By 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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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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Contributed 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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Contributed 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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