Men Who Get It: Antonio (Tony) Castañon, Citi Retail Services, Managing Director and Sears Portfolio General Manager

Men Who Get It- Antonio (Tony) Castañon (F)Leaders who want to promote diversity and inclusion need to start from a place of curiosity, says Citi’s Antonio (Tony) Castañon. “They have to be curious about those they work around and listen to their stories, then open themselves up to being accepting of others.”

By doing so, they can work on embracing diverse teams and identifying members that will help the company formulate the right outcomes. “You have to be intentional in creating teams with different genders, races and diversity of thought.”

Castañon started working with Citi while going to college in Las Vegas and has been with the company for 26 years, interspersed with brief stints at Aetna US Healthcare and Sprint. He has spent most of his career in operations for Citi and Citi Retail Services, one of North America’s largest and most experienced retail credit solutions providers. He moved to a partner management role in Citi Retail Services three years ago. In his current position, he is responsible for the overall management of the business’ multi-billion dollar credit card relationship with Sears and its affiliates, including K-Mart and Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores (SHO).

Why Diversity Matters to Him

Diversity is not only paramount but also personal to Castañon, who can relate to inclusion issues as a Latino and as a recently out gay man. “It’s important for me to be active because of so many influential people in my life who have created a safe environment to succeed. I want to replicate that environment for others.”

He is especially attuned to discrimination, and is quick to engage in non-confrontational conversations when needed. For example, prior to coming out, he had heard some disparaging remarks about LGBT people and realized he had to say something.

“You always have to challenge people and hold them accountable by asking ‘why’ questions, such as ‘Why is this conversation appropriate?’ or ‘Why does that remark make sense in the context of our conversation?’ That opens the door to discussing the issue and bringing to light a potentially offensive remark that they might not have meant.”

Castañon understands what it means to “play a role” because he began his career as a married man before realizing that he needed to be who he was. “I told myself there would be consequences, but they ended up being largely self-perceived,” he says.

He had felt that the barrier would be insurmountable, but through time and self-discovery he realized he had to be true to who he really was.

“My life completely changed,” he says. “I felt so welcome and at ease and was fortunate in the fact that not one relationship, either professional or personal, was broken after I faced who I am.”

Opening the Door to Inclusion

As a supporter of Citi employee networks, Castañon helped launch one for Hispanic employees, and he seizes opportunities, when they arise, to provide advice and counsel to colleagues and others.

A highlight for him was participating as a key contributor for “Ready Set Risk,” a book that addresses how women need to be greater risk takers in the workplace. He shared stories of how he supports pushing women to take risk and offered practical examples of women and men who have helped champion women’s causes.

Over the years, he has worked as a sponsor and mentor to diverse coworkers in a variety of capacities, from offering consultative advice to providing direct feedback on ways women can strengthen their brand. His goal is always to champion open, transparent relationships.

Being true to himself allows him to be a role model for others.

Castañon believes that a supportive corporate culture is important for LGBT individuals because it unleashes their potential. “Previously I wasn’t able to give 100 percent because there was a part of me I didn’t want to share,” he says. “Living the double life is exhausting and consuming – being one way externally and another inside. Now I am my authentic self.”

He is incredibly proud of Citi’s long-term record of as a champion of diversity and specifically of all it has accomplished over the past 10 years. The company is a top sponsor of the Human Rights Campaign and a sponsor of Out and Equal in the Workplace, which brings equality to the workplace globally. Citi also has been involved with Out Leadership, sponsoring its fourth annual “Out on the Street Summit” in the US, where Citi’s CEO delivered a keynote address. “I feel pretty proud about working for a company that values diversity and supports it tangibly,” he says. “Whether it’s women’s, LGBT or racial networks, the company has demonstrated the importance of an inclusive culture.”

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Alyssa Cowley of Shearman & Sterling Talks About Why She Feels It Is Important to Co-lead Sterling Pride and What She Hopes to Achieve

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Alyssa CowleyThe world was a much different place a decade ago when Sterling Pride, Shearman & Sterling’s LGBT inclusion network, was formed. As a former history major, my mind tends to go to the story of a place or group first. I wonder about the conversations that sparked the idea, and discussions involved in becoming one of the first law firms with an in-house LGBT inclusion network. In June 2006, the firm readily took the first step in giving its LGBT lawyers a voice in how to foster an inclusive environment for LGBT lawyers and staff by creating Sterling Pride. Shearman & Sterling didn’t have to be a leader, but it chose to be.

