Bypassing the Glass Escalator Threat

iStock_000008620907XSmallBy Robin Madell (San Francisco)

The glass ceiling has remained a stubborn fixture in corporate America for decades. Now new research shows that over the past 10 years, another invisible friend has joined it: the glass escalator.

The New York Times analyzed census data that reveals from 2000 to 2010, occupations that are primarily associated with females (more than 70 percent women) represented close to one third of the job growth for men. That’s twice the amount of the previous decade.

Forbes points out that while this trend may be good for men and on the surface may benefit families as well, it presents a clear obstacle to women in female-dominated professions, such as nursing and teaching. As Jenna Goudreau, Forbes staff, said, “While women climb the ladder in female-dominated professions, their male peers glide past them on an invisible escalator, shooting straight to the top.”

Goudreau’s article explains that this is because men who enter these particular fields tend to be promoted at faster rates, becoming disproportionately represented in senior management. The New York Times notes that even in female-dominated jobs where they’re in the minority, men still make more money than their female counterparts.

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Opt Out Myth Dismissed – Again

boardroomBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

A new study by the Center for Talent Innovation has revealed yet again that the “opt-out” myth is still an invalid excuse masking the real obstacle that keeps women from the top. As Secretary General of the Council of Women World Leaders Laura Liswood has put it, it’s the thick layer of men that’s keeping women from reaching the upper echelons of the business world.

The report, Sponsor Effect: UK, busts the myth that women are taking themselves out of the running for C-level positions due to a lack of ambition or because of family demands. In fact, the UK’s top performing women want to advance more than their male counterparts.

According to the study, 91% of senior-level women in the UK say they are looking for a promotion, compared with only 76% of senior men. On top of that, 79% of senior women say they want a top job, while only 74% of senior men say the same. Clearly, an ambition gap is not what’s keeping more women out of leadership.

“Nor is childrearing pulling women off track, as 39 percent of women over 40 do not have kids,” the report continues. Even still, CTI says, women comprise a miniscule percentage of CEO and executive director jobs in FTSE 100 companies – and larger companies are often even better than small ones when it comes to the percentage women holding top jobs. What’s keeping women out of the C-suite in the UK?

According to the report authors, Sylvia Ann Hewlett, Lauren Leader-Chivée and Karen Sumberg with Catherine Fredman and Claire Ho, the answer is relationships. Senior level men in the UK are 50% more likely than senior women to have a sponsor. Despite their fierce ambition (UK women are 22% more likely to aspire to the top job than women in the US), UK women aren’t receiving the support they need from the thick layer of men in order to propel their careers forward.

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What it Means to Be an LGBT Woman at Work | Managing Identities 2012 Event | UK

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diverse women in the boardroomLast week’s event, Managing Identities: Being out at Work, brought to the UK by The Glass Hammer and hosted by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, gave a unique insight into the personal journeys that notable LGBT women in the financial and professional services have experienced being out at work and the difference coming out has made to their careers.

Nicki Gilmour, CEO of The Glass Hammer, kicked off the evening with a thought provoking snapshot of the latest research that she and her team are conducting around being “the L in LGBT” at work in financial services. Despite the rise of LGBT groups in companies and the increase of attention by the media on LGBT life in the world at large, out of about 100 people surveyed so far only 59% confirmed they were out at work.

The panel, craftfully moderated by Jane Hill of the BBC, began by inviting the five openly gay women from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Nomura International, and Marsh USA to share their own journeys of coming out at work.

Coming Out at Work

When Sarah Walker, Executive Director of the Enterprise Data & Services Group and Global Head of Securities Reference Data; IT & Data Operations at Morgan Stanley, started work in Australia, she was “19, dating guys and still straight, had a boyfriend, but during that time I realised I wanted to see women.” During the process of coming out to her family and friends, she didn’t feel it was important to come out at work. On reflection, she felt she didn’t have any role models or examples of others coming out at work and didn’t really know how to handle the situation.

The answer? “It seemed easier to move companies than to come out.”  The good news is that it has gotten better for Walker since then. When she moved jobs, she decided she would be open about who she was immediately. “It changed from being a big deal to not a big deal, it was easier, and it was part of me then.”

Julia Hoggett, Head of Covered Bonds and FIG (Financial Institutions) Flow Financing EMEA and Head of Short Term Fixed Income Origination EMEA at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, was on drugs when she came out. She was recovering in hospital from spinal surgery on morphine and when her Managing Director visited her, she introduced her girlfriend. It was three days later that she realised she had just outed herself at work. Following the incident, Hoggett was asked to contribute more to the firm and join the gay and lesbian network. She really appreciated that endorsement early on in her career.

