By Melissa Anderson
A new Catalyst study shows that companies in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) industries are setting women MBAs up to fail from the start.
“The STEM industry has a poor reputation and our research shows that reputation is deserved. There is a significant gender gap across STEM, and not just in technical roles,” says Anna Beninger, director of research at Catalyst.
By Nneka Orji
“Putting you in handcuffs”; so reads the Forbes 2010 article title about non-compete clauses in employment contracts. This negative portrayal of non-competes is not unique. A Harvard Business Review blog titled “Non-compete clauses punish the wrong party” is just as damning, and a recent poll by the Boston Globe has shown that 70% of the Massachusetts respondents want non-competes banned across the state.
By Beth Senko
Demand for emerging managers has grown for both altruistic and pure profit-making goals. From a social good standpoint, publicly-held pensions and investment funds reach out to emerging fund managers and brokerages as a way of selecting managers that represent the diversity of their beneficiaries. At the same time, investors are looking to emerging managers as a way of increasing their returns. The challenge seems to be getting the funds into the hands of the emerging managers.
An increasing number of states, municipalities and other public pensions, have emerging manager mandates. Each week, Crain’s Pensions & Investments, lists new manager searches from an array of funds. In just the past few months, funds that have added or are searching for emerging managers include: New York City Pension Fund, St. Louis Employees, Illinois Investment Board and CALPERS. According to a study by KPMG (formerly Rothstein Kass), Women In Alternative Investments: A Marathon Not a Sprint, the number of funds with emerging manager mandates continues to grow; however, implementing these mandates appears to be more of a challenge.
The study notes that most funding for women-owned-and-managed funds comes from high-net-worth individuals and family offices despite growth in the number of mandates at pensions and endowments. The study’s authors comment, “while perhaps not as speedy as some would like, diversity mandates, as well as demonstrated outperformance by women managers, are driving investors to increase allocations to women-run funds. In fact, nearly 25 percent of the investors polled for this report indicated they would increase their allocations to women-owned or-managed funds in the coming year by some margin.”
Is funding a supply problem?
In its 2013 study, Women in Alternative Investments: Building Momentum in 2013 and Beyond, the study’s authors noted that of the 366 women polled, only 5% had received emerging manager funding despite the number of mandates. That number improved somewhat in 2014’s study to 8.5%, but the study did not look at the size of that funding – suggesting that funding levels may still be quite low, even at firms receiving emerging manager funding.
At the same time, the vast majority of investors surveyed, (93%) have no mandate to invest in women-owned or –managed funds. The primary reason given was “lack of supply.”
Kelly Easterling, formerly a principal at Rothstein Kass (now part of KPMG) comments in the report, “Investors and women-owned and -managed funds are faced with an interesting dilemma of which comes first, the chicken or the egg. One of the reasons that investors are not able to invest in diversity funds is the lack of diversity funds available for investment. Without a large supply of funds, it’s difficult to achieve appropriate portfolio diversification or, for that matter, put enough money to work to move the performance dial. On the other hand, until there is more money flowing to women-owned and -managed funds, it’s unlikely that there will be a stampede of new fund launches. Unfortunately, that paradox slows the process down for both sides of the equation.”
Or a structural issue?
In our view, however, a “lack of supply” is too simplistic an answer to the gap between emerging manager mandates and funding. Differences in scale seem to be one aspect of this disconnect.
By Kayla Turo
We have long discussed the advantages of incorporating more women into board level executive positions, which includes professed benefits such as increased productivity, independence, and creativity, as well as a decline in the debilitating habits of “groupthink” and stereotyping found among ill-diversified boards.
The recent report “Women in finance: A springboard to corporate board positions?” published by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), states that women with qualifications or a background in finance are more likely to attain executive board positions than those who come from other industries.
The ACCA conducted extensive interviews with three groups: eight female FTSE 100 directors, seven executive search consultants (ESCs), and five FTSE 100 chairmen to gain a better understanding of how finance plays a role in the appointment of new executive directors and what that means for women today.
Finance: The Universal Corporate Language
The report found that all three groups felt it was the credibility that accompanies financial knowledge that was an indispensable perk of having a background in finance. Having the “language” of finance eliminates some of the alienation that occurs for women on a male-dominated board and makes her more identifiable to these men.