In 2006, while those conversations were taking place at Shearman, I was a junior at a north Texas high school. That year, my classmates threw around the word “gay” as a synonym for “dumb” or “worthless,” and the Gay-Straight Alliance at my high school was effectively dead on arrival. My best friend, a bisexual man, and I whispered about our “different-ness” backstage during after-school musical rehearsals. The concept of being bisexual barely existed, let alone had achieved any level of acceptance with our peers.

Ten years later, I am so grateful to begin my career as an attorney at a place with a true commitment to the LGBT community and to diversity more broadly. Beginning with the on-campus recruitment process, the visibility of Sterling Pride lawyers signaled to me that Shearman & Sterling was a place that I could focus on growing as a lawyer without the distraction and pressures of having to “cover” as a straight woman. It can be easy to feel a little lost as a first-year associate in a large New York office, but in Sterling Pride, I felt as though I had a built-in community. Being a member of Sterling Pride has connected me to a network of mentors, deepened my connection with my colleagues, and has given me opportunities to meet clients and lawyers across the city. Furthermore, my colleagues, whether partners or first-year associates, have consistently been reflective and engaged, both formally and informally, about how to make the firm’s environment more welcoming, more fair, and more of a meritocracy. I have been able to thrive because of the strong foundation that Sterling Pride members and allies have built.

Now, as co-chair of Sterling Pride (and as the first woman to serve in such position), I am honored to be an ambassador for our inclusive atmosphere, but I also know that there is work to be done. Women are underrepresented in the law—particularly in the ranks of senior leadership. Women are also underrepresented in LGBT spaces—bisexuals even more so. It is true that bisexual women tend to benefit from invisibility and passing, and thereby enjoy a level of privilege that others within the LGBT community do not. However, for that same reason, they are uniquely positioned to challenge stereotypes and to carry messages of inclusion into hetero-normative spaces. I believe that cultural change is achieved one person at a time, one connection at a time. As we continue to diversify the voices around the table, we reaffirm the value of each individual’s contributions.

Importantly, being a part of Sterling Pride has been a way to begin giving back to—and investing in—the firm that has chosen to invest in me. As part of a firm with a global presence, we have a distinct opportunity to set the tone in all of our offices and to make sure all of our lawyers and staff can grow in their careers regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. As the work of organizations such as Out Leadership and the Williams Institute have shown, diversity makes business sense. Inclusive environments retain talent, increase productivity, and allow employees to be more fully engaged at work. Discrimination is costly, both in terms of underemployment and in expending resources to combat the mental toll that discrimination takes on those who are victimized. Furthering Sterling Pride’s reach within the firm strengthens it overall, making us more competitive in and more adaptive to the changing conditions of the global marketplace.

In closing, I turn back to the history of the firm once again. John William Sterling, one of the firm’s two co-founders, never married but lived together with his best friend and companion, a man, for nearly 50 years. While it is impossible to know what Sterling might think of the firm’s commitment to the LGBT community today, I believe he would be proud of the firm and the enormous progress we have made in supporting LGBT issues in the century since his death. Hopefully, we will all be even prouder in the next hundred years.

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How to be a good Sponsor and Champion to LGBT people in their careers

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LGBT flag featuredBy Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational Pyschologist

Following on from last week’s career advice and staying with the LGBTA theme for the month since June is Pride month, today I am going to talk about how to be an Ally, Champion and Sponsor to your LGBT colleagues and co-workers. I come across many people who want to be an inclusive leader and ensure that their team members get to focus on work and not on fitting it or assimilating instead. However, many leaders and managers with the best of intentions still do not have many LGBT mentees or sponsees. Tips to ensure your portfolio of people that you mentor is diverse can include:

Do not be afraid of offering up supportive statements to indicate you are an Ally. Gay team members often do not know where you stand on the topic as a concept because sadly the topic is still at ‘concept’ level ( there are still millions of overtly homophobic people out there some more covert than others, how do we know that you are an ally if you don’t tell us!)
Don’t presume you know them just because you know one other gay person (or even several) because like racial bias, you are stereotyping whether you realize it or not.
Respect their individual personality on how much they want to talk about their spouse and family just as you would any other coworker, not everyone wants to share regardless of their identity. Equally, ask them the questions you ask your other team members ( like: hey how was your weekend, how are the kids etc?)
Coach other less exposed/less evolved executives on your team and know you are a culture carrier.