All of the panelists agreed how important it was that they had support from those they came out to at work. As Angela Best, EMEA Group Tax Controller at Nomura, put it, “It only takes one person to build on your confidence to come out.” Next the panelists considered how, as most firms have set up Allies programs, being LGBT can still be an issue. For the global community that we all operate in, it is. As Toni Mohammed, Client Manager at Marsh Inc., explained, “It is still illegal to be gay in Trinidad & Tobago,” and this is the crux of it. Similarly, Lale Topcuoglu, Portfolio Manager, Managing Director, Co-head of Global Investment Grade Portfolio Management, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, hasn’t had an issue about being gay at work and has found Goldman Sachs to be supportive, including having her CEO speak out publicly about marriage equality in the US. But she feels that there are legal issues that need to be addressed outside of work. “I only had to cross the river and my marriage was not recognised and I didn’t have the same rights over my kids,” she pointed out. For Mohammed, talking to clients was a continual challenge. She recalled, “You had to remember the lie you told one other person, to another person,” and she found herself deflecting a lot of the time before coming out to selective clients with whom she has long term relationships.

Supportive Groups

The panelists examined how Allies groups create a platform for LGBT issues to be understood, but they also provide an opportunity to build networks and ultimately business.

The panel discussed how education and awareness contribute to a more inclusive environment at work. This is achieved by stronger relationships with your co-workers. The need for role models at senior levels is very important. “If you are seen as a success, but not relatable to, then you are not necessarily going to be an accessible role model for women coming up through the ranks,” said Hoggett.

All felt it important that if you are in a senior level position you should be open and available for questions from women working through the ranks, and be frank of your achievements as an open gay woman as well. Hoggett continues, “You are only going to get ahead in this industry if you are good. The fact that you’re gay is one thing that makes up who you are, but it’s not the driving thing. You have to prove that you are effective. You have to put yourself forward and have people recognize what you have achieved, and that is something that women tend to gloss over.”

Finally, when asked if the panelists saw themselves as role models Mohammed answered that she “considers all the people before us as role models.” She has recently been asked to join the Marsh USA diversity council as a representative of the Pride group and feels it is “a great opportunity for a company like Marsh, to draw our business into the LGBT world as we are a huge market and can show everyone what we can bring to the table.”

Are you an LGBT woman working in the financial services in the UK? If so, please help us with upcoming research by taking our confidential and anonymous survey! Click here: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/882311/LGB-Workplace-Survey

By Lucy Sandilands (London)

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LGBT: Progress and Problems in the Workplace, Part 2

iStock_000017447641XSmallBy Robin Madell (San Francisco)

As part of The Glass Hammer’s coverage of Pride Month, we continue with Part 2 of a special series on obstacles that LGBT employees still face in the workplace. In this series, we consulted with diversity experts and human resources professionals who weighed in on issues that LGBT professionals identify as ongoing challenges at work—as well as suggested strategies that companies should consider for improvement, and opportunities for change.

Challenge: Lack of education beyond the corporate office. While many organizations tout their policies and benefits for LGBT employees from corporate headquarters, there is a lack of education and information provided to people in the field (offices located outside of the main branches), according to diversity and inclusion consultant Simma Lieberman. “Uninformed and biased employees create uncomfortable work environments for LGBT people,” says Lieberman. “I’ve worked with several organizations where this was the case, and LGBT people would not only stay closeted, they didn’t feel safe speaking up when they heard offensive comments.”

A related issue is the “global challenge,” according to Stan C. Kimer, who now specializes in diversity management issues after a 31-year career at IBM. Kimer notes that with the explosion of Internet technology and the globalization of sales efforts and supply chains, many corporate departments now consist of virtual teams with members from countries around the world. “These countries can be completely all over the place in LGBT equality, from total acceptance and integration of LGBT people to placing LGBT people in prison!” says Kimer. “This could have a major impact on LGBT employees living in the oppressive countries or LGBT people who may accept a foreign job assignment.”

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Leading Your Team as a Straight Ally

Successful multi ethnic peopleBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“A lot of times, people don’t necessarily want advice, they just want someone to talk to,” explained Nini Mishra, manager in Accenture’s change management practice and an active member of its LGBT allies program.

