Hispanic Heritage: Why Corporate America Needs to Shake Up How Boardrooms Are Filled

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Image via Shutterstock

By Aimee Hansen

As U.S. corporate boardroom diversity continues to fail desperately at reflecting the country’s rapidly shifting consumer power base, the question is no longer whether there are enough Hispanic or Latino/a leaders in the candidate pool to fuel diversity in the years to come.

But rather, how do companies redefine the candidate sphere to achieve greater diversity now?  The real issue is that Corporate America doesn’t need a few more Hispanic faces trickling into the boardroom.

It urgently needs a boardroom selection strategy that is focused on magnetizing and magnifying diversity as the primary imperative to business.

Already the New Mainstream Consumer

More than 1 in 6 Americans claim Hispanic origin. As written in The Huffington Post, “The shifting demographics in America are an eminent reality.” By 2044, the U.S. will be a majority-minority nation according to U.S. Census Data, as “minorities drive 100% of population growth.”

“The Hispanic Imperative” report by Korn Ferry pointed out some compelling statistics on consumer spending power. Hispanic families were responsible for 51% of homes purchased in 2015. They also drove 73% of Toyota’s 2015 U.S. sales growth. Hispanic buying power was estimated at $1.4 trillion in 2016, more than Mexico’s gross domestic product and bigger than the economies of all but 14 countries.

“Hispanics are the new mainstream consumer, and if you’re not addressing them, you’re not going to be in business,” said international business executive Sol Trujillo, putting them above Millennials in purchase power.

Driving Entrepreneurial and Economic Growth

Latino entrepreneurs began 86% of new businesses across 2007-2012, with Latinas leading the charge. According to the 2016 State of Women-Owned Business Report, the number of Latina owned firms skyrocketed by 137% vs. 45% for all women between 2007 and 2016, with Hispanic-owned companies growing at a rate 15 times more than all other firms according to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Meanwhile, a lack of access to capital and resources hinders the massive economic revenue boost these new businesses could represent. Latina business owners earn on average 36 cents to the dollar versus their non-minority female counterparts, meaning $172 billion in untapped potential.

Drastically Underrepresented in Corporate Leadership

Cid Wilson, President and CEO at HACR, writes, “Given the demographic and economic clout of our community, the absence of Hispanics in the boardrooms of Fortune 500 companies continues to be a missed opportunity for long-term growth and market dominance.”

In a gross underrepresentation relative to population and contribution to economic growth, “Hispanics represent barely more than 2% of directors of boards of Fortune 1000 companies,” per the Korn Ferry report.

“The Missing Pieces Report” showed that among Fortune 500 companies, Hispanics/Latino/a held a total of 3.5% of board seats in 2016, and Hispanic men gained 8 seats between 2012 and 2016 while Hispanic women lost two.

Among Fortune 100 companies only, Hispanics/Latino/a held 4.5% of board seats, with men losing 2 seats and women gaining 4.

Diversity is greater among Fortune 100 companies, with women and minorities holding 35.9% of board seats, compared to 30.8% in the Fortune 500. There are also small but significant signs of progress in new appointments.

This year, two Latina women have broken into top leadership roles in politics and corporate America. Geisha Williams became the first Fortune 500 Latina CEO in March, after being selected as CEO and President of PG&E Corporation. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (Democrat, Nevada) became the first Latina member of the U.S. Senate.

After Heidrick & Struggles 2016 Board Monitor (which measures composition, experience, turnover and diversity) documented a seven year plateau for Hispanic new board appointments among Fortune 500 firms, their Board Monitor 2017: Is Diversity At an Impasse? report revealed an all-time Hispanic high of 6.4% of new appointments in 2016, up from 4% in 2015, where it’s lingered for years. 59% of these appointments were to consumer boards where Hispanics took 12% of available seats.

While a 60% year on year increase, it comes after a seven year flat and builds on a small base relative to nearly 18% representation in the population. It also comes with the first backwards slide on female representation since the report began, dropping 2 percentage points to 27.8%, ending a seven-year run of small annual gains, and causing Heidrick & Struggles to once again push back their predicted date for 50% women representation in the boardroom to 2032 (pushed back last year from 2026, and previously from 2024.)

Why The Candidate Pool Approach Is Broken

“Unfortunately, U.S. companies have a long way to go to achieve diversity in their boardrooms and their executive ranks,” said Deborah Gillis, president and CEO, Catalyst. “Progress is glacially slow and boardrooms don’t look anything like the customers and stakeholders they serve and represent. It takes intentional, bold action to accelerate meaningful change.”