Know that you have the ability to advance people individually but also change the system so that future generations can truly come to work and not have to come out everyday and fear mixed reactions.

Contact nicki@theglasshammer.com if you want to hire an executive coach to help you navigate your career

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Voice of Experience: Shannon White, Managing Director, PwC US

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Shannon WhiteBeing “out” at work has been incredibly beneficial for PwC’s Shannon White, and she believes it is important for others to do the same. “When you’re hiding yourself, it takes a lot of energy, and you don’t have the same reservoir of mental effort to devote to relationship-building or being creative or productive.” And, as a leader, you’re more guarded, she says, which can be an impediment in the consulting industry, where business is built around relationships, both internal and external. “Because I’ve been authentic, people trust me and believe I’m honest and open. That allows them to trust me with their challenges, even those that have nothing to do with sexual orientation.”

Born and raised in Seattle, White attended Georgetown University as an undergraduate where she had a diverse college experience. She played on the basketball team as a walk on; studied for a semester in Japan; participated in a business group; led a tutoring program; and volunteered as a high school teacher in South Africa for a year after graduation.

On her return she joined MBNA America in their management development program and upon completion, managed community development programs. Her work with the United Way helped put her on the path to earning an MBA: Initially she thought she might want to work with non-profits but during her program, she changed focus and decided to major in finance and become an investment banker.

After working as an investment banker at JP Morgan she worked with a finance company, providing funding for affordable housing, and then she went to work with a consulting firm helping communities to recover from disasters. This is one of the projects of which she is most proud, working out in the field after disasters such as the World Trade Center and Hurricane Katrina, helping communities recover through efficient grant dispensation.

Eight years ago she joined PwC’s US firm and now leads a business unit in the Public Sector Practice. For the last nine months her team has been helping a client implement a new delivery model for a grant program. “This is at the heart of what we do as consultants, helping agencies achieve their missions better, faster and more efficiently, and this program will do that. By instituting change management and new delivery metrics, they will provide a real benefit to American citizens.”

She sees that government agencies are applying a real focus on customer experience and how they can help citizens with their journey to more efficiently receive the benefits of the agency.

Seeking Opportunities

When White looks back on her career, there’s one piece of advice she wishes she’d known: She would tell her younger self to have fun all along the way. “You can’t know that you will have a successful career among the twists and turns, but if you set goals and remain flexible to take advantage of every opportunity, it will work out.”

She advises young women to develop a “brand” that will define them. “Maybe they become an Excel wizard starting off, for example. You know that your brand will change but by being competent in your craft you can establish yourself in at least one area where you’re a go-to person.”

While it’s crucial to say yes to opportunities, she says it’s also important to raise your hand to volunteer. “If you hear someone mention a need in a meeting, say, ‘Can I help you with this?’ Or identify gaps in your experience and proactively ask someone to help you find way to bridge it.”

And, women executives with more experience can play a role too, by helping young women with what they need for their careers and acting as a sponsor behind the scenes to help give them those advantages.

A Supportive Culture Promotes Diversity

White believes that companies need both formal and informal structures in place to foster diversity and has appreciated the culture at PwC. “It would be hard to ever leave this firm since I have felt so supported in my journey, and the programs that PwC offers really gives the firm an advantage. We are going to keep highly talented people because we have these resources,” she says, noting that the firm sends a strong message when it speaks out about LGBT legislation, for example.

She herself is a senior leader in the OPEN group, which serves the LGBT community, and participated in a “Crossing the Finish Line” program for women preparing to be partners. She has also participated in PwC’s Aspire events, where prominent external women speak about women’s issues.

Fostering diversity in gender is important, and leaders need to commit to giving women opportunities for different experiences and tasks that will allow them to demonstrate their skills. “Men are more liable to raise their hand, but we know that companies led by women have greater profits,” she says. “Companies need to figure out how to nurture their pipeline to allow that.”

An area where PwC excels is in flexibility for both men and women. She notes that as soon as she returned from maternity leave, she immediately received new assignments and an account team to lead.

Family and Relaxation Outside of Work

White relies on yoga and a daily ritual of meditation and writing in a gratitude journal to set a calming and appreciative tone for her day. “When I’m feeling good about myself I want to help others feel good, which helps me be supportive of team members and clients.”

She and her partner Lee have a three-year-old son Solomon, who is her main priority. As part of work life integration, she involves her family as much as she can at the firm, bringing them to events and making them part of her work life.

