L-Women See Competitive Advantage
By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)
“We recognize that there are millions of L-women across Europe and globally as well, with many of them active in the labor market. From that perspective we should have a huge influence on the workplace, yet generally we have not been in a position to do that,” began Claudia Woody, Vice President & Managing Director at IBM.
Woody is part of L-Women at Work, a new group to help lesbian, bisexual and transgender women across Europe connect professionally.
The new group’s first event will take place in November, with IBM as its presenting sponsor. Woody explained, “From an IBM standpoint, for years we have been supporting various Lesbian groups in Europe, but we have been looking for a pan-European group, to share best practices, create business networks, and articulate the business proposition around lesbians in business.”
Woody explained that many lesbian professionals see a “double glazed glass ceiling” but, she said, that needn’t be the case. “A lot of us can hide, and do – and a lot of us are reluctant to put our hands up and say ‘discriminate against me again,’” she explained.
“We have to give that power back to Lesbian women. It means having the energy to do your work, to be authentic, and not spend energy on hiding who you are. You can do this. You can succeed. Being Lesbian is not a barrier to success.”
Competitive Advantages
Woody said that while being different makes many L-women feel that they are at a disadvantage, they should be mindful that they present advantages to employers as well. “You can look at both sides of the coin. You can see the advantages as well.”
For example, Woody recounted how, after coming out, she began to be given more interesting assignments – including traveling with her (male) boss – because, he said, his wife was not threatened by her.
“Being strong, and being able to claim that power back is one of the things we can do,” she said. Another advantage, she continued, is having more time to spend on the job. “Many of us don’t have kids or husbands to take care of. We tend to have spouses who are working just as hard as we are.”
Finally, she said, “We’re also able to side step some of those stereotypical conversations around office politics.”
Coming out at work can engender respect. “It shows courage,” she said. “People respect courage and authenticity and teams function better when that level of trust exists because people are honest about who they are.”
She added, “Corporations also need to recognize that there is a business advantage. It’s about talent, and creating an environment where women – gay or straight – can succeed.”
Woody continued, “If you lump LGBT together, you miss the diversity in the acronym.” “From a company standpoint, diversity means talent, innovation, and accessing different ways of thinking and being. It’s about creating an environment that lets everybody bring the best they have to the table every day.”
The L-Women at Work Conference
The conference will take place on November 11th in Amsterdam. According to Woody, the event will be organized in the TED format, with several key note speakers, and then attendees have been invited to apply to speak on set topics including role models, entrepreneurship, generations, networking and more.
Other corporate sponsors of the event include Accenture, Ernst & Young, and Citi.
Woody added that the organizers are encouraging attendees to participate in social networking opportunities in order to span generations and borders.