The ACCA report indicates, a background in finance is generally viewed as a more masculine qualification, and therefore in the thinking of this report women having experience in finance may work as a “corporate translator” to bridge the gender gap in the boardroom. They purport that the ability to speak the language of finance garners approval from peers on a board
When striving for a board position, it is also helpful to know strategic players who can advocate for you and recommend you for the role. According to the ACCA report, “Networking, in particular being known as well as knowing those who are already in board roles, is essential. If individual women are not known to a chairman or fall under the radar of an executive search firm then it is highly unlikely these women will be considered for board roles.”
While all three groups acknowledge the benefits of having a background in finance in regards to credibility, the ACCA still found some difficulty in pinpointing what type of financial experience is most beneficial.
Following the interviews with these key stakeholders of a corporation the researchers found a “lack of clarity” in the definition of financial qualifications and background. However, certain statistics and comments gathered throughout the interviews demonstrate some of the common fields of finance that have worked for current female directors.
By Beth Senko
The push for increased diversity on corporate boards has been going on for some time. But the push for diversity hasn’t really reached the boardrooms where those shareholder votes are cast.
Last September, The Thirty Percent Coalition, a group formed in 2011 to address issues of gender diversity in the boardroom, congratulated eight companies for adding women members to their boards and noted that overall progress continues to be slow. However, there were a couple of bright spots:
“During the 2013 proxy season, shareholder resolutions on board diversity were filed with 25 companies. Of the 25 shareholder resolutions filed, 18 have been withdrawn based upon mutual agreements, an important mark of progress in the work on board diversity. Three board diversity shareholder resolutions went to a vote in 2013: proposals at CF Industries, Urban Outfitters, Inc. and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. received support of 50.7 percent, 27.5 percent and 28.9 percent respectively. The impressive vote at CF Industries marks the first time a board diversity resolution has received majority support from shareholders.”
Many members of The Thirty Percent Coalition come from the institutional investing world and while its member firms lead in the area of board diversity, according to a recent study by BoardIQ, women may not be doing as well in the fund management boardroom as they are in the corporate boardroom.
BoardIQ studied fund filings on board composition of the 20 largest fund groups by assets and 125 other random boards overseeing assets ranging in size from $19 million to $193 billion. Their analysis showed, “nearly a quarter, including Pimco, DoubleLine and Fidelity Sector Funds, don’t have any, the analysis shows. Another 30% of boards have only one woman director.”
Put simply, 55% of fund boards examined have either one woman or none. In contrast, a 2013 study by 2020 Women on Boards shows that 43% of the companies in the Fortune 1000 index had one or fewer women board members. While the studies aren’t directly comparable, the twelve percentage point difference merits further study.
Is the problem a lack of qualified women candidates?
The BoardIQ study quotes Kristianne Blake, Independent Chair of the Russell Funds noting that board recruiting hasn’t changed that much over time. “I do feel historically the way board seats have been filled is the old boys’ network. It’s who you know.” At the same time, while the network expands when women are on the board, “the pool is smaller of women candidates, so boards have to make an effort to include them in the pool. You’ll have to aggressively look for women candidates.”
The number of women candidates available varies according to source. The University of Mannheim estimates that approximately 10% of equity fund managers are women. On the upper end, an estimate by the Mutual Fund Directors’ Forum says that women account for about one-third of qualified candidates.
By Miranda K. Brawn, Esq. Barrister-at-Law
It is clear that any woman who is going after a high-powered position in any industry, but especially in financial services, law and business, will need to have a strong resume. While many focus on painstakingly compiling their credentials, career background, accomplishments, spending weeks on application materials and making everything look as perfect as can be on paper and online, as well as conducting external networking by attending various events etc., they are forgetting one important thing – the Art of Internal Networking!
We have all heard of the saying “it’s not what you know, but who you know!” and how networking can benefit our careers. But have you thought about how your own network, especially your internal network, is your most powerful tool. Most people focus on the external networking aspect of developing their careers. Sometimes the most effective networking takes place where you dwell on a day to day basis. This relates back to the 6 Degrees of Separation theory highlighting the importance of information flow, building networks in one’s own organization and developing the tools for communication.
If you are a woman on the verge of making a big move or wanting to make such a move, consider these top ten tips for making an impact:
1. Become a Connector– Connectors have a different kind of power as they always know someone. They may be good at making suitable introductions. Hence, there is great value in forming and maintaining a strong circle of contacts. It is important to factor in first impressions and guide what you want new contacts to say about you after the initial meeting. Connectors love social connections as it is in their human nature and collect friends like stamps. It is the nurturing and coordinating of introductions that they enjoy the most which is the art of networking. That said, lots of people are not naturally social but they can become a Connector by learning the main skills. This can range from emailing or calling colleagues in other areas of the organisation who they have not seen in a while and organizing a lunch or coffee catch up to update them on various activities which may be of use and/or interest to them.