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Men Who Get It: Ashutosh Mondal, Business Analyst, UBS

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Ashutosh mondalLeaders make all the difference in encouraging and supporting a culture of diversity, says UBS’ Ashutosh Mondal. “They set the standards for the team and model acceptance,” he says, adding that not only does it create a more positive internal culture but it helps with recruiting as well. “Actions speak loudly and it’s important for leaders to show their commitment to diversity and not just support it in theory.”

With a background in computer science and engineering, Mondal started with UBS in a technology and project portfolio management role as part of his graduate training program and has been with the firm ever since, holding diverse roles in finance, project management and analytics. He recently participated in a high-profile project within the Investment Bank, the Client Data Lab, which entailed mining data from different sources and teams to develop an analytical structure to help facilitate a better understanding of clients.

Acting as a Role Model Internally and Externally

As an openly gay man in banking, being a diversity champion is extremely important to Mondal because of the role models he himself was fortunate to have. “When I first joined UBS, I wasn’t sure what the protocol was for telling my team and others, and I appreciated the support I got which allowed me to be comfortable being out and open.”

Mondal has since very actively paid it forward. He is involved in the graduate training programs and with interns to ensure that they see diversity role models so that they know there are resources to assist them if and when they need them. Interns attend several internal education sessions, one of which is a panel discussion introducing various employee networks including LGBT support, which Mondal helps lead.

He is active with UBS’ internal community affairs team and also helps represent UBS in external outreach like Inside Out and other industry programs.

Since joining UBS, he has been part of the Pride network and is now part of the steering committee where he helps answer questions for those who need mentorship. One of their outreach efforts has involved an anti-homophobic bullying education campaign, part of which was to run a workshop with a video and discussions in local schools. It was so well received that it has been launched nationally for all primary schools within the U.K. Looking back, many students have said that it was one of the most impactful experiences they have had during their school career.

Along the way, Mondal has been impressed by the support the program has gotten from people to volunteer and be involved.

“UBS has an extremely open and accepting culture, and I haven’t ever felt prejudiced against,” Mondal says. “It is my pleasure to help share that value with others internally and externally. “It’s not always easy to make the time commitment but it’s worth it.”

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Voice of Experience: Nina Long, Senior Vice President of Trading Strategies Development, CoreCommodity Management

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nina LongBeing out at work can change your entire dynamic, says Nina Long, senior vice president at CoreCommodity Management. “It’s so vital because then you can concentrate on your work and clients, rather than spending mental energy trying to figure out how to answer simple questions like, ‘What did you do on your vacation?’ or “What are your holiday plans?’ without revealing that you have a same-sex partner. You can be so much more productive when you are not trying to maintain elusive answers.” Now she feels free to discuss the adventures she shares with her partner Bella, a clinical psychologist.

An Unconventional Career Path

Long attended university in Belarus where she studied physics and enjoyed learning to code, even though at the time she was unsure what the business application could be. It didn’t take her long to find out: In 2002 when she immigrated to the United States, her coding prowess helped her get a job in a marketing firm where she optimized schedules for TV ads. She soon learned that physics and mathematical tools played an integral role on Wall Street and decided to find out how she could apply her knowledge in programming and science to finance. After completing a Carnegie Mellon certificate program, she joined UBS in the commodity group in fixed income, where, as she says, her diverse experiences and broad knowledge came together in a way that equipped her for the job entirely.

“I could code faster than I could speak and my experience in marketing allowed me to compile excellent pitch books,” she says. From there she joined CoreCommodity Management, an independent commodity firm serving global clients, where she heads the strategy development team that develops models and profiles that inform investment processes.

“I’m proud that I have become an essential part of the firm and have grown to be in charge of quantitative strategy development team,” she says. Its rapid growth from a boutique firm has brought challenges, including the realization that she has to manage her team efficiently, rather than opting to do everything herself. “I’m still excited about my daily work fine tuning models and applying new methods and techniques to figure out how to separate information from noise. This work makes me happy,” she says.

As new businesses like Uber or Apple Pay disrupt existing models, she believes that finance as an industry won’t be immune. “We need to anticipate and plan for disruption.” She also sees that as the U.S economy moves to more of a service economy from a manufacturing economy, it will have impacts on inflation and individual investors. “How do you hedge your risk and exposure to inflation in a shifting environment?” she asks rhetorically. “Those are the types of questions that I find fascinating.”