Boards continue to pull from the usual suspects for new appointments – the opposite of intentional, bold action – which in turn keeps diversity influx low and slow by default, since most of these suspects are non-minority men. But every single opportunity to choose diversity matters.

“There is less director turnover than people think,” said Antonio Garza, former US Ambassador to Mexico, in response to the Korn Ferry report. “Boards must recognize that they will have a limited number of opportunities to diversify their composition.”

According to the Heidrick & Struggles report, new board appointments pooled from current and former CEOs and CFOs dropped a bit from 73% in 2015 (a high) to 66% in 2016, but still make up the vast majority. Nearly 75% of appointments had previous board experience.

In the Korn Ferry report, Patricia Salas Pineda, group vice president for Hispanic Business Strategy for Toyota Motor North America, speculates s that focusing unduly on finance expertise in boardroom recruitment may have contributed to stalling Hispanic advancement over the last years.

Redefining the Candidate Sphere to Drive Meaningful Change

“Boards need to be responsive to shareholders; that’s the traditional view,” said Gerry Lopez, CEO and President of Extended Stay America in the Korn Ferry report. “But they must also be attentive to all sorts of other stakeholders, which means, depending on the business that you’re in, employees, customers, regulators, other in influencers, and the population at large.”

Shareholders are no longer the only stakeholders and the population is broadening, which means broadening the boardroom selection process.

“Boards that are seeking to broaden their capacities may will be considering candidates from sectors far from their enterprises,” according to Latino Leaders. “If nominating committees narrow their searches too early, fail to reach out in appropriate ways to both rising and established but unfamiliar talent, and elect to limit interviews to too few aspirants, organizations can miss out on opportunities to make their boards deeper and more inclusive.”

In short, selection committees needs to look beyond the traditionally deemed boardroom ready CEOs and CFOs candidates. Boardrooms need to be accountable for diversity itself and abandon the idea that the best directors come from one predictable background.

“While great boards should have CEO as members, there are other strong skill-sets and experiences that can be found in those holding other senior positions, such as chief marketing officers, chief hr officers and chief finance officers that really enrich the board conversation,”Bonnie Gwin, vice-chairman and co-managing partner of the global CEO and board practice at Heidrick & Struggles, told Forbes. “In those roles, you will find more diversity and therefore more diverse options for the boardroom.”

“…farsighted boards have moved beyond viewing those backgrounds as the sole gateway and are looking to other skills that will add value in the boardroom,” said Garza in the Korn Ferry report. “The bottom line is that it takes real planning on the part of the board in order to use their opportunities wisely, and then the vision to commit to looking beyond traditional notions of who should be in the room.”

It’s official when it comes to Hispanic and Latino/a growth. Diversity itself has become a high stake matter (amidst diverse stakeholders) for U.S. boardrooms.

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Summer Publishing Break

Hi Readers,Nicki Gilmour
We are taking our summer publishing break since its a public holiday in the UK on Monday 28th August and Labor Day in the USA on Monday 4th September. We will return to our normal articles and profiles on Tuesday 5th September.
We are pleased to say that the glass hammer turns 10 years old this September and so thanks to our sponsors, readers, writers, and contributors we can continue this work.
There have been many insights over ten years while exploring this topic of advancing women at work and the one consistent truth is that change is hard. Changing yourself is hard and changing the system is harder but both are possible. To that end, we offer coaching services so that you can figure out what you need to change to advance. We can examine your operating environment as no matter who you are, it is all about fit and understanding how to thrive.
Knowing yourself and what you want is the first step. We will help you make goals that are executable.

Call Nicki Gilmour on +1 646 6882318 or nicki@theglasshammer.com if you want to sign up for individual or group coaching sessions this Fall.

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Opportunity to Nominate an Inspiring Woman to Be Profiled on the Glass Hammer

 

Do you know an inspiring woman from the Corporate world of Financial and Professional Services that you would like to nominate to have their career profiled on theglasshammer.com?

In the following Months we are celebrating Spotlight on Asia, Latina Leaders and Women in Technology.  Included below are examples of profiles previously published on theglasshammer

Voice of Experience: Stephanie Hui, head of the Merchant Banking Division in Asia Pacific Ex-Japan, Goldman Sachs

Stephanie “Earlier in my career, I was more reserved about expressing my views,” said Stephanie Hui, head of the Merchant Banking Division in Asia Pacific Ex-Japan at Goldman Sachs.

