Why Are Women Underrepresented in These Key Job Markets?

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Image via Shutterstock

By Tiffany Rowe

Our technological world is expanding at an astounding rate and jobs in the STEM industry remain in high demand. Those holding degrees in math, technology, engineering, and the sciences have, in many cases, their pick of lucrative and rewarding jobs. When you add an advanced degree in one of those subjects or in business then the opportunities are seemingly endless.

However, while the world as a whole is contributing to advancements in these areas, the people who secure these jobs are overwhelmingly men. Women are represented equally in some of these fields but engineering and computer science degrees are given to only about 29 percent of female undergraduates. University classrooms where STEM classes are taught are generally filled with male students. Some women are the sole representatives of their gender in these classes.

Many of us have long been told that this gender gap in these fields is related to the notion that girls receive less encouragement than their male counterparts to tackle these subjects during their lower educational years. While this can’t be proven, the simple fact that men far outnumber women in the STEM industries can’t be ignored.

While you may hear many different reasons why this occurs, we’re going to look at some solutions that can help women boost their power in the STEM job market and bring their unique talents to the industry.

Erase the Stigma

Many people erroneously believe that girls are not supported nor encouraged to take on advanced classes in mathematics and sciences during their younger years or that they’re not as capable as boys are. Factually this is untrue as both boys and girls show equal results on aptitude tests for these subjects.

Women and girls are more than capable of learning the fundamentals of higher mathematics and sciences when they’re given the opportunity. However, the stigma still exists that girls are less capable of excelling at these subjects than boys are. Younger children are experiencing less of this today than they were even just a few years ago, but young women in high school and college may still feel that these fields are not right for them or that they won’t succeed.

What Parents and Educators Can Do

While educational trends and how they focus on female students are changing, there are still many things that parents and educators can do to encourage interest in these subjects. Childhood curiosity knows no gender so if your daughter shows an interest in computers, math, or science do all you can to encourage that.

Learning how to write code comes very easily for younger children just as foreign languages do. If you’re an educator, encourage your school district’s administrators to implement these classes for children in lower grades. There has been a push to encourage more coding education, backed by the likes of Amazon, Google, Code.org, and more. As of just a few years ago, only 0.4 percent of college-bound women intended to major in computer science.

What Women Can Do for Themselves

Many women who have already attended university and achieved a degree in an unrelated field may think they’re now unqualified for any type of job in the STEM industry. Fortunately that’s not always the case. Many women who have undergraduate degrees in arts or humanities can take additional classes to better familiarize themselves with the fundamentals.

Earning online MBAs is a great way to get an edge in the industry. Advanced business degrees almost always include the option to narrow the focus of the program and these focuses do include some science and technology. Plus, innovations made in science and technology are useless unless the right person has the business and marketing skills to introduce them successfully to the public or direct them to the proper channels for further research and development.

It’s very easy to realize that, given the complex nature of our changing society and environment, that people with the technological skills and education to continue to make advancements for the benefit of society are invaluable. In fact, our lives and the lives of generations to come may depend on the technology we perfect and discover today. All of us can only benefit from having as many people tasked with solving complex problems as we can and that needs to include women. And with the right education, encouragement, and tools there’s no reason that can’t happen.

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To work with M&A: Young Women Lawyers May Be Missing Out

female lawyers featuredBy Aimee Hansen

Women lawyers are underrepresented in M&A primarily because they are less likely to enter and stay in the field. But some M&A women partner lawyers wonder if young lawyers know what they are missing.

The gender gap in M&A

A study of more than 17,500 lawyers at 25 law firms nationwide found that women held 48 percent of first and second year associate positions (corporate: 43 percent, M&A: 40 percent) but only 18 percent of senior equity partner positions (corporate: 16 percent, M&A: 15 percent).

While a glaring gap in women between the associate level and equity partner level exists across law, the distinguishing M&A gap is at entry level. Female enrollment in M&A courses (37%) was also noticeably below enrollment overall (45%), showing that law students are disinclined to enter, and/or discouraged from entering, the lucrative practice of M&A.

The survey’s authors speculate that perceptions about M&A keep women out, such as being testosterone-fueled, more demanding, and not family-friendly.

Being a woman in M&A

Clare O’Brien, Partner at Shearman & Sterling, entered M&A as a third year associate only because the firm had a mandatory rotation policy back then.

“I actually didn’t really want to go to M&A because it had a reputation of being very ‘male’ …” says O’Brien. “That’s a cautionary tale, in the sense that if I’d had my druthers, I wouldn’t have chosen to rotate to the M&A team, but I was really glad that I did.”

