When is an ERG not an ERG?

By Dr. Eric Shoars, author of Women Under Glass: The Secret Nature of Glass Ceilings and the Steps to Overcome Them

Corporate America has seen the rise of ERGs – Employee Resource Groups – to help advance women and minorities in the workplace. Though this is a good trend, an employee resource group will do no good if there is not a definitive, concentrated effort toward getting women into clout title positions i.e. CEO, CFO, COO, Boards of Directors. An ERG group simply for the purpose of having one only increases the perception of how progressive the company seems to be rather than actually advancing women through the barriers keeping them from corner offices. A female colleague sent me an email the other day about an ERG in her company that seems to the former rather than the latter.

The Fortune 500 company – who I’ll refer to as Company X to protect my colleague who works there – has created an Employee Resource Group called “Women Our Way.” The stated mission of Women Our Way is to “fulfill our vision by encouraging inclusion in the workplace. We will provide a voice to our leadership regarding barriers and opportunities. We will encourage women to maximize their potential and advancement through education, leadership, networking, and mentoring.” The question this mission statement does not address is: “To what end?” The company says they will provide a voice to their leadership regarding barriers and opportunities… but through what barriers and to what opportunities? Advancement to where? Middle management? Senior management? As mission statements go this one is vague and creates more questions than it answers. Mission statements as a whole have been a pet peeve of mine for years because they usually contain a lot of warm, fuzzy phrases that are more slogan than substance. We only need look to Patrick Henry for the best mission statement ever – “Give me liberty or give me death!” No ambiguity there. A lot of companies could learn from Mr. Henry’s example.

Women Who’s Way?

Beyond the mission statement, another problem with the Women Our Way ERG is “our way.” The company has decreed that only salaried female employees and not hourly female employees are eligible for membership in Women Our Way. Right off the bat a large segment of female employees are being excluded from potential advancement. Furthermore, Company X announced that the ERG will be implemented and executed within “the Company X way” and the overall culture of the company won’t change. Hence, the name Women Our Way. The company’s culture that created a male top heavy environment in clout title positions is communicating they’re all about helping women as long as Company X doesn’t have to change how it does or goes about its business.

Another troublesome aspect of Company X’s ERG is that the organizational structure has seven women on the various committees/aspect groups but the Executive Sponsor is a man. Now, being a man, I understand men need to and have to play a role in helping women break through glass ceilings but I am a bit suspicious in this case knowing the restrictions Company X has already placed on the ERG. Will this Executive Sponsor be an advocate or a gatekeeper?

Solutions – Steps for an Effective ERG

Employee Resource Groups have an important role to play in the dismantling of glass ceilings. The problem is that ERGs need to be fully supported by those in the highest levels of the company. If a company says it will help women but only if it can do so without changing the culture of the company, then women in those companies will not advance much farther than they already have. As I discovered in my research on glass ceilings, Organizational Culture is a reinforcing factor of glass ceilings in the workplace. If a company refuses to alter or change culture that holds women back, then women’s chances of achieving executive positions in that company are significantly reduced.

How do we recognize if a company has a good or poor ERG? There are four key components to an Employee Resource Group: Organizational Support, Goals and Mission, Membership, and Executive Champion. Organizational Support could come in the form of recognizing the ERG or providing support for the ERG. Company X appears to be providing support, so that’s a positive. Goals and Mission statements should be SMART – specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. Company X’s goals and mission are not specific, measurable, or timely. Membership should be open to all employees. Company X’s group isn’t even open to all of its female employees…only the ones who are salaried, not hourly. The Executive Champion should be someone who can create clear lines of communication between the ERG and the organization’s leadership. Company X’s Executive Sponsor could be a champion or someone who is merely keeping tabs on the group. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt on this criteria.

Then, Company X meets the ERG criteria for Organizational Support and Executive Champion. However, it falls considerably short in meeting the ERG criteria for Goals and Mission and Membership. What effect will this ERG have in increasing the number of women in executive positions, if that even is the real objective of Company X in forming the group? Will women in the organization embrace the ERG or reject it because it is only meant to benefit salaried female employees and does not address specific barriers and opportunities women will be advancing toward?

Company X’s ERG is Women Our Way but actually communicates “Women Their Way.” Equality on this company’s terms is not really equality at all.