Confidence, Even When You Don’t Feel It

Looking back over her career, she wishes that she had been braver and that she had realized at the time that she was not the only one lacking confidence. “I was not in a unique position at all, but I assumed that everyone knew more than I did.” She says that even something as simple as joining an industry 5K race seemed daunting – that perhaps you had to be a professional runner, but she soon learned that anyone who was willing to spend the time could do it. And, she says, participating in those types of events has an added bonus as it earns you exposure and access to people in the firm at a different level.

She advises women starting their careers to volunteer and join networks, but not just the ones that you think you should. She encourages women to keep trying different groups until they find that one that really interests them, and in which they are looking forward to participating.

Expanding the Ranks at the Top

Long emphasizes that the industry still lacks sufficient numbers of women in top executive positions and how noticeable it is when you see more than one women in any given setting. “If you walk into a client meeting and greet a team of men, it will seem ordinary, but if you open the door and see a team of women, you will notice the gender of the people in the room,” she points out.

And Long reminds her peers that to keep growing you have to keep learning. “As an intern, you did a rotation every few months to learn new products and tools, which was great. However, as you progress, it can be easy to stop learning as many new and different ideas, which is actually a barrier for growth. I am really keen to keep learning.”

A Supportive Culture Toward LGBT

Long has an especially insightful perspective on LGBT issues and acceptance, due to her weekend volunteer work with RUSA LGBT, a group that helps newly arrived LGBT asylum seekers to adjust. They help with practical matters such as information about insurance and housing and then connect them to community support.

And, one of their highlight moments is participating in New York Pride Month.

“It’s amazing to help people from Ukraine, Georgia and Russia spend time here in a more accepting environment,” she says, noting that in many Russian speaking countries, unless you work in a creative industry, you are still as risk to be fired due to being LGBT. When they come here and see JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and other financial firms marching in the parade, it makes such a difference for them to know that there can be a supportive corporate culture.

“Despite progress, we are reminded all the time when we talk to our friends back home that there is still a long way to go for equality worldwide and the recent tragedy in Orlando reminds us that even here in the USA there is still work to do also.”

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Six Reasons Why Women Execs Should Volunteer

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show-of-hands featuredBy Jennifer Davis

As a professional woman, you’ve probably dreamed of making an impact in the community, beyond your role as an industry leader or executive. “If I only I the time,” you might have told yourself, “I’d tackle world poverty. Or start a nonprofit foundation. Or work on a cure for cancer.”

Indeed, women are the nation’s most prevalent volunteers, with more than 28 percent giving their time, compared to 22 percent of men. Part of the reason may be that women intuitively understand that their responsibilities extend beyond payroll and profits. “Women are hard-wired to be engaged in their communities,” says Dr. Val Hannemann, a psychologist in Flagstaff, Ariz. “Volunteering connects women. They share, they compare, and they adopt new strategies to make a difference in the world.”And let’s not forget, most volunteers are recruited by volunteers and so women have a tendency to invite their female networks to engage in their projects.

Yet the reality is that many women who volunteer their time work part-time or not at all. In fact, women who are primarily care-givers or homemakers can become “professional volunteers.”On the other hand, time can be a major issue for professional women, who may have less flexibility in their schedules or priorities. If you’re like a lot of working women, you’re probably already juggling family, children, and your health —in addition to a demanding job. Yet if you haven’t carved out the time to volunteer, it may be time to reconsider. Yes, making the world a better place is important for its own sake. But it’s also a critical part of your professional development strategy. Here are six reasons why you should make the time:

  • You’ll build your experience base

    Volunteer work can play an important role in helping you get the experience you want in your career. These opportunities provide great opportunities to learn new skills, interact with mentors, and build your portfolio. And, of course, you can list volunteer opportunities on your resume and LinkedIn profile, alongside your paid work.

  • You’ll expand your network

    The old adage, “It’s not what you know, but who you know” is true. Furthermore, it is really about who knows you. Volunteer opportunities allow you to build relationships outside your normal circle of friends and colleagues, helping you to broaden your network of folks who have had positive interactions with you and are inclined to think of you when opportunities arise.

  • You’ll broaden your perspective

    By working with a different set of people and challenges, you’ll inevitably widen your perspective. Volunteering can pull you out of your comfort zone, forcing you to tackle new problems from different angles. It can also give you profound new perspectives that can shape both your approach to life and the way you show up on the job.