M&A law is skewed male, and investment banks (with which M&A lawyers regularly interact) more so, but O’Brien says being a woman has not impeded her advancement.

“Nobody made me feel less competent or less able than any of my male colleagues. I got opportunities to do the same sort of work, the same level of responsibilities and the same exposure to clients as my male colleagues,” O’Brien shares. “From my point of view, my preconceptions were not, as a general matter, actually born out in practice. Maybe I was lucky to work with the people I did, or maybe the preconceptions are a little bit unfair.”

Here are some of the rewarding aspects of M&A that you may not know about:

Being central to people and process

“I think it’s one of the more interesting practice groups to be in, because in a transactional practice, M&A tends to be the hub, and so people who work on the M&A team are generally responsible for the transaction documents,” says O’Brien, “which means we get to solicit and receive input from other practice groups and then incorporate that input into the transaction documents.”

According to O’Brien, more exposure to the processes of client decision-making and multiple practices positions an M&A lawyer well if she or he decides to transition to an in-house or business position.

“You are more of a generalist than any other practice area,” says O’Brien, ”which, I think, makes you a better lawyer. And you generally have closer contact with the business people than people working in other practice areas.”

Learning on an on-going basis

“We have a very cross-border practice, so, at least in my work, you get confronted with different legal regimes and questions that you don’t know the answer to and have to find out, so you’re constantly learning,” says O’Brien. “That may be true of other practice areas, but my sense is that they are more jurisdiction-based than M&A.”

This growth opportunity includes the latitude to learn about M&A as you enter the field. Among a recent panel of six senior M&A women lawyers at BC Law, few had either interest or experience in finance during underground or law school.

Having satisfying work flow

M&A lawyers report that it’s gratifying to move through the finite deal-making process from beginning to end, and that a transaction-based practice offers a sense of completion.

“The work has a flow to it, which is satisfying in the sense that you get to work on a transaction, you get to understand at least some of what your client does, as well as the business that is the subject of the deal, you get to draft and negotiate the transaction documents, and get to a signing, and then a closing,” says O’Brien. “Each signing and closing represents a milestone, and therefore an accomplishment.”

In the panel, M&A lawyers also expressed that the hands-on immediacy of the work (as opposed to litigation on past damages) and tangibility make it rewarding.

Leveraging strategic and relationship-building skills

While M&A is more associated with masculinity, much of the skills required – collaboration, listening and consensus building – are more “stereotypically” feminine.

“I think you get to be a better listener, and to exercise diplomatic skills…What you’re trying to do is to find solutions instead of erecting roadblocks,” says O’Brien, “so you have to be creative and prepared to think outside of the box. You have to be able to listen to the other side’s concerns, why they don’t want to do what you want them to do, and then, where possible, find a compromise.”

“You can’t just pound the table and say ‘it’s my way or the highway’ because that often won’t work,” says O’Brien, “and your client won’t thank you for it because your client wants to get a deal done and wants somebody who can help it do that, rather than hinder that.”

When it comes to the broader benefit of women in deal-making, a recent study of S&P 1500 companies found that organizations with a higher proportion of women on the board pay less for both acquisitions (15.4 percent less for each female director) and takeovers (7.6 percent less for each female director).

What about the schedule?

Flexibility is increasing in firms and much can be done remotely during the valleys of work, but peaks are both exciting and intense. When signing or closing a deal, being in the same room for extended hours with the client and the other side is often still necessary.

“What can be hard is the unpredictability of your schedule,“ says O’Brien. “If your client wants to do a deal and it happens they want to do it over the weekend, you have to do it over the weekend.”

O’Brien emphasizes the importance of building up a support network you can rely on, and notes that M&A lawyers usually have the means to pay for that support. Also, finding flexibility, one senior M&A lawyer reports arranging her summers off with her kids.

“I think what you have to do is say OK, when I’m ready to have a family, I’m going to have a family,” says O’Brien. “If you’re waiting for the right time, there’s never going to be the right time, so you have to go ahead and do it when it’s right for you.” O’Brien’s own daughters are eleven and seventeen years old.

Is M&A for you?

Like any area of practice, M&A will not be for every women lawyer, but if you can get beyond the dissuading preconceptions, you may find yourself surprised.

“In my view, M&A is one of the most interesting, if not the most interesting practice area in corporate law, and the perceptions that women are less welcome, and are less successful, are overblown.” says Shearman & Sterling’s O’Brien. “If you decide that you want to pursue a corporate practice that is transactional, and if you’re interested in being intellectually challenged and interacting with people on a constant basis, you should seriously consider becoming an M&A lawyer.”