“But over time, I realized we are in the business of taking calculated risks and just keeping my head down to produce top quality work while hoping others would notice would not make me a leader.

 

Voice of Experience: IIka Vazquez, Advisory Partner, PwC US

Ilka“Bragging or self-promotion ” has a bad rap, but according to PwC US’s Ilka Vázquez, it shouldn’t when done right. “I think it’s ok to brag a little about your impact and what you’re bringing to the table,” she says.

“We assume someone is noticing our great work and will reward us, but the reality is that you can speed up the process if you talk about your success to people who are influential. Your elevator speech gets better the more you give it and can help you establish a personal brand.”

 

 

Move and Shaker: Ciara Quinlan, Head of Electronic Principal Trading FX, Rates & Credit, UBS

Few would call banking a “flexible” career, but UBS’ Ciara Quinlan has found the secret to success in balancing work with family life.Ciara

“When it comes to being a great mum and achieving my career goals in parallel, I’m a believer in having it all,” she says. “I took off the time I wanted when I had my son four years ago, and initially came back part time while managing to roll out a major project and advance my career at the same time.”

 

This is a fantastic opportunity and If you know of a woman you would like to nominate then please put the nomination forward to louise@theglasshammer.com by the following dates.  We will let you now as soon as possible if your nomination has been successful.

Spotlight on Asia: August 2

Latina Leaders: August 10

Women in Technology: September 1

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Men Who Get It: Adam Quinton, Founder and CEO of Lucas Point Ventures

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Adam Quinton By Cathie Ericson

“If there’s a key word that resonates with me, it’s ‘fairness,’” says Adam Quinton. He feels that while most workplaces claim to be a meritocracy, there are a host of issues you’ll notice, if you’re paying attention, that make it not quite as meritocratic as you thought.

And that’s an issue that he has seen play out particularly in the context of early-stage financing, the space where he works. “If you’re looking at the companies of tomorrow, there’s a lot of evidence based on who gets funding that it’s not a level playing field.”

Understanding the Diversity Barriers

With a long history in financial services, from big companies to startups, Quinton has seen many scenarios where diversity has been important, and is currently working to champion diversity and level the playing field in the venture capital arena.

In fact, more than 80 percent of the companies in which he has invested have at least one female founder. This compares to the average of one in five startups which receive seed funding and just one in 10 startups which receive venture capital funding.

“Unless you believe that female entrepreneurs are not as capable, as innovative or as driven as men, then that disparity seems weird and feels unfair. However, to me it also feels like a compelling investing opportunity others are missing.”

He notes that most early stage investors are not as objective as they think they are, and that Silicon Valley’s belief that it is the ultimate meritocracy is part of its problem. In early-stage investing, this phenomenon is known as “patent recognition” – a polite way of saying investors tend to be biased towards founders and ideas that they have seen succeed in the past. Hence, he describes, “the stereotype of the 20-something white guy wear in a hoodie from an elite school as the model Silicon Valley entrepreneur.” That contributes to the reality that women, people of color and others outside that stereotype find fund raising much harder.

Besides being unfair, he laments the huge source of economic loss and of innovation resulting from venture capitalists essentially sidelining more than half of the population. “That lack of fairness has non-trivial societal and economic consequences,” he notes.

Rooting Out Unconscious Bias as a Sponsor and a Mentor

To Quinton, being a sponsor is crucially about advocating for people who are “not in the room.” And while he accepts that mentoring is a valuable way to offer advice, he argues that sponsorship is a more important relationship because the sponsor is staking their reputation on their protégé. “It takes courage to put your own credibility on the line for someone else; even when it’s the right thing to do, there is an element of risk.”

To combat unconscious bias, Quinton says it’s key to understand that even with the best intentions we all are certain to be impacted by it ourselves; as he says “it is part of the human condition.” Hence he shares his view that engaging in personal discovery will serve you well. For example, even though you may think you’re the least racist person you know, embedded in your unconscious brain may be something you might not like. “You can’t advise other people how to act without knowing yourself.”

And that, he says, is how you can start “being the change you want to see.” To the extent you understand yourself and the complex issues that surround decision-making, you can be more be sensitive to bias and stand up to it when you see it, even in a situation that might look trivial. For example, if you’re in a meeting and a man interrupts a woman, you have to be conscious of this “micro inequity.” In fact, research shows that men interrupt or talk over women twice as often as women interrupt or talk over men. To disrupt this example of bias, he suggests a participant speak up and say, “Hey, I didn’t get all of your point Susan; where were you headed?”