  • You’ll hone your leadership skills

    As a volunteer, you can do things that an employee can’t. You can work outside the organization chart. You can seek out new opportunities for growth and involvement. And you can make connections between organizations. With the right volunteer opportunity, you’ll gain experience setting a vision, developing strategies, raising funds, motivating people, and reconciling conflicting perspectives—all essential leadership skills. And you’ll have the opportunity to practice those skills in a safe environment—and then apply them back at work to make yourself more visible and indispensable.

  • You’ll position yourself for promotion

    A volunteer opportunity outside of work is a great way to demonstrate your readiness for the C-suite. By sitting on the board of a local nonprofit, managing a community-based initiative, or organizing a volunteer program for your own corporation, you’ll be required to tackle many of the same issues faced by top executives within your company. Moreover, taking on a leadership volunteer role “send(s) the signal that you aspire to leadership potential,” says leadership coach Muriel Maignan Wilkins. Indeed, taking on the right volunteer opportunity can earn you recognition as a leader—helping you to get the promotion you desire.

  • You’ll do good for others—and for yourself

    Last, but not least, volunteering is vital to the health of our communities. You already bring so many skills to the table, and using them for the greater good makes the world a better place. At the same time, serving others gets you out of your own head and puts your own worries and problems in perspective. Research has shown that volunteering helps people feel more socially connected, wards off depression, and may even contribute to better physical health like lower blood pressure and improved memory. So, do yourself some good by doing good!

Jennifer Davis is Chief Marketing Officer of Leyard and Vice President, Marketing and Product Strategy for Planar Systems

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Coming Out, Connecting and Finding Allies

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LGBT flag featuredBy Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational Psychologist

This week and this month on theglasshammer.com we are celebrating LGBT women at work and the Allies that champion and support them. We do this series every year in June since we aim to inspire professional women at work and if you are a gay woman and are out or thinking about coming out then we want to make sure you know you are not the only lesbian executive around. Much like the broader mission of theglasshammer.com, our career advice today in this column is to help you find sponsors, mentors and champions so that you can build your network and connect with people who can ultimately help you. To connect with anyone, both parties need to know a little about each other and build a little trust and that is the number one reason to come out at work. Studies show that if you are not able to bring your full self to work then it is going to be harder to perform, engage and generally stay motivated.

Theglasshammer and our consulting arm Evolved Employer did comprehensive research back in 2012 in both NY and London with LGBT women and one of the conclusions was sometimes it is gender bias that is still preventing us from advancing than our LGBT status. Read the US and the UK research here- some nuances to think about.

I also did a piece of work with my a colleague Dr. Frank Golom at a leading Fortune 100 firm on stereotype threat for LGBT people at work (read about that here) and a major career strategy that we recommend from the research is that you need to make sure people know who you are and what you can do at work instead of any preconceived notions they might have. They have these notions for many reasons ( such as the media portrayals, narrow experience of actual gay people or knowing one gay woman and then thinking every other gay person they meet is the same and gender role conformity expectations depending on how you show up on the expression spectrum). Sure, it can be super tedious to educate others all day, every day, but to some extent everyone has to do it albeit, the more non-dominant social identities you have the more it seems you have to educate.

Career advice? Seek out internal and external networking groups if you feel like it will help you formally and informally. It is not for everyone, just as not everyone wants to join a women’s network but if you like to share experiences and seek situational advice from people who have been there then it could be a good fit. Out Leadership have recently formed a women’s group headed up by Stephanie Sandberg. Out and Equal are a fabulous resource also and there are many other groups (GWN and Stonewall in London for example) that host events and get togethers. Many firms have LGBTQIA networks You might find a mentor or at the very least friendship there and remember the A stands for Allies and Allies can sponsor and champion you in your career. We help develop LGBTA networks as well as women’s networks from mission to structure to actual content so contact us if you are leading one or are trying to start one at your firm.

Contact nicki@theglasshammer.com if you wish to hire an executive coach to help you navigate your career

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Voice of Experience: Jennifer A. Johnson, Partner & National Leader, Risk Assurance Services, PwC Canada

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Jennifer Johnson“Diversity of thought comes from having a diverse set of team members – so you have to attract and welcome them so they feel valuable and heard,” Johnson says. “Although there are not many GLBT partners at PwC Canada, my visibility sends a clear message to staff at all levels that you can be your authentic self. I’ve had men and women say that seeing me and my example has been encouraging to them; that they feel PwC is a safe place to be out and it won’t negatively impact their careers. I’ve personally found PwC to be very open and welcoming.”