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Ask Yourself These Questions before Accepting That Job Offer

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Women-on-TabletHow exciting to get a new job offer! Perhaps you have been job searching for a while. Maybe you are relieved to finally secure a position that seems worthy of your talent and experience. After months of submitting resumes online and the seemingly never ending series of phone interviews that go nowhere, getting an offer is validation that you are still marketable.

Of course, our first impulse is to take the job. Yet, there are many things to consider when you receive a job offer at a new company. It’s common to focus first on the compensation and benefits package, the new title and responsibilities. We can get distracted by all this. But if you are ambitious and forward thinking, you also need to consider what the new company can offer YOU in terms of your long range career goals and potential advancement.

Here are some questions you should ask when evaluating a new company:

Are there women in senior executive roles?

One of the first things to look at is the organizational chart to determine if there currently are women in leadership roles. If there is some representation of women at a high level, where did these women come from? Were they promoted from within or recruited from the outside?

The answer to this question is important in order to determine if the company is invested in building a pipeline of women and committed to nurturing that pipeline to leadership roles.

Do senior women have P&L responsibility?

Many companies will boast that they have promoted women to assume leadership roles, but when you take a good look at the organizational chart you may discover that these positions do not come with any fiscal responsibility. In other words, the company may have gendered roles even at the senior level. A lack of female role models has been noted to be an obstacle for high achieving women.

Do women have power and influence?

What role do women play in the overall operations and strategy of the company? Do they have any involvement in setting the direction of the company? Are there women on the Board of Directors? Do women at all levels sit on committees that have a voice with senior management?

Does the company invest in developing women leaders?

Is there a women’s network? If so, is it supported by senior management? Does the initiative have a reasonable budget? The budget is a big clue! Many of these programs lack any financial support which most likely indicates the company is paying lip service to supporting the advancement of women. Very little can be accomplished without money or executive sponsorship.

Does the company have a program for high potentials?

If so, what is the representation of women in this program? Are the criteria for inclusion in the program clearly defined? Are women moving to leadership positions once enrolled in this initiative?

Does the company have a formal sponsorship program?

Once again, it’s important to determine if women are included in sponsorship programs because these programs provide the type of advocacy and support that lead to promotions. What is the result of their sponsorship? If there isn’t a formal program, are women being sponsored or are they stuck in the mentorship trap? Speak with HR to determine if sponsorship for high potential women is recognized as important and actively promoted with senior leadership support.

Does the culture of the company align with your values?

This question is perhaps the most important one of all. Does the overall culture of the organization align with your core values and your ambition? The culture can support you or stifle you and unless you take the time to meet with people and ask questions, it is extremely difficult to see what’s happening behind the scenes.

You can determine quite easily if there are flexible work options and other policies that are important to your ongoing success by looking at the employee handbook or consulting with human resources. Answering these questions will certainly help you to determine if the company is supportive of high achieving women and working mothers.

But on a very basic level, you should answer this question for yourself: What type of culture will best support my ambition? If you want to create visibility and credibility for yourself, are you more likely to succeed in a hierarchical structure or a consensus driven organization, a conservative or cutting edge culture? Where will you be able to voice your opinion and make a difference?

Every company has its unique culture and it’s dangerous to stereotype based on the industry; all the more reason to take the time to figure out if the organization aligns with who you are, how you like to work, and where you want to go with your career.

The bottom line here is that our eagerness to take a job offer in a new company may seem like the best move to make. But before you accept the offer, consider whether or not the company is the right company for YOU.

Bonnie Marcus, M.Ed., is the President of Women’s Success Coaching, where she helps professional women advance their careers. She is the author of THE POLITICS OF PROMOTION: How High-Achieving Women Get Ahead and Stay Ahead (Wiley).

Guest contributed by Bonnie Marcus

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Best of Career Tips

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Our resident Executive Coach and Organizational Psychologist Nicki Gilmour writes a regular inspiring and useful career tip column for theglasshammer that helps women navigate through their career.Nicki Gilmour

If you are interested in hiring an Executive Coach you may contact Nicki directly on Nicki@theglasshammer.com for a no obligation chat about our services.

Take a look at the some of the previous articles Nicki has written:

 

Leadership: How to be authentic at work and why sincerity can hinder that

The trouble with “authenticity” in the workplace is that there are many definitions of what being authentic is and in reality we are often defined by the role we play.

