The Davies Report: What Does It Mean for UK Women?

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Project discussionBy Cleo Thompson, Founder of The Gender Blog

This is the first in a series of articles which looks at how UK business is approaching the issue of women on boards.

In February 2011, Lord Davies of Abersoch released his long-awaited report, Women on Boards, a review of female representation at senior levels in UK plc. It was handed to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and sets out recommendations on targets to improve the gender balance in business. It stopped short of recommending the introduction of mandatory quotas (as already seen in Norway and Spain) but suggests that FTSE 100 companies should aim to have at least 25% female board member representation by 2015 – an increase from the 12.5% reported in 2010.

Other recommendations include the requirement for FTSE 350 companies to set their own targets on female representation, that companies should advertise non-executive board positions in order to encourage greater diversity in applications and that headhunting firms should draw up a voluntary code to address gender diversity.

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A Brave New Regulatory Environment: The Glass Hammer’s Women on the Buy-Side Breakfast Panel

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Business-meetingThursday morning marked The Glass Hammer’s fourth breakfast panel for top women on the buy-side. The topic was Dodd Frank, and what’s in store for the investment management industry as we get closer to implementation.

Moderated by Donna Parisi, Partner, Shearman & Sterling, the panel included Viva Hammer, Principal, KPMG Washington National Tax; Sarah Lee, Managing Director, Global Head of Fixed Income Derivatives Legal, Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Cynthia Meyn, Executive Vice President Operations, Pimco; and Barbara Novick, Vice Chairman, BlackRock.

Parisi commented, “It’s a brave new regulatory environment, and it will take a lot more resources going forward.”

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Four Innovative Initiatives to Attract and Retain Diverse Women

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By Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)

Recently, Working Mother Magazine released its 2011 list of the best places to work for multicultural women – essentially, a survey of the availability and usage of diversity programs, as well as the accountability of the managers who oversee them at top corporations. For the fifth year in a row, Pepsico has been named number one, along with with 23 other companies, all of which are committed to supporting women of color with strong diversity, leadership, and education programs. Here are four of the most innovative initiatives included on 2011 list, that help advance and retain diverse women.

IBM
IBM’s cutting edge Reverse Mentoring pilot program turned mentoring on its head. Ten senior executives were given the opportunity to choose a culture they wanted to learn more about and for 10 months, and multicultural women (who were primarily non-executives) from these cultures acted as their mentors, helping them better understand cultural differences. The need for the program was identified as a key initiative of the Multicultural Women’s Group at the company, whose mission it is to attract, retain, and develop women through mentoring, networking, fostering a sense of community, and exchanging information.

According to Angela Archon, IBM’s VP of systems and technology, the program promoted cultural sensitivity and adaptability and demonstrated the impact of globalization and why culture matters.

“The hallmark of the program was to increase knowledge and sensitivity around cultural differences and continuously improve global collaboration. It helped dispel myths; it provided clarity to issues related to stereotyping; and it increased cultural awareness,” Archon said. “Executive mentees gained knowledge about their mentor’s culture and how business is done in that culture and the multicultural women who served as mentors had the opportunity to build a relationship with an IBM executive and enhance their leadership capabilities.”

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A “Winner” Company or a “Zero”? Ranking System to Bring More Women to Boards

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pauladipernaContributed by Paula DiPerna

There’s nothing wrong with using the stage when you have it, and Diana Taylor, the former New York State Superintendent of Banks, did just that when she was recently honored for her leadership role by the Women’s Forum of New York City, a conclave of influential executive women.

Deftly, she worked into her remarks a clarion recruitment pitch. She looked out into the vast ornate ballroom of the Plaza Hotel and simply invited any interested party there to send her a CV to be considered for a seat on a Board in which she is involved. That is called casting the net widely, I thought—there were hundreds of qualified candidates in that room, and she was looking to recruit a woman for the position. This was an efficient use of a wide pool at hand.

But that was a “seize the day” appeal, the proverbial golden opportunity. Improving the representation of women on Boards appears to be one of those interminable journeys that needs permanent attention. Despite much discussion, we face stagnation in the ranks of women on Boards in the U.S. with the percentages sticking at just 11 percent for Fortune 1000 companies, according to Catalyst, which collects data on women in business.

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Harnessing the Power of LGBT Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)

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jenniferbContributed by Jennifer Brown and Judy DiClemente, Jennifer Brown Consulting

The imperative for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender awareness in the workplace has grown dramatically in recent years. This has been fueled by a larger conversation around workforce engagement and diversity, which asks the question, “Do our employees feel they can bring their whole selves to work?” When large swaths of employees feel the need to manage or hide their identities on a daily basis, the losses in productivity, innovation, and corporate reputation are staggering. The introduction of ever-greater numbers of Gen Y employees, who display an unprecedented comfort with diversity and include many “allies,” stands in stark contrast to the closeted reality experienced by many LGBT Gen X and Baby Boomer employees.