Mishra is an enthusiastic LGBT ally (also known as “straight ally”) at the company. She explained that the company’s formal LGBT ally program was launched recently, but she has been participating in the informal “Friends of LGBT” group for quite some time. “I had a number of friends and colleagues who are open and out, and they were people who I had a huge amount of respect for personally and professionally. Over the years, a lot of them confided in me, just going out to coffee and talking about their feelings,” she explained. “To me, that’s what the LGBT allies program is about – to support fellow colleagues and be role models for how to foster inclusiveness.”

She suggested that LGBT inclusiveness is just one layer to Accenture’s wider value set of diversity and inclusion. “I think it transcends a lot of other points. It’s just treating people as individuals, with respect, and being open to differences,” she explained.

Anthony Sharrock, IT Strategy and Transformation Consultant at Accenture, and UK co-lead of the company’s LGBT Allies program, agreed. “I initially thought, ‘what’s the point of an LGBT ally network?’” he explained. “As a gay man, I didn’t really get the concept. But I began to realize it’s actually another avenue to help make LGBT employees feel comfortable about being themselves at work, and to do this well. It needs to be okay to be gay any place in the firm, no matter your project, team, et cetera. That takes more than just having a great LGBT network.”

He added, “It’s part of pushing the agenda forward. In the same way we want to see men at women’s networking events, we want to see straight people at LGBT events.”

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LGBT: Progress and Problems in the Workplace, Part 1

young black businesswomanBy Robin Madell (San Francisco)

In light of the growing emphasis on how much progress has been made for LGBT professionals via diversity programs (particularly in the financial industry), and the better general acceptance of gay and lesbian individuals in the workplace, it’s easy to grow complacent about the need for continued progress.

Therefore, as part of The Glass Hammer’s coverage of Pride Month, we consulted with diversity experts and human resources professionals who weighed in on issues that LGBT professionals identify as ongoing challenges in the workplace—as well as suggested strategies that companies should consider for improvement. What follows is a special two-part series (read more Thursday) that summarizes their thoughts on current problem areas and opportunities for change.

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Gender Metrics: The Solution to Macho Attitudes that Won’t Change

iStock_000004353264XSmallBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

A new study shows that one workforce subgroup isn’t likely to add their support to women’s leadership equality anytime soon. According to researchers at UNC Chapel Hill, NYU, and the University of Utah, men whose wives don’t work outside the home are less likely to treat women with respect in the workplace. In fact, they tend to believe women are unsuited for the corporate world.

Based on a study of 718 married men, the research revealed that men with stay-at-home wives tend to take a more “traditional” view of gender roles, viewing the presence of female coworkers “unfavorably.” They more often perceive companies with lots of women as poorly run. They also more frequently deny promotions to qualified women.

What’s more, these attitudes about women are implicit – that is, many of the men in this group don’t actively seek to keep women back. They don’t even realize they hold these beliefs or that they can effectively end women’s careers.

To make matters worse, the study continues, these men are more highly concentrated in management. In addition to holding more power over hiring and promotion, they also more frequently hold the purse strings for leadership development initiatives and employee resource groups that can be instrumental in helping women advance.

And – the researchers suggest – they’re unlikely to change, no matter how much diversity training they sit through or HR messages they receive.

But there is a potential solution for dealing with this macho cohort. The researchers suggest that rather than waste time and energy trying to convince these men of the importance of gender equality, leadership should lay down the law, set diversity targets tied to compensation, and hold managers accountable for achieving their goals. Here’s why the gender metrics approach could work.

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Why Do We Need a Business Case for Equality Anyway?

Confident young business woman in black suit against whiteBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

How many times have you heard a business leader announcing the oft-repeated refrain: “Diversity isn’t just the right thing to do – it means good business”?

In a recent study by UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, Mindy Storrie, Director of Leadership Development, discusses the business imperative for gender equality. She writes:

“Women are not only increasingly the primary breadwinners, they are also the world’s largest group in terms of purchasing decisions; studies show that women comprise between 80 and 85 percent of the U.S. consumer market. Combine this with the knowledge that companies with higher percentages of female senior-level managers tend to outperform their competitors, it comes as no surprise that those organizations failing to target women in recruiting, development and retention strategies may miss their bottom-line goals.”