Why wanting more at work can be a good and bad thing

I am very guilty of living in the future and this can lead to not being 100% engaged in the present.

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Are You Dying to Get to the Top?

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Guest contributed by Laleh Hancock

top

Image via Shutterstock

Yes, the pun is intended! It’s well documented that executives who ignore the warning signs from their body put themselves at risk of serious illness and injury, if not death.
I am not about to give you a list of do’s and don’ts. You’re smart. You’re talented. You’ve read it all and you know what’s required. You’re a leader and an executive, and yet you are reading this for some reason.
 
Maybe you have started to notice some of those warning signs, such as being tired all the time? Maybe you’re being distracted by your busyness and you just need some assistance with implementation? Maybe, even though you have it all – the job and the life that everyone wants – you are not as happy as you thought you would be, and you feel like there has to be more to life?
 
You can have, be, and do it all. Don’t let anyone tell you any different.
 
Best of all, you don’t have to give anything up. In fact, you need to include more! You need to include YOU and your body!
 
It is not about ‘balance.’ It’s about mindfulness; remaining aware of everything, no matter what is going on, and taking effective action, which includes making YOU and your wellness a priority.
 
It’s easy to ignore all those whispers from the body when you are busy – “Sure, I need to go to the bathroom, but I’ve only got one hour to get this done. I can wait.” But can you really afford to? The more whispers you ignore, the more likely your ‘glass hammer’ is going to turn into a ‘sledge hammer’ to the back of the head! It starts with whispers, but if you don’t pay attention, it ends up shouting at you with debilitating illnesses or injuries that force you to take a break.
 
Three things can turn it around for you:
 
1. Breathe – Focusing on your breath reconnects you with your body. Try taking a breath up from under your feet, to the top of your head, then release it back down to your feet; reconnecting you to the contributing energies of the Earth. This has a calming effect, adds oxygen to your body, allows you to refocus your attention and energies on the thoughts and actions that will create your desired outcome with greater ease.
 
2. Ask questions. The point of a question is to gain additional information and awareness, not rely on answers we’ve already concluded. Questions are expansive, and they put what you desire out into the ether, so the universe can contribute back to you and your body. 
 
Start with, “What would it take?” questions. Ask them often, and expand your sense of the possibilities available to you that you may have not considered.
 
For example: You’re on a tight deadline, but your body wants to move. Ask, “What would it take to move my body and meet the deadline?” Really wonder about it. Then continue with your activities and see what ideas shows up. Asking the question without a conclusion in mind makes you more receptive to possibilities that you may not have considered before. Ideas might come to you that enable you to do both, such as taking your phone to record ideas while you walk around the block. You can have a planning and creativity session with yourself on more effective solutions, and still give your body the contribution it was asking for.
 
3. Expand Your Zone of Awareness. It’s so easy to become myopic when you are busy, yet this is so contractive and counter-productive to the creativity required for success.
 
Throughout the day, stop and ask, “Where is my focus?” and expand it. All you have to do is ask, and it will automatically expand.
 
Also ask, “Is anything required of me?” and follow any ideas you might have. You may find a particular project pulling on your attention, or you might hear a whisper from your body.
 
The more you include your body in your goals, the more your body will have your back. It’s a two-way street!
Like most of us with ambitious goals, Laleh Alemzadeh-Hancock tried to do it all. Climb the corporate ladder, be a great spouse, and the perfect mother. She would self-sacrifice, eat at her desk, stay late, and still manage the household. Both her family and her work were priorities. The only one who wasn’t was herself. Now, Laleh is a management consultant, Joy of Business facilitator and the CEO of Belapemo and Global Wellness For All. With nearly 30 years of experience in operational excellence, change management, and organizational wellness, Laleh has inspired and empowered hundreds of thousands of individuals, including Fortune 500 executives, to seek greater success, happiness and wellness.
 
 
Laleh Alemzadeh-Hancock is a management consultant, Joy of Business facilitator, and founder and CEO of Belapemo and Global Wellness for All. A passionate change-agent, Laleh has empowered thousands of individuals including Fortune 500 executives, government agencies, not-for–profit organizations, athletes and veterans to achieve optimal growth.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions of Guest contributors are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com
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Find Yourself Negotiating with Your Significant Other as well as at Work?

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Guest contributed by Simon Letchford

negotiating

Image via Shutterstock

They say that opposites attract – but when it comes to negotiating, matching the other party’s style might be the key to a successful deal.

