciate it when white, business men over the age of 45 (and it helps if they're republicans) "get it" and advocate for women's advancement. Recently one who fit the bill, the CEO of Ernst & Young, James S. Turley used the bully-pulpit at the World Economic Forum and the release of his own company's Groundbreakers report to make the case for moving women up in organizations in order to solve and prevent future economic crises. He said,

"At a time when our global economy is facing its greatest challenge in decades, we have to capitalize on the contributions women make as leaders, entrepreneurs, and employees. Many corporations and governments have been making efforts to advance women – now is the time to accelerate those efforts. It's time to place renewed emphasis on women's advancement and women’s perspectives as a key tool in moving businesses and economies ahead."

F500 Women CEOs Rock! Two of my favorite F500 women CEOs have relatively new videos on YouTube. Check out Anne Mulcahy's Silfen Leadership Series discussion of the Xerox turnaround here and Indra Nooyi on CEO Stardom and more here. It's been inspiring to be researching them and the others for my upcoming book.

Great Places to Work NAFE's 2009 Top Companies have been chosen. Find them here. If you want to learn about the 12 strategies these companies use to get women to the top, read about it here. I was pleased to note that even though it's gone out of favor, some of the companies directly tackle issues of stereotypes, assumptions and gender bias.

Where to Work has a list of global companies supporting women's advancement. You'll find it here.

Shifting the Lens 1 In a speech I gave on Women's History Month, I spoke of the importance of thinking not only of women in history, but of shifting our lens to look at the experience of women's equality (or lack thereof) in history. Here's an example of what I mean, Britain's Green Party is led by Dr. Caroline Lucas. She is proposing a woman-centric slate of legislation that would address the 17% wage gap, get more women onto boards and make it easier to take equal pay lawsuits to court. Without looking through a lens of women's experience, these proposals wouldn't be on the table. You can read about them (called "radical" by the article's author) here.

Shifting the Lens 2 JFK established the first Commission on the Status of Women, every president had a similar body until George W. Bush disbanded Bill Clinton's White House Office for Women’s Initiatives and Outreach. Now President Obama has appointed Melanie Verveer as Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues.

"The President's decision to nominate an Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues is unprecedented and reflects the elevated importance of global women's issues to the President and his entire Administration."

He has also created the White House Council on Women and Girls to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and families. This year the council (made up of cabinet members and others) will focus on:

• "Improving women’s economic security by ensuring that each of the agencies is working to directly improve the economic status of women.
• Working with each agency to ensure that the administration evaluates and develops policies that establish a balance between work and family.
• Working hand-in-hand with the Vice President, the Justice Department’s Office of Violence Against Women and other government officials to find new ways to prevent violence against women, at home and abroad.
• Finally, the critical work of the Council will be to help build healthy families and improve women’s health care."

Way to Go, Kiwis! News from my dream destination...not only is it lovely, the citizens have elected a woman as Prime Minister (but that's old news). The new news is that a Grant Thornton business research report finds that 27% of senior managers in New Zealand are women. This puts NZ ahead of the U.S., Great Britain, EU and Australia (also studied by GT).

If you're wondering why all the pink...I'm celebrating spring!

Lead ON!
Susan
Susan Colantuono is CEO of Leading Women. She blogs on networking for PINK Magazine. Follow her on Twitter.

They Do Things Differently Here

In Australia, as in the U.S., the numbers of women in senior positions and on boards is in decline. So, what's a CEO to do? Well, the Chief Executive Women (CEW) organization has a novel solution. As reported by the CEO Forum Group:

"To this end CEW developed the CEO kit, a unique set of resources for CEOs interested in identifying a practical way to address this problem. In 2007 spoke to Diane Grady, chair of the CEO kit task force, and past president of CEW, who explained how and why the kit was developed, and how it can help CEOs maximize the value of talented women in their organisations."

Read the interview here.

Getting Women to the Top

WallStreetJournal online tells a story about the steps to get women to the top that Mike Pitcher took when he joined LeasePlan. Based on his findings that women were the primary customers and employees...

"...LeasePlan began an effort to transform its corporate culture -- rooted in the old-boy network of fleet managers -- and promote more women. Executives hired a consultant to offer women career counseling, revised the company's pay plan to stress performance over longevity, and displaced some longtime managers. Today, three of the eight top executives are women, up from one in seven two years ago...Mr. Pitcher, now the company's chief executive, calls the initiative a strategic investment rather than 'the politically correct thing to do. 'LeasePlan doesn't build anything,' he says. "Our sustainable competitive advantage is our people.'"

When I launched one of the country's first internal women's initiatives, 2 of the actions we took were to have a salary equity review conducted and to offer career management workshops for women. Given continuing wage inequities, salary equity reviews (including performance-based versus longevity or attribute-based) should be a cornerstone of every women's initiative. I'm surprised that career counseling was deemed important at LeasePlan, but kudos for them for their results. And congratulations on the profile of their top executives. Getting closer to parity!

I've often said that with 50% of the management/professional pipeline being women, in true meritocracies there is no logical reason why 50% of senior management should not be women.