Storrie provides references to several studies showing the business case for gender equality:

  • A Thomson Reuters report suggesting that companies with greater gender diversity perform better, especially in harsh market conditions.
  • McKinsey’s 2007 research showing that companies with more women in senior management had higher growth in stock prices.
  • Another McKinsey report showing that the addition of women to the workforce since the ‘70s has increased the US economy by 25%.

And she also references research on the benefits of female leaders:

  • A recent Zenger Folkman report showing women perform better when it comes to leadership competencies.
  • A Korn/Ferry study showing that women executives perform higher than their male peers in all leadership characteristics except confidence.

And let’s not forget the slew of research done by organizations like Catalyst, as well as consultancies like Deloitte, and many academic studies by universities on the business advantages associated with an increased percentage of women in leadership.

Sure, the business case is widely available and accepted. We’ve discussed it many times on The Glass Hammer. And yet.

As Storrie explains, women are still a significant minority the senior levels of the business, management, and financial space. In addition to that, she continues, women in the C-suite make 13-25% less than their male counterparts. Why isn’t the business case convincing companies to work harder to ensure their women are being treated equally?

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Nature or Nurture: Diversity in the Financial Services

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Business ProfessionalsBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

In a New York Times opinion piece this weekend, Cambridge research fellow John Coates describes with compelling detail the way hormones influence the behavior of (male) traders. He writes, “[Testosterone] produced by men (and, in lesser quantities, by women) primes the trader for the challenge ahead, just as it does athletes preparing to compete and male animals to fight. Rising levels increase confidence and, crucially, appetite for risk.”

Considering the awe with which Coates narrates the effects of the chemical trio testosterone, adrenaline, and cortisol, you’d think he was channeling Sir David Attenborough. “Finally… the trader leans into his screen, pupils dilated, breathing rhythmic, muscles coiled, body and brain fused for impending action.”

Coates suggests that this biological interplay is so pronounced in younger men that it can drive markets to soar or crash.

His solution? More women. “Women and older men have a fraction of the testosterone of young men, so if more of them managed money, we could perhaps stabilize the markets,” he writes.

In Coates’ bleak description of the (male) trading mechanism, he envisions women as the brakes for a contraption spinning out of control. Calls for diversity are, of course, appreciated. But using women as a tool to gum up the works, rather than overhauling a system that overrewards risky behavior, seems more like a quick fix than a long-term solution. More seriously, it reduces individual humans to purposefully ill-fitting cogs in a corporate machine.

Would you want to work for a company that only hired you because it believes your biological construction is inherently ill-suited for the way its top performers make money?

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Women Abroad – How to Get the Most from an International Assignment

Businesswoman Standing Out From the Crowd - IsolatedBy Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)

Rosalie L. Tung is all too familiar with the challenges that women face when it comes to international assignments. As the Professor of International Business at Simon Fraser University in Canada, Tung has devoted countless hours to researching and writing about these challenges, but they may not be what you think. In her groundbreaking work Female Expatriates: The Model Global Manager?, Tung asserts that women are actually ideal candidates for overseas assignments and the challenges they face have little to do with the difficulties of being in a new country, but rather in the difficulty they experience actually getting the opportunity to work abroad.

The percentage of women in international assignments increased from 3 percent to 16 percent in the late 1990s. Throughout the 2000s, the percentage increased, though very slowly. Most recent studies have either put the percentage of women in international assignments at or slightly below 20 percent. Tung sites three factors outlined by Nancy J. Adler that are commonly provided by companies for the low deployment of women in international assignments: women don’t want overseas assignments (due to family considerations), other countries don’t want female expatriates in business dealings, and women lack the skills or competencies to succeed. These are “misconceptions” and as Tung wrote in Female Expatriates, “As long as women remain under-represented in international assignments, they will continue to lack the opportunity to acquire one of the critical competencies required of global leaders.”

This is more than just being denied one job opportunity; it’s more like being denied vital experience that can drastically change the course of your career. As Tung points out, the continued globalization of industries has led to a quest by organizations worldwide for global leaders who can help their companies survive in highly competitive work environments. In a global economy, people with global experience are pivotal to an organization’s competitive edge and women have often been excluded from promotions and leadership positions because they appear to lack one of the critical competencies identified for such key roles: a global mindset.

Once again, women find themselves in a Catch-22: they can’t move forward unless they have experience working internationally, but they’re not given the opportunity because of unfair assumptions about their competence and willingness to work abroad.

Fortunately, some women are chipping away at these misconceptions – and providing key strategic advice on navigating the challenges of taking an international post.

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