According to a study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, negotiations go faster,  are more congenial and have better outcomes when both negotiators have matching personality traits.

Given that it could be said that most relationships work better when personalities do not clash, that shouldn’t be surprising. Sadly, in the real world you rarely get to choose the individuals you need to negotiate with. There are, however, things you can focus on to improve your chances of a successful deal. While we don’t guarantee you’ll find your next soulmate in love, you are more likely to get a better deal in less time in other parts of your life.

Buyers are from Venus, Sellers are from Mars

Have you ever had to negotiate a deal with someone and felt like they were from a different planet?

We teach the art of negotiation to thousands of professionals each year, and they often express frustration with the way the other side talks and behaves…

Salesperson’s inner voice – “Why does this buyer keep asking for more and more detail? Why can’t he just make a decision so we can get to the fun stuff?”

Procurement: “I don’t care about your golf game, where’s my cost breakdown? And stop asking me about my personal life!”

Extroverts (most salespeople) tend to be socially open, future-oriented, and relationship-based. They prefer to communicate top-down, and are easily bored with details. The people they negotiate with the most, procurement folks, tend to be the exact opposite – analytical, more socially closed, interested in the here-and-now, and detail-oriented – making communication and negotiation frustrating to both parties.

So, step one is to recognize that we’re not all programmed to communicate the same way. You might even say we’re not all from the same planet.

Visit their planet to do the deal

Good negotiators are aware of their own communication style, as well as their opposition’s style, and they adapt their own style to the other party’s rather than relying on the other side to adapt to theirs.

Identify what planet the other side is on. Look for the cues that will indicate how they are “programmed”.

People-driven negotiators tend to be comfortable talking about their personal lives. Their offices are more likely to have lots of photos of friends and family, certificates, and even photos of famous people they’ve met. Your proposals to these types should be packaged and presented to accentuate image, vision, uniqueness and personal recognition.

Data-driven analytical types can find these people-driven topics tedious, or even inappropriate. Their offices will tend to have one or two family photos. Your negotiation proposals to these types should highlight data, profit and loss, information and ways to address business risks – keeping the personal discussions to a polite minimum.

Dominant personality styles tend to make statements rather than ask questions. They are comfortable challenging you, and tend to be more decisive. Proposals to these negotiators should be concise, and focused on the bottom line and results.

Passive styles tend to be more thoughtful and hesitating. They will ask more questions, express their opinions less often, and focus on risk. Proposals should be based on addressing risks, be factual and be supported by data, not opinions. You’ll need more negotiating patience here, as pushing for a quick decision can come across as intimidating.

Dress for the role you want

It’s not easy to adapt your style to another person’s; it takes skill and practice. If you personally have trouble connecting with the other side’s lead negotiator, (and let’s face it, sometimes two people just do not get on), think about introducing a second person on your team who has a similar style to them. As long as your team-member is aligned to your goals and strategy, they can sometimes help translate between you and your intermediary and help move the process forward.

In other words, if you’re having trouble translating from Venetian to Martian, consider bringing a Martian with you to the table.

Final two caveats

Firstly, I’m not suggesting you try to change who you are or your values or objectives. No personality type is better than the other – we just process information differently, so think carefully about how you communicate your issues to the other side.

Secondly, don’t confuse the substance of the deal (the pricing, terms, contract length and risk) with the tone and communication style deployed during the negotiation. Tone and style are only one factor in the art of negotiation – the skills of knowing your goals and limits, listening, asking good questions, making credible proposals and knowing how to respond to a “no” are also critical, and a topic for another day.

Simon Letchford is Managing Director of Scotwork’s North American business. Scotwork is a global negotiation consultancy that advises clients on negotiation strategy, and trains over 12,000 managers and executives each year in negotiation skills.

Disclaimer: Views and opinions of Guest contributors are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com

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How to Be the Best Ally You Can be to an LGBT Co-worker or Colleague

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By Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational PyschologistNicki Gilmour

You are probably fairly evolved when it comes to treating others like you would like to be treated. You stick to this golden rule and that is a good basic strategy as human civility and trust come from simple questions such as ‘Hey, how was your weekend?’

Letting the person respond to ‘the weekend’ question in an authentic way without raising an eyebrow or judging them according to your norms and yardstick is also a good start. Often a simple reply of ‘I went to the cinema with my girlfriend/wife/partner’ becomes an anxiety ridden moment for the gay gal or guy. If there is a sense of not being able to disclose this otherwise very normal and innocuous piece of info about their weekend, they may not trust you. This creates a difference that doesn’t need to be there.  People won’t share, they will change pronouns and generally omit details. Imagine not being able to talk casually about your everyday life? Not fun! Just think that if you are straight, you never run the risk of being accused of having a lifestyle for watching the same Hollywood movie hit as everyone else this past weekend.

