Leadership: Gender Champions and Straight Allies Set Out to Change Wall Street
By Nicki Gilmour, CEO of The Glass Hammer and Evolved Employer
Last week, I was lucky to attend the 3rd Annual Out on the Street conference, where 300 LGBT executives, along with some leaders who are straight allies, convened at Goldman Sachs. It was an excellent event that gave a platform to some amazing leaders to discuss their views on LGBT equality at work, workplace culture, and their role as allies to the LGBT constituents in their firms.
The work that has been going on in the gender space for women to advance is now almost 20 years old in some firms, and I believe could benefit and learn from the workplace LGBT movement, which is less than 5 years old and is gaining lots of support.
In fact, our research from last year shows that LGBT women are likely to be more active within their firm’s women’s network, rather than their LGBT group, relating most strongly to the challenges of being a woman in a male dominated workplace.
This also resonated at the event, with a heavy majority of attendees being LGBT men. The women’s panel, called “The XX Factor,” reinforced that sexism, overt or otherwise, can stall careers more than any other factor. Kathy Levinson, Managing Director of Golden Seeds who is openly gay, remarked, “The silence can be deafening when I am with gay men, as there is no obligation to be verbal and visible about being LGBT. The discrimination that women feel, by being visible, well, I relate to that more.”
It is evident that the firms that are gaining the most ground have leaders who understand talent and human capital and are striving to create workplaces where everyone can thrive.
Voices of Leadership
My latest top three favorite high profile male feminists are Lloyd Blankfein, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, Jim Turley, Chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young (and Chairman of Catalyst.org), and Zach Wahls, Executive Director of Scouts for Equality. All three spoke at the event. The event drew many top level allies to comment on the value of LGBT and gender equity.
Blankfein said, “Our industry has shown some forward thinking on this issue. No one came to this issue early but at least we are here now. On Wall Street, at the end of the day, all we have is human capital, this is all about people.”
Turley suggested that in order to be successful, corporate leaders must sit up and take notice of the competitive benefits of diversity. “CEOs care because we like to win. We are competitive and this is all about talent. Organizations shouldn’t just tolerate differences, but value them. All people are going to be on more diverse teams in the future than they were in the past. Research shows diverse teams either perform greatly or really badly. It all depends on the culture.”
By creating gender ally recognition and rewards as well as systemic support for the issue, it is clear that leaders are starting people start to do the right thing.
He added, “On any issue, more people would agree if they were forced to think about it. By and large, people are cheering on this movement. Once you accept people, you ask yourself, ‘what was I thinking?’”
Irene Dorner, CEO of HSBC, agreed. She said, “People are talking about LGBT and gender, the stakes have been raised. My job is to make sure everyone in my firm can bring their true selves to work, and as a CEO you are insane to ignore that.
Lara Warner, Chief Financial Officer of Investment Banking at Credit Suisse, continued that she sees a connection between being open about one’s identity and the drive to lead. “I became an ally because I can see how, by not being yourself, it can diminish your desire to lead. The common denominator on Wall Street is that people are looking to lead and the bottom line is that a leader can do no small thing, that’s both positively and negatively.”
She went on to reinforce the gender dimension. “Give people something. If you have equity, and I mean that in the sense of social capital, then spend your equity on women and on gay women also.”
Are You a Change Leader?
It is important that leaders speak up strongly about being straight allies and gender champions, so that they can give other champions and allies, as well as diverse group members, the tools to be a change leader in their own right.
In the work that we are doing here at The Glass Hammer and Evolved Employer – such as our upcoming dinner on “Owning Your Influence as a Change Leader” – I believe that it is necessary to give people room to take their own journey around differences, so that they can understand why they should advocate for others and use their powers for good.
Levinson explained the benefits of educating people in their journey. She said, “People may not have experience in dealing with people who are different to them, no matter what those differences are. I found I could be become part of senior people’s inner circle by helping them get comfortable with differences.”
Lloyd Blankfein has also clearly taken the time to go on his own journey. “I grew up in a civil rights time. I studied history and social science. I felt different myself; I was in sales in an investment bank. I have always been sensitive to how other people are thinking and hearing. I have empathy for other people.”
He added, “Who doesn’t want to see people happy? All that crying at weddings,” he added with humor, “it’s not like the type of crying you do at work!”