Another issue he notes that might appear to be trivial is where people sit in meetings. He sees a tendency for the Type A person, usually male,  to sit next to the leader in the “seat of power.”  That’s where he believes it is up to the meeting leader to conduct the micro-intervention, being conscious of who sits where and making sure that voices get heard equitably.

And it is important to question your own decisions. “When you have a discussion about a promotion, reflect on why you suggested one colleague over another. Was it for fact-based and objective reasons, or were you jumping to conclusions based on your own biases?” he says.

Breaking Barriers through Mentorship

One suggestion Quinton has for mentorship is to work with someone at least two degrees of difference from you – where difference means both obvious physical factors, such as gender, race and age, but also factors that are not as obvious which may include disability or veteran status. In his view, making the conscious effort to mentor people who are “more” different brings the mentor greater understanding of the situations and challenges of others, as well hopefully as bringing benefits to the mentees.

Words of Advice for Leaders

Finally, he recommends that leaders “Think like a fox and understand like a hedgehog.” When considering decision making, people can typically be categorized into one of two buckets: Hedgehogs have one strong and fixed view of the world, while foxes are a more flexible and prepared to change their minds.

We want motivated leaders who can stick with the mission, he says, but that can be a derailing characteristic if they don’t think like a fox and react when there’s other mounting information that conflicts with their approach.

“The world is a complicated and unpredictable place,” Quinton says. “The leaders of the companies I work with have a strong vision of where they want to get to, of course. But the best ones are constantly questioning and testing their ideas and approaches. They are not locked into one strategy for all time and hence can pivot when the evidence — and their gut — point in a new direction.”

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Voice of Experience: Liesbeth Botha, Strategic Digital Transformation Leader at PwC Africa

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By Cathie Ericson

liesbeth

Bringing diversity to any team is an advantage for the entire business ecosystem, says PwC’s Liesbeth Botha. “You get a different perspective from unusual backgrounds and combinations of influences. It’s eye-opening for so many people and paves the way for them to be themselves.”

Academia and Consulting – A Perfect Career Blend 

“Interesting and diverse” are the two words that Botha uses to describe her career. A South African native, she earned her undergraduate degree in electrical and computer engineering and then her PhD at Carnegie Melon University, where she became a prolific publisher of research papers. Based on her publication record, she was sought after to become one of the youngest professors at Pretoria University in South Africa, where she spent 13 years.

She then joined the leadership of Stellenbosch University, a prominent university in South Africa where her portfolio was innovation and commercialization of intellectual property, establishing the policies for start-up companies at the university, as well as the digital transformation of the university. She started a unit that today is still an iconic representation of the university’s focus on innovation.

After six years at Stellenbosch University, she joined the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa’s national laboratory, leading the Materials Science and Manufacturing business unit as executive director. In that role she led a number of national technological innovation programs such as the 3D printing of titanium for structural aircraft parts, in partnership with leading global aircraft manufacturers.

Most recently, in 2014, she moved to PwC, first joining the tech consulting practice before landing in her current leadership role in digital transformation. Her first significant accomplishment there was rolling out the G Suite (Google for Work) platform across PwC in 17 countries in Africa, a significant milestone in their digital transformation journey. Next she’ll be spearheading adoption of several other platforms, including Oracle Cloud for finance and engagement management; Workday, a human capital management system; and a new CRM platform, Salesforce. “It is exciting to implement these cutting-edge solutions in the market as a leader in the larger global PwC network,” she says. “It puts a spotlight on us, but we are up for that challenge.”

Being a leader in digital tech is a priority because of the opportunities for disruption and transformation, not only for PwC as a professional services firm, but the implications for clients as machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) become a reality. She sees this as a particularly exciting time, since the theories around AI and pattern recognition have been developed since the ‘80s but couldn’t become a viable option until the proliferation of big data and cloud computing, which provided the data storage and power to allow companies to build and adopt real-world solutions.

As a woman in engineering, Botha says she wishes she had known about the many opportunities that a professional services firm could offer — global opportunities that span different industries and allow you the chance to see the world through totally different eyes than is the case for most people in engineering.

Embracing Her Position as a Role Model

“Having a lesbian woman in the highest position changes the perspective on everything, and I appreciate that I can be a role model for women, lesbians and anyone who’s different from the stereotypes people have in their heads,” Botha said.

“I don’t fit into any box as a woman engineer, with a PhD from one of the leading universities in the United States, then working in academia, moving to leadership positions, and finally joining a professional services firm. Since nothing ‘fits together,’ so to speak, it shows others that being different can give you an advantage.”