The stakes can be high. I am not talking about the lack of legal protections in some states and parts of the world that can result in instant firing for being suspected of being gay (see last week’s column), I am talking about trust. If people do not trust you, you are not going to have the best shot at a high performing team as we have seen from numerous workplace research regardless of LGBT status.

What can you do to ensure you are being inclusive?

– When a new woman joins, do not ask her about her husband, instead use inclusive language like spouse/significant other.
– Show inclusive behavior like mentoring an LGBT team member or being reverse mentored by them.
– Take time to get to know people individually. Just because you know one gay person does not mean you know what all gay people are like.
– Do not say ‘Oh, I have a gay friend’ out of context. Can you imagine if every guy you met made a point of telling you that they had one platonic female friend as an isolated sentence?
– Do tell an anecdotal story about a time that you and your gay friend did something together in context if you want to make the other person aware that you do have exposure to an LGBT person in your life
– Making other people comfortable is a lovely trait no matter who you are and who they are.

If you really want to do more, ask them what they think you can do and open up dialogue. Know that like anything they do not represent all gay people everywhere but rather just one human who like everyone else is getting through life with hopes, dreams, concerns and chores as much as anyone else.

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LGBTQ Rights: Why Companies are Leading the Charge

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 By Aimee Hansen

LGBTQ

image via Shutterstock

With civil liberties at risk, companies have become the unexpected heavy-hitting champions of LGBTQ rights.

During Pride Month, theglasshammer often focuses on advocating for equality within corporations, but companies are increasingly playing a powerful role in driving equality within broader society.

Companies are proving to be the most powerful adopters of LGBTQ rights, while defending those rights on a state and federal level.

This sets up an odd paradox when it comes to protecting the rights of LGBTQ workers: government leans out while companies lean in.

Government setbacks to LGBTQ protections

Denying LGBTQ rights remains as emotive fodder on the political table, when it comes to appealing to voters and appeasing constituents on the religious right.

While most voters overwhelmingly support a federal LGBT-non discrimination bill (protecting gender identity and sexual orientation), no federal law protects LGBTQ workers against discrimination. It’s legal in 28 states to fire an employee for being gay.

Summing up Trump’s first 100 days, NBC recently wrote, “when it comes to LGBTQ discourse, his impact has been as loud as an air raid siren.” Gender identity and sexual orientation references have been erased from White House and State Department websites, a national survey and the 2020 U.S. Census.

In late March, as Rolling Stone put it, “Trump Quietly Went After LGBT Workers” by revoking the Obama-era Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces executive order, which required those companies doing business with the federal government to prove their compliance with federal laws and executive orders (such as the complementary order on LGBT protections, also signed in by Obama).

The repeal by the Trump administration displaced the burden of adherence from companies to LGBTQ people, creating a loophole around protections and conveying the message that the Trump government is indifferent to them.

A draft “license to discriminate” Trump executive order was leaked that induced fear across the community. The order would have effectively endorsed broad discrimination against the LGBTQ community on everything ranging from social services to healthcare to education to jobs, based upon religious reasons – likely violating the First Amendment.

While the White House denied the leaked order and backed away from the overt discrimination, Trump’s “Religious Liberty” order increased the latitude with which religious organizations can publicly favor or oppose candidates while remaining tax-exempt (a unilateral undermining of the Johnson Amendment), directed government to “to vigorously enforce Federal law’s robust protections for religious freedom,” and directed federal agencies to consider exempting some religious groups from providing birth control to employees and staff.

The light in this legislative tunnel is that a federal appeals court in Chicago ruled that companies cannot discriminate against LGBT employees, one interpretation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that may make its way to the Supreme Court.

Corporate surge in protecting LGBTQ rights

As legislative protection rolls backwards, the Corporate Equality Index 2017 report (CEI) released by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC) indicates that a record number of top U.S. businesses are leaping forward in protecting LGBTQ rights and providing benefits.

517 businesses earned the CEI’s top score of 100, a 25% jump within a single year and “the largest jump in the 15-year history of the nation’s premiere benchmarking tool for LGBT workplace equality.”

HRC notes that companies with non-discrimination protections for gender identity has increased from 3% (in 2002) among the Fortune 500 companies to 82% (including Walmart), showing commitment to protecting transgender workers.