Successfully Climbing the Ladder at PwC

As national leader of the Risk Assurance practice in Canada, Johnson oversees about 400 risk professionals across Canada and works with peers across the world. A “lifer” at PwC, she joined the Hartford, CT, office at the age of 22, spending her initial four years largely on the road for client work and enjoying the travel experience. She came out during that time, and decided she wanted to try a bigger city with larger clients, more specialized practices and a more liberal culture. She spent the next six years with PwC US in Boston in the same practice area, ultimately becoming a director.

Her girlfriend at the time, now her wife, Ashleigh, was from Toronto and they moved there due to Ashleigh’s desire to obtain an advanced degree and the fact that gay marriage wasn’t yet recognized nationally in the United States. Johnson took an international transfer in July 2008 as a director and became a partner in 2012, ultimately becoming the national leader Jan. 1, 2016.

Johnson says that is the professional achievement she is most proud of so far, being asked to take on a national leadership role only 17 years out of school and also while juggling a young family at home.

“I’m excited to continue to see the practice evolve as we think strategically and help shape a refreshed vision. My goal is to motivate and drive the entire practice and support the personal growth and achievement of each member,” she says. “Some people are wary of the idea of change, but it drives me.”

Much of that constant change is evident in the dynamic, evolving nature of the spectrum covered by the Risk Assurance practice, helping clients identify, understand and manage risk from regulatory compliance to environmental and technological issues. Her team needs to stay on the forefront.

Setting Yourself Up for Success

Johnson says she always saw herself as a “Type A” personality with a long-term plan, but she now sees that it’s impossible to predict what’s going to come your way and doggedly pursuing a focus means you could end up with blinders on.

“Interesting things that weren’t even on your radar might appear, and you might end up disregarding them if you aren’t open to the possibilities,” she says, citing the opportunity she seized in Toronto. “Moving to another country meant I had to join a new team where I had to re-establish myself and work my way back into a position to be seen as having partnership potential, yet it’s one of the best things I’ve done.”

It can be a challenge for women to step up and take opportunities when they don’t believe they have all the necessary attributes, but that can hold you back.

Earlier in her career, she herself felt that she had demonstrated she was ready for the next promotion even before the traditional time table, but she says that the one step she missed was asking. “I didn’t receive that first promotion and was devastated, but in hindsight I believe I probably should have advocated more and been more vocal.” Even today she reminds her peers to make sure they’re advocating for themselves within the partnership.

She recommends that young women (and men) see themselves as sponges, to take in all the people they meet and models they can emulate. “You will look back and realize that you have learned so much about your career, and yourself personally — what you’re good at and what you’re motivated by and also what you’re not as good at,” she says.

A Welcoming Culture

Johnson appreciates the safe and inclusive environment at PwC. She came out in her second year with the firm to the people with whom she worked closely, which was welcome since she didn’t have the same level of support from her family and friends. “That gave me a lot of self-confidence that has also paid off in the corporate sphere. I am now more likely to voice my opinion, no matter what the subject.”

At PwC, she serves as the executive sponsor of Canada’s GLEE (Gay, Lesbian and Everyone Else) network and is an active champion of HeForShe – UN Women’s movement for gender equality – for which PwC is a founding Impact Champion. She also participates in the PwC Women in Leadership program that supports female professionals who have aspirations to achieve more senior roles within PwC. The group is sponsored by both male and female senior partners, and they also bring in external female professionals to share their experience and perspectives.

A Life Outside of Work

With three kids, including five-year-old fraternal twin daughters Teagan and Quinn, and a 12 week old son, Logan, Johnson appreciates the support of her wife Ashleigh, a nutritionist and stay-at-home parent.

A big believer in finding time for family, career and self; she tries to structure her days so that she begins with some time at the gym for herself, goes to her busy workday, and then arrives home in time to read stories and put the kids to bed.

“You need to know your limits and protect your family and ‘you’ time,” says Johnson.

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LGBT Leadership Update: Rising Corporate Activism and Executive Pride

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LGBT flag featuredBy Aimee Hansen

With June, we turn to Pride Month on the diversity calendar, so let’s focus our spotlight to recent progress on advancing LGBT inclusive business cultures and LGBT executive leadership.