She finds that although the structural barriers that impeded women’s professional progress a couple of decades ago have been largely removed, practical barriers remain as women are still the primary caregivers if they have a family, making it difficult to achieve work-life balance.
And, she notes, the other barrier is psychological: Since women don’t have as many role models, they are less likely to form a vision of the person they aspire to be. She sees this changing as women speak out about their experiences, pointing to Margaret Thatcher as holding the type of position that women can now see themselves aiming toward.

Gender is a very defining factor, she says, and the puzzle is that we often don’t know what influences gender-specific behavior. She herself has tried to introspectively determine how she was able to achieve her level of success in a patriarchal society, but can’t point to specific areas where her parents said or did something that influenced her. “I think we still don’t have an idea of how to bring up a child to behave in a gender-neutral manner, so you just do your best as a parent,” she says.

She advises young women not to limit their experiences, but to tackle anything that comes their way. “Just because there are no women in a certain kind of role doesn’t mean you can’t do it,” she says. “Set yourself up for anything that interests you.” She notes that she conquered her various career steps because she believed anything was possible, and that’s the type of approach that women should have.

“Try something, fail fast when you realize it isn’t working and try it another way.”

The Benefits of a Supportive Corporate Environment

As the sponsoring partner for PwC Africa’s LGBT “Be Yourself” network, Botha is proud of the difference it is making for younger people in the organization who weren’t yet comfortable being out at work.

She herself notes what a relief it was to come out to different groups of people, to sometimes experience their surprise and then mostly their acceptance. “It builds self-confidence and trust in the world when you see that, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised each time.”

She says this acceptance won’t happen by itself: Companies must have specific, defined programs with targets because it provides an aspirational goal. “You have to be specific about what you want to achieve,” she says, adding that companies need to be careful not to fall into complacency.

Botha and her wife have been married for 10 years — ever since gay marriage became legal in South Africa –and have two children, a boy and a girl. “Being a parent is one of the most amazing experiences; I never could have anticipated what joy it is,” she says.  And hard work. “I always understood work-life balance intellectually, but it is different when you are experiencing it,” she says.

The family loves traveling, especially adventure travel in their SUV. Botha also rides an on-off-road BMW motorcycle and grabs the opportunity for a quick ride whenever she can.

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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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Asian Americans: Held At Outsider Status

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By Aimee Hansen

Asian

Image via Shutterstock

For the first time in history, three Asian American women are in the Senate during this 115th Congress – Senator Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Tammy Duckworth (Illinois), and Kamala Harris (California). When elected in 2012, Senator Hirono was the first Asian American woman elected to the Senate. Harris is also the first Indian-American to serve in the Senate.

When it comes to Forbes and Fortune power rankings, Indra Nooyi is the only Asian American woman on the lists – #2 in Fortune’s 2016 50 “Most Powerful Women in Business” and #14 in Forbes “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.” But as theglasshammer highlighted last year, Forbe’s America’s Self-Made Richest Women tells a different story about Asian American women at the helm: they make up 15% of this ranking.

According to a Girls in Tech survey of 582 women, Asian American women are the least likely to hold leadership positions in tech. This echoed the findings from the previously highlighted Hidden In Plain Sight tech diversity study by Ascend.

The Asian effect is 3.7X greater than the gender effect on creating a ceiling. Women were 42% less likely than men to hold executive roles. But Asians were 154% less likely to hold executive roles than Caucasians. Asian-American women, in the intersection of both, faced the greatest gap in likelihood to hold executive positions.

Persistent Asian-American Stereotypes

As shared in Sparks, Malini Johar Schueller, Department of English professor at University of Florida says that Asian American women are often seen as “perpetual foreigners,” never truly being seen as a “American” (or insiders), but rather as “abnormal foreigners” (outsiders). For Schueller, this means having to “qualify” herself to teach in her department, even to students.

A recent article in Harvard Business Review  suggests that two intersecting stereotypes are at the crux of the general Asian-American leadership gap: “Stereotypes about Asians being highly competent can make Asians appear threatening in the workplace, and stereotypes about Asians lacking social skills make them seem unfit for leadership.”

Studies have revealed that those who held the stereotypes that Asians were highly competent felt admiration and envy. Those who held the stereotypes that Asians lacked social skills felt hostility and fear. People who are emotionally reacting to stereotypes they hold are less likely to have interest in interacting with Asian-Americans. And of course, personal interaction is what can challenge stereotypes.

Leaders who hold stereotypical narratives about Asian Americans would hold them at a distance, and potentially at a distance from leadership.