This year, the report also expanded benchmarks to include global policies, and now 92% of CEI-rated companies “include both sexual orientation and gender identity non-discrimination protections that apply to workers domestically and internationally.”

As written in Quartz, “Businesses are becoming increasingly invested in LGBT rights and diversifying their workforce because, as Out Leadership’s managing director Stephanie Sandberg says, ‘their competitive edge depends on it.’”

Business sustainability is interlinked with employee equality. “Big business was way out ahead of government when it came to creating domestic partner benefits for their teams—and they remain way out in front when it comes to non-discrimination policies,” noted Todd Sears, founder of Out Leadership.

Corporate activism against anti-equality legislation = good business

Multinational companies are not only poised, but increasingly called upon, to lead the LGBT equality revolution, arguably because it benefits them to do so.

HRC notes that U.S. companies are increasingly playing a leading activist role in “opposing anti-equality legislation” at the state and federal levels. Last year, 68 companies joined HRC to oppose North Carolina’s HB2 “bathroom bill” while over 200 businesses signed an open letter to repeal the law.

“Corporate America has risen to the top in terms of being a high-impact influencer” on LGBT rights, said Deena Fidas, Director of HRC’s Workplace Equality Program. “We have corporations going on the record at the federal level, at the judicial level and certainly at the state level speaking out against what we would call anti-LGBT bills.”

As Sears told Quartz,

“Big businesses are positioned to drive equality because, again, a state-based patchwork of laws that impact their ability to attract, retain, and support all of their employees is ultimately bad for business.”

“Laws that prevent LGBT equality across many state and country borders impose a significant burden on these companies and harm their ability to attract and retain the best employees,” echoed Selisse Berry, CEO and founder of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, and Ken Janssens in Newsweek. “That’s why multinational firms must speak out for equal rights wherever they do business.”

 “Don’t just do no harm. Do good.” 

 At the International Business and Human Rights Conference in April, Netherlands Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Lilianne Ploumen, noted international companies taking up the mantle of corporate human rights defenders, and urged more to do so.

At the base level, protecting human rights must be paramount within a company’s own supply chain. Ploumen stated, “We need to be very clear on this: sustainable development without respect for human rights is an illusion. We cannot call economic growth ‘sustainable development’ if people’s rights are being trampled to make it possible.”

“Going beyond human rights in your own value chain is the next frontier in business and human rights,” she added, citing the examples of corporate advocacy in North Carolina and Georgia as ready evidence of the need even in ‘developed’ countries. “Companies that are not just concerned with their own value chains, but are willing to advocate for human rights more broadly. Both because they believe it’s the right thing to do and because they know their customers expect no less of them.”

Ploumen pointed out that multinational companies hold unique and powerful leverage when it comes to advocating civil rights because states and countries want their business, echoing a Davos 2016 discussion. Companies must impress, she said, that “legal certainty for companies and human rights for citizens go hand in hand.”

Ploumen urged business leaders,

“You too can join the ranks of the corporate human rights defenders. Because you know that, in the end, respecting human rights pays off. I know that’s what you want. And you know it’s what your customers and shareholders want – even if some of them don’t know it yet. So don’t just do no harm. Do good.”

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Creating Inclusive Cultures – The Risk of Doing Nothing

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 Guest contributed by Charlotte Sweeney

Image via Shutterstock

Many industries are increasingly realising that building better workplaces for all has a positive impact on productivity, employee engagement and the bottom line.  In their recent research, Deloitte identified an 80% improvement in business performance when levels of diversity and inclusion were high within a company. Also the highest performing teams are the most diverse – not more women than men, just a good mix, as this graph showing stages of team development, in the long term, a diverse and well-managed team is the most productive.

However, companies are struggling to make ‘better workplaces for everyone’ a reality.  The great opportunity is that we all have an important part to play in creating a better workplace for everyone.  Ensuring our colleague’s voices are heard and valued not only helps to attract and retain the best people, but also helps us deliver better solutions for our clients and identify risks and opportunities that we might not otherwise see.

What part can each of us play?

In our recent book ‘Inclusive Leadership – the definitive guide to developing and executing an impactful diversity and inclusion strategy – locally and globally’ we look at how to engage everyone in creating the culture change many companies aspire to.

Take a moment to consider the following questions:

  • Who do I spend most time with?

If you think about an average workday or week – whom are you spending most of your time with?  Human nature is such that we feel most comfortable with people who are like us and have similar backgrounds.  Are you spending your time with people who make you feel comfortable or with people who challenge your thinking?