Corporate Activism Defends LGBT Rights

Recently, state law setbacks to the LGBT community (and human rights) have one positive side effect: they’ve led to a collective backlash from companies and employers who have united to defend LGBT rights.

Repeatedly, companies have been asserting to state lawmakers that upholding LGBT rights is a necessary condition for attracting and maintaining the best talent for businesses.

Since North Carolina passed an anti-discrimination law that failed to protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, over 200 business leaders – including CEOs and executives of major companies such as Apple, Bank of America, Citibank, Ernst & Young, Goldman Sachs, Facebook, IBM, Microsoft, and more – have signed an open letter to the state governor calling for a repeal to the “HB 2” law, stating that “such laws are bad for our employees and bad for business”.

Canceled plans by Paypal, Deutsche Bank and performance artists are estimated to have cost the state “tens of millions in dollars of losses”. Meanwhile, companies also joined in activism with an open letter to state leaders in Mississippi to repeal “HB 1523”, which gives individuals or organizations license to discriminate against LGBT people based on religious justification.

In the Harvard Business Review, author Andrew Winston points out that business has been ahead of the public curve when it comes to LGBT rights. Winston notes that over half of Fortune 500 companies were offering domestic partner benefits ten years ago when only 35% of Americans supported gay marriage (and 55% opposed it), and that today corporate adoption of anti-discrimination policies based on gender identity (66% of companies) outpaces public acceptance of transgender rights.

In the case of LGBT rights, Winston argues the moral imperative of non-discrimination in the workplace and the economic motivation to thrive with diverse customers are so understandably linked that business is “pro-actively influencing societal norms.”

LGBT Diversity Associated with Stock Performance

Influencing policy is part of the equation, but building an LGBT-inclusive culture is another thing. When LGBT employees do not feel free to be themselves, when they feel they have to “hide in plain sight”, it’s proven costly not only to employees but to business.

When diversity is celebrated and genuinely fostered, not only individual productivity but company productivity seems to benefit. According to a recent report by Credit Suisse, the stock of companies that exhibit LGBT diversity outperform the stock of companies that do not.

LGBT diversity was factored by companies that have openly LGBT leaders and senior management, are voted as leading LGBT employers, or have many employees in local LGBT business networks.

The LGBT basket of 270 companies outperformed the MSCI ACWI by 3% annually since 2010, as well as outperforming a custom basket of companies in US, Europe and Australia by 1.4% annually.

The correlation of LGBT diversity with performance is important, since according to the report, 72% of senior LGBT executives say they have not come out at work, which is not surprising when it’s still legal to fire someone based on sexual orientation in over twenty states and based on gender identity in over thirty states.

Celebrating LGBT Executive Role Models

Celebrating diversity at the very top, for the first time in the three years since its introduction, a woman topped the 2015 list of the 100 Most Powerful LGBT Executives in the World, named by OUTstanding and the Financial Times.

Inga Beale is the first female CEO of Lloyd’s of London and openly bi-sexual. As she told The Guardian, “It’s not about me. It’s about what you do for other people. For me, it’s so important because you need these role models.”

According to OUTstanding as reported in Entreprenuer, recognition is critical since closeted LGBT employees are 70% more likely to leave a company within the first three years.

The list of LGBT power executives, for which activism outside of the workplace is also taken into account, included several from the finance world, including Accenture’s Sander van‘t Noordende (10), Citi’s Bob Annibale (28), Goldman Sach’s Gavin Wills (36), and PwC’s Andy Woodfield (78) and Mark Gossington (82).

Speaking to the inclusive culture fostered at Accenture, Sander van’t Noordende has said, “Only when people are comfortable in their workplace will they be able to get the best out of themselves,” advising individuals to not only value their difference, but also find a company that values their difference too.

Promoting LGBT C-Suite Leadership

Stanford is also stepping up to encourage aspiring LGBT executives to value their difference. Stanford Graduate School of Business introduced the Stanford LGBT Executive Leadership Program, which will first take place in late July 2016 and is accepting applications until June 24th.

With a focus on fostering authentic and impactful senior LGBT leadership and network building, Stanford states, “This is the only Executive Education program of its kind offered by a leading business school to address the significant gap in leadership for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender people in the C-suite.”

According to program co-director Tom Wurster, the one-week training is ideally aimed at “the LGBT executive with a minimum of 10 years professional experience and 5 years of management experience who is preparing to take on more significant leadership roles.”

More visible leadership within more significant leadership roles – out and proud and C-Suite is the call.

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