As stated in HBR,

“The authors of both papers theorized that whites are threatened by the ‘unfairly high’ levels of competence possessed by Asians and essentially use the stereotype that Asians lack social skill as a pretext for discrimination.”

In The Asian American Achievement Paradox, professors of sociology Jennifer Lee and Min Zhou challenge ‘the narrative of Asian American “exceptionalism”’ and the assumption that Asian American educational achievement is solely reflective of cultural values. The authors illustrate that a confluence of hyper-selectivity in immigration laws, institutions, and cultural success frames have promoted high achievement among certain Asian American groups.

The study asserts that while stereotype promise (“the boost in performance that comes with being favorably perceived and treated as smart, high-achieving, hardworking, and deserving students”) may help Asian American students, it also re-creates stereotypes that hinder at the leadership level.

Broken Leadership Stereotypes

As argued in HBR, we tend to expect workers to be “competent, intelligent and dedicated,” but attach further qualities to leadership (charismatic, socially-skilled, authoritarian) that do not match up to stereotypes we hold about Asian Americans.

But it’s not only the mis-match between these two that is flawed when it comes to elevating Asian Americans into leadership. The archaic leadership stereotypes themselves are broken.

“It is time to rethink the ‘good leader’ prototype of being masculine, dictatorial, and charismatic,” states the HBR authors. “Evidence shows that neither men nor women prefer to be treated in an aggressive fashion, yet that model persists as a valid expectation for leadership.”

Cultural values can also mean that Asian Americans are less inclined to the self-promotion that is encouraged by Western norms. However, those who break the stereotype of being deferential face the double-bind of being perceived negatively.

Bridging the Distance

Recently, whitewashing in films – casting white actors to tell Asian stories – has received growing awareness and protest, while Asian American actors find only one-dimensional, stereotype-reinforcing roles available to them.

Thai American actor Pun Bandhu told the Guardian. “When a white actor gets the role, it denies us our bodies and it denies us our voices.”

More and more, we are being asked to consider how we are each complicit within the net of our culture in denying the bodies and voices of others through our implicit biases.

Harvard social psychologist Mahzarin R. Banaji, creator of the the implicit bias test, spoke in a conversation with Krista Tippett about being challenged by her own test when it comes to making associations that go against the socialized norm: “And when I can’t do it, I understand. I understand that I’m a product of a culture where the culture has now gotten into my head enough that I am the culture. I cannot say, ‘There’s a culture out there. It’s biased, not me.’ Consciously, that’s true. But not at this other level.”

When people gather around the meeting room or even the Senate, they all come with their stereotypes and hidden biases, but nothing is more important than the interaction that helps to break down the ideas we hold of each other, collectively.

Three Asian American women in the Senate may not seem like a lot, but each woman is helping to change the face of leadership.

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OP-Ed: What Happened After International Women’s Day 2017?

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Nicki-Gilmour-bioBy Nicki Gilmour

There was a flurry of activity for international women’s day this year, observationally more than usual and that could be correlated with the determination of some to deny women equality in a fairly overt way or it could just be a coincidence. You decide. There were hashtags such as #Beboldforchange, there were marches and a strike concept (A day without women), there was a designated color to wear (red). What does it all mean? And where are we really at?

Well, let’s have a quick recap of a small slice of life regarding NY based IWD activities as a microcosm for awareness of first world issues on this day which is mostly about third world women issues. However, in many ways IWD represents why we are going in circles with diversity and gender work.

Statestreet erected a statue of a little bronze girl staring in a defiant manner at the bull of wall street. That famous icon that can be construed in all sorts of ways, but mostly it is a bull representing good markets (bull markets). Next, some young white idiotic man accosted the statue in a suggestive sexual manner totally reinforcing in part why it was there in the first place. Backlash to this surprised me as not so long ago this would have been considered a drunken rite of passage so maybe we are making progress or maybe we are just more citizen journalist than ever. Then, in the spirit of no good deed goes unpunished and what was a good social statement from Statestreet (and marketing for the gender index SHE) quickly turned into curiosity of just how many women they have in high places. Also, the statue has now been removed as it was always a temporary erection, if you will pardon the pun when perhaps we should be asking why it couldn’t stay there more permanently if we are to remain mindful of the lack of parity?

Are we getting anywhere?

It seems progress is definitely not linear to anyone really looking at the macro side of it. In the myth of the ideal worker research by Catalyst, we see what we know to be true, the tactics that work for men to advance doesn’t not apply to women necessarily in equal measure and the piece in HBR back in 2010 interestingly points out the importance of one’s early managers.