  • Who do I go to for advice?

Who are the three of four people you go to for advice and support on business issues?  Are they from similar backgrounds or do they have different perspectives to you?  What are the risks of gaining advice from similar sources time after time?

  • Who is in my wider decision making team?

Again, is there diverse experience and thinking across your team or do you all think in a similar way?  Are you missing opportunities both for yourself and clients through accessing potentially narrow thinking?  How could diverse views and inputs influence your final decisions?

By narrowing our view points and limiting the types of people around us whom we spend time with, ask for advice and make decisions with we are, by default, creating cultures that seem exclusive to others.

Creating more diverse and inclusive workplaces isn’t an end in itself, it’s a means to enabling companies to attract and retain the best talent, to benefit from increased productivity and to tap into new markets and client opportunities.

My challenge to you is this – how are you going to diversify the people you spend time with and what part are you going to play in building a better workplace for all?

How many times have you heard someone question ‘Why do we need to change? We have been pretty successful with what we have always done?’ All cases for change within businesses are different. However, by considering each of the following elements you are building the foundation for your case for change.

  • What has worked in the past? – Ask your colleagues what they think has been effective in the past. Source that case for change and identify what was important for the organization. How was it structured and what were the key drivers for change? Was it client service? Employee engagement? Legislative changes or something else?
  • The moral, the legal or the business case for change? – All three should be covered:

o The moral case – simply put, this is the right thing to do!

o The legal case – The current requirements from a legal perspective as well as case law and other regulations that will potentially have an impact in the future.

o The business case – What positive impact will this have on the business ultimately for the bottom line linking back to employee engagement, brand reputation, shareholder confidence and client/customer loyalty. How can it support and enable the delivery of the existing business strategy?

About the Author

Charlotte’s first book written with co-author Fleur Bothwick OBE, ‘Inclusive Leadership – The Definitive Guide to Developing and Executing an Impactful Diversity and Inclusion Strategy – Locally and Globally’, published by The Financial Times. www.charlottesweeney.comwww.creatinginclusivecultures.com

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Why Do Legal Level Playing Fields Matter For Your Career Progress?

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By Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational Pyschologist Nicki Gilmour

“All men are created equal” is written without understanding that at the time it was penned women had no rights and people of color were slaves, so it really did mean men not people. (Disclaimer, I am not an expert so I mention it only to tell you why it matters to you now, at work, in your cube trying to make a living.)

The ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) was never ratified in the USA (there is still time and you can help with that) and the USA is the only country that won’t ratify the CEDAW agreement internationally (joining a couple of small islands only). What does that mean? Watch the great and slightly harrowing documentary Equal Means Equal to see how culturally this forgotten work on this inequality can play out from the wage gap to the mommy track to much more sinister criminal issues. It is 100% legal for companies to pay you less. Loop holes are everywhere it seems. You might be shocked to learn more about this topic that most of us thought was an issue that had been resolved by generations that went before us.

The law is very mixed when it comes to protecting Lesbians and Gays (and Bi and Trans) people at work. The person beside you could be literally fired in 50% of the States due to being suspected as gay (see ENDA). Did you know that?

Psychological safety in a human can be greatly reduced without equal protections and actual consequences can be real for all aspects of an LGBT person’s life, and increasingly so under certain legislation such as the religious liberties act. On paper, it is a good thing for people in America to be able to honor their belief set but in reality it sets up a paradigm of blanket at worst and pick and choose bigotry at best.  One fellow was refused burial by an undertaker, the federal law  because corporations have the rights of people in America, entire companies could make actual decisions that can refuse to serve people that they perceive as gay from life to death and all the pizzas you might want to eat in the middle. Some states are better than others at providing anti-discrimination protections but overall the picture is dire with only 19 states protecting their LGBT citizens against “corporation as people” potential bigotry. Many people do not realize is still very much in a fragile state.

So, what to do? I certainly cannot tell you who to vote for but I would ask you to understand what you are voting for when you cast your vote at local or presidential level. At work, if you are a woman who wants a level playing field (and some clearly do not consciously or unconsciously) then work for a good company who actively offsets uneven playing fields in a protected state. There are some very progressive companies out there who do their best to level the playing field and arguably with the state of affairs regarding any level playing field federally stalled at best or regressing at worst, great corporations, to their credit, are honoring the progress track.

Pick a winner but check out on issues like pay, promotions and benefits and where senior management show up or do not show up. It is a digital world and due diligence will only take you a moment.

 

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