Although many employer-of-choice companies have made great strides and commitments on the policy level, this reality continues to lag behind corporate aspirations and declarations of support. This is especially true in the financial services industry, where the war for talent (especially of the younger variety) rages, and yet where there continue to be serious cultural challenges around diversity and inclusion efforts, and LGBT inclusion specifically.

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Women and Complexity: Strategic Multitaskers

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Businesswoman negotiating with menBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Are women better than men at understanding and managing complexity?

We’ve all heard that one reason women make great leaders is because we are better at multitasking. Juggling work, family, household, and personal responsibilities, we’ve become particularly skilled at working in complex environments with many variables and competing objectives at stake, and coming up with solutions for issues that have many different angles.

Sure – it makes sense. But until recently, women’s legendary multitasking abilities seemed they could also just be a myth – that women cope well in complex situations simply because we have to. Are women good at multitasking because of neural wiring? Or are we good at multitasking because of societal pressures? Maybe there’s no difference between men and women when it comes to our ability to handle complex situations.

But, in fact, recent university research is suggesting otherwise. Studies show that women’s brains have, in fact, developed to make complex, strategic decisions – exactly the kind of solutions today’s business leaders need to be equipped for. Here’s how.

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5 Essentials To Build Employee Trust: Behaviors That Are Sometimes Forgotten Along The Way

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StephanieLemaContributed by Stephanie Lema, Founder of Bepositivemom.com

Depending on your organizational structure, the leadership hierarchy may be very flat or may have several tiers. Either way, how managers, directors and vice presidents interact with their employees has a direct impact on morale and productivity.

Trust plays a major role in the corporate culture. It’s built over time and is very fragile in the workplace. Over the last decade, studies have shown workplace trust diminishing.

If you are standing on the corporate ladder in a management position, you can lead your team to success by building and maintaining their trust by engaging in 5 essential behaviors. Here’s how.

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Women on Top: The Newest Innovation in Technology Event

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Business meeting“Our economy depends on women being at the table creating technology,” said Dr. Telle Whitney, President and CEO of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology. She continued, “The innovation that will drive the future is in your hands.”

Dr. Whitney was the keynote speaker at The Glass Hammer’s event Tuesday night entitled “Women on Top: The Newest Innovation in Technology.”

The event, sponsored by Barclays Capital and American Express, was held at the Barclays Capital headquarters in New York. Moderated by Avis Yates Rivers, President and CEO of Technology Concepts Group, the panel speakers included Sarah Sherber; Head of Securitized Products IT and Cross Product Operations Technology, Barclays Capital; Linda Albornoz, B2B Payment Solutions, American Express Technologies; Augusta Sanfilippo, Managing Director, Cash Securities Operations IT, Citi; and Mary Cecola, CIO Asset Management Business Solutions, Deutsche Bank.

When trying to plot out a career, the panel advised, simply do what you love. Albornoz said, “Follow your bliss. Find the thing you’re engaged by and enjoy doing. Because you’re going to spend a lot of time doing it!”

Sanfilippo agreed. She said, “Passion… is something you have to stay true to no matter what you do. Make sure you manage your career. Don’t make someone else manage your career for you.”

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How to Build a Winning Team

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SueBosContributed by Susan E. Bos, CMA, CPA

A successful team begins with a great leader. To be a great leader, there are some basic, important qualities one must possess: sincerity, integrity, technical ability, a positive attitude, good communication, and trust. The most effective leaders take it a step further by surrounding themselves with individuals who complement each other’s strengths and offset one another’s weaknesses.

Creating effective teams is a challenge in any organization, but a great leader will reap the benefits of this rewarding experience by fostering a positive atmosphere of collaboration and teamwork. Making others feel important and appreciated is a sure way to win the trust and support of employees as you all work toward a common goal. To build a winning team, a leader must keep the following in mind.

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Men Must be Recruited to Help Close the Gender Leadership Gap

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iStock_000006954519XSmallBy Melanie Axman (Boston)

Early last spring, a study was designed by several faculty members at the Center for Gender in Organizations (CGO) at Simmons College in Boston. Through the study, CGO’s scholars set out to delve into the leadership gap that persists despite ongoing efforts throughout corporate America to affect positive change in the workplace.

Critical obstacles deemed to widen this gap are “second generation gender bias,” a term that defines more subtle gender dynamics, deeply embedded in an organization’s culture and work norms. Most surprising was the study’s finding that senior male bosses, when involved in organizational change efforts regarding these biases, were perceived as the most effective change agents for women seeking leadership roles.

To collect the data, a survey (sponsored by HP) was conducted to further understand the role of second generation gender bias in the workplace. Approximately 300 women attending the 2010 Women’s Leadership Conference were asked to answer questions in relation to these dynamics within their organizations.

In discussing whether or not the sampling was representative of the female workforce as a whole, Dr. Spela Trefalt, co-author of the study says, “These women were already leaders or looking to become leaders. The degree to which women are recognizing these issues would certainly be higher when they are looking to become leaders, because that is when these issues start to bother them. Virtually every single woman [surveyed] reported having encountered these issues. As women start vying for leadership positions at work, second generation gender biases start affecting their paths.”

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