So how can we have conversations that matter? Conversations that progress things and that engage people and then create actual actions? Beyond the politeness and avoidance of things that matter in an increasingly weird and fragmented world where everything is accused rightly or wrongly to be politicized, how do we talk to each other?

The first step that we need to take, I believe, is to recognize there isn’t equality everywhere at work currently. I am not talking about society at large, instead this is a focused narrower conversation as it pertains to executives and professionals but certainly some of this applies more widely without doubt.

To recognize a lack of level playing field, sometimes you have to have awkward, painful conversations with people who may have differing viewpoints than you. It does take bravery to have bold conversations at work as there is an element of risk and that is usually on the less powerful individual in that bold conversation. On International Women’s Day 2017, Catalyst held their annual conference and awards dinner while revealing their new initiative called the Catalyst CEO Champions For Change stating it to be transformational for diversity and inclusion because more than 40 high-profile CEOs and top leaders, many from the Catalyst Board of Directors, have pledged to do even more to accelerate diversity, inclusion and gender equality within their organizations. Curious to the mechanics of how this will actually work and impact real change for the women in the trenches, Catalyst assures me that this is different due to the fact that the companies that have signed on will share data on the representation of women in their workplaces with Catalyst, so that collective progress can be tracked, analyzed and reported. They state that,

This (initiative) is a good example of companies understanding that there is a reason to think we might have an issue that can actually be solved.”

Krista Brookman, Vice President, Inclusive Leadership Initiative, Catalyst weighs in on the importance of leadership when it comes to diversity,

“Leaders can ensure that women are accelerating in their workplaces by committing to visibility, access, and equity. That means that women have access to high quality mentors and sponsors for women, that women are considered for “hot jobs” – high profile, high visibility, and international assignments, that women have access to the unwritten rules (generally unspoken workplace norms and behaviors), that leaders are intentional and about making women’s achievements visible, that leaders interrupt bias and stereotypes in their choices and decision-making, and that leaders understand, develop and practice inclusive leadership skills and behaviors with men and women on their teams.

Thirdly, there has to be action, execution and accountability in the middle ranks and this is often a tricky factor in the success of diversity work and getting managers involved rather than handing them HR policy is the way to go.

Does the solution start with you and I?

A panel at the conference discussing how to engage in conversations about Gender, Race and Ethnicity in the workplace stuck me as interesting as intersectionality is often where the wheels come off and division of people happens based on social identities, wealth, and life experiences amongst other stuff. I caught up with Jennifer Allyn, Diversity Strategy Leader for PwC in the US, after the panel that she just had sat on and she recounted how bold leadership is needed to create a culture where dialogue can happen. Jennifer comments how PwC recognized that you cannot just ignore tragic current events as people carry that around emotionally and have feelings about issues either way. She states,

“After the spate of police shootings last year, our CEO, Tim Ryan sent a message asking everyone in the firm to have conversations with their teams about what happened. It was an explicit invitation to talk about race and the trust gap in society.

Tim Ryan’s stance on tackling tough issues is not run of the mill but neither is his appointment of the most diverse leadership team in the firm’s history consisting of four white women, three women of color, four men of color, and an openly gay partner on the team.

Jennifer continued that it is best to assume your colleagues have good intentions because “being self righteous isn’t helpful in a difficult conversation”. She states,

“If your goal is to learn from someone else’s perspective, the conversation has to be reciprocal. You have to do more listening than talking. The panel moderator Dnika J. Travis, PhD, Vice President and Center Leader, Catalyst Research Center for Corporate Practice said it best – ‘you take fear with you’ and the biggest humility is understanding that other people don’t have the same experiences that you do.”

There is nothing to fear but fear itself and if there is an action to take away from International’s women’s month perhaps it is to spark up a conversation with someone who has opposing views and just hear them.

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Want to Win in the Fight For Female Talent? Urgent Change Needed!

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Contributed by Aoife Flood. Based in Dublin, Ireland, Aoife is Senior Manager of the Global Diversity and Inclusion Programme at PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limitedaoife flood featured

Around the world, the workplace gender gap is an area in need of immediate and serious attention and at PwC we believe that we must, and can, drive change more quickly.

The good news is we’re seeing a tidal wave of organisations across the world inject greater urgency into their efforts to tackle gender imbalances, in fact 87% of CEOs globally told us they are actively focused on talent diversity and inclusion. The bad news is we are still decades away from achieving gender parity in the corporate world, and in most countries in the world women still remain underrepresented at every level in the corporate pipeline.

One lever that organisations across the world can leverage to incite more rapid change is their attraction and selection efforts. To create energy and debate in this area I had the privilege of leading a ground-breaking global research study focused on gender inclusive recruitment. And I’m very excited to share that we released the results of this research in PwC’s Winning the fight for female talent report in honour of International Women’s Day.

Female hires in hot demand

The report makes one thing clear, explicit hiring targets have emerged as a core driver of change, in fact 78% of large organisations told us they are actively seeking to hire more women – especially into more experienced and senior level positions. As organisations fight to attract female talent – particularly at levels and in sectors where they’re currently underrepresented – we’re now seeing competition for female talent escalate to a whole new level.

Yet, 30% of women globally said they feel employers are too biased in favour of men when it comes to attracting talent, compared with 13% of men. This is a number that has been on the rise when we consider specifically women from the millennial generation; 16% of female millennials felt this way in 2011, 25% in 2015 and 28% feel this way today.

There is also a clear mismatch between the views of women and employers regarding the barriers limiting greater levels of female recruitment. Of the top five barriers employers identify, four explicitly point to external factors, such as the lack of a sufficient candidate pool (37%) and our industry sector not being viewed as attractive by women (24%). While of the top five barriers identified by women, four explicitly point to internal systemic challenges within employer attraction and selection activities and processes. For example, the impact of gender stereotypes in the recruitment process (45%) and concerns over cost and impact of maternity leave (42%).

Focus on gender inclusive recruitment is critical

Simply focusing on hiring more women, will not be sufficient. Yes, organisations will need to get really good at knowing where to find and how to attract female talent, but that’s not all. They also need to look inside, and transform the objectivity of their own recruitment and selection process and activities if they are to succeed in fostering fair and equal recruitment. And female talent today have their finger firmly on the diversity pulse, 56% of women – rising to 63% for women who are starting out on their careers – said they look to see if an organisation has made progress on diversity when deciding whether or not to work for them. Furthermore, when deciding to accept their most recent position, 61% of women looked at the diversity of the employers leadership team and 67% explored if the employer had positive role models they felt where similar to themselves.

Opportunities for career progression – yes please

Opportunities for career progression, competitive pay, and a culture of flexibility and work-life balance come out as the three most attractive employer traits for men and women overall. Women starting their careers, and female millennials (born 1980-1995) rank opportunities for career progression as their most attractive employer trait. While women with career experience who have recently changed jobs say a lack of opportunities for career progression is the top reason they left their former employer.

Traditional stereotypes associated with gender or life stage, for example, the over association of career ambition with men, and flexibility and work-life balance demands with women, specifically mothers, are well and truly out of date. To be a magnet to the modern talent pool, organisations must equip themselves to offer opportunities for career progression, a culture of flexibility, and competitive pay as workforce-wide realities for all their talent. And to attract the best and brightest male and female talent, they must also make these an integral part of their talent brands and talent systems.

In today’s highly competitive job market, it is incumbent on every organisation to revisit its policies and processes to make sure they are meeting the needs of the modern workforce, in particular the woman of today who is truly a trailblazer. Women today are looking for much more from their careers than previous generations – and organisations need to keep up if they are to secure the talent they need to grow their business.

We invite you to find out more by visiting www.pwc.com/femaletalent.

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Black History Month

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We hope you have enjoyed our featured articles and career profiles during Black History Month.

Take a look at some of our Featured Black History Month articles from previous years:

Black-History-MonthBlack History Month 2016 – Honoring African American Women in Business

In honor of Black History Month 2016, this month The Glass Hammer will feature interviews with notable African American women at leading firms on their career experiences, aspirations, and advice for other women in their field. Theglasshammer.com all year long and over the past nine years ensures we profile women of all social identities and experiences and we have always stated from the beginning that we want our readers to have many different role models.

diverse women in the boardroomBlack History Month Coverage: Diversifying Diversity for Better Results

Leadership diversity pays off, and a new study by McKinsey “Why Diversity Matters” has the hard numbers to prove it. It also points out that most corporate diversity programs don’t go far enough to be inclusive of ethnically diverse leaders. The Glass Hammer has long upheld the “business case for diversity,” and senior women in the corporate space will be pleased to see statistically significant results supporting this argument.

black female leader featuredBlack Women in Business: An update on progress

When we talk about the progress that has been made by women in corporate America, using gender to mean ‘all women’, what we’re actually referring to is the progress and gains that have been made by white women.

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