2. Focus on giving versus getting – internal networking is an investment for yourself and your organisation hence try to adopt an attitude of giving to your network. This should ultimately be a “give and take” relationship not just “take”.
3. Constantly add value to your network – Think about the ways you can add value to your network and continue to do this on a regular basis. It is important that you are playing your part and not just turning up every day to do the bare minimum. If you work in the finance industry, you could email your own area or another internal area about the latest news in the trading market or various banking regulations which are fast and flowing at the moment. Hence, who do you think they will approach should they need advice on trading or banking regulation information? I hope you are beginning to see the value in this personal branding through your internal network which could be extended to your external network. This links into my next tip where your knowledge can make you powerful within your organisation.
By Tina Vasquez
If you ever needed a reason to get over your fear of public speaking, new research from Weber Shandwick should do the trick. The public relations firm reports that a full 60 percent of women who speak at executive conferences also have a seat on boards, which the firm says demonstrates a “direct ‘speak and sit’ correlation.” The firm also asserts that top US women business leaders who engage audiences are more apt to be acknowledged as effective leaders.
Liz Rizzo, Weber Shandwick’s research partner on the study, says that in reality, only a third of board seats are filled using “traditional” methods.
“Most board appointees come from networking and referral, so what better way to make those connections than by speaking at a conference?” Rizzo asked.
According to Weber Shandwick’s executive vice president, Carol Ballock, there’s no better time to consider speaking at conferences. The EVP says the opportunities in the conference space have never been better – but you have to choose the “right” space.
“You have to be strategic if you want your efforts to translate in a bigger way,” Shandwick said. “Who will be in the room? What will you be talking about? If you’re speaking at a well-chosen conference, there’s more than your time on stage to consider. You’ll have conversations with editors, interviews with writers, one-on-one meetings, and opportunities for joining new networks, networks you may not have been able to join otherwise. If you choose the right conference, you don’t have to do a whole lot to get a high return.”
Taking The ‘Right’ Approach
Raleigh Mayer, founder of Raleigh Mayer Consulting, and a frequent partner contributor to theglasshammer.com on topics such as public speaking, executive presence, and leadership agrees landing a speaking engagement is phenomenal and can clearly add a much-needed boost to your career.
Mayer goes on to say it’s important “that when the opportunity is given, you’ve got to be ready for it, making sure to avoid the mistakes often made when speaking to a large group of peers.”
The seasoned public speaker says this includes diminishing yourself, both physically and verbally, by apologizing, refusing to take credit, or shrugging off and avoiding attention.
“We do this because we are taught that it’s wrong to be the center of attention, or we feel uncomfortable attracting it,” Mayer said. “We sit when we should stand, sometimes ramble and fail to make solid points, and often engage in reflexive and inappropriate apologizing, or what I call diminishing disclaimers: ‘This is just an idea’; ‘It’s only my opinion’; ‘I may be way off-track here’, rather that stating our viewpoints or recommendations directly. Teenage girls criticize their counterparts who behave too confidently by saying, ‘She thinks she’s all that,’ meaning, ‘She thinks she’s better than everybody else.’ Executive women should take a tip from the men: earn that label, and take it as a compliment.”
Company Visibility & Career Advancement
At just 36, Czarina Walker is CEO of InfiniEDGE Software, Inc., a Louisiana-based custom software development company. She has also participated in a wide-range of speaking engagements, from local and national to entrepreneurial and technical. The benefit, she says, is two-fold.
“It kept us in front of the public when we are traditionally a field that people do not think much about. We found that customers generally remembered us better because they saw that I had spoken at various events,” Walker said. “The ability to think on my feet while speaking has also had a great deal to do with my personal and professional success. Within eight-months of agreeing to do at least monthly speaking engagements in business or industry, I was asked to participate in four boards at the same time.”
Too Much Visibility
What the CEO didn’t anticipate, however, was the amount of time that all four boards would involve, and that they would also require her to take on additional speaking roles. Walker came to realize that she had to be more careful about the amount of time she was devoting to speaking and serving on boards. The realization came after she asked her employees what made their company different.
By Jessica Titlebaum
According to a conversation between Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman and psychologist Gary Klein, one of the ways we define leaders is by their ability to make decisions and trust their instincts. In an era of technology and information overload, how can you listen to your intuition with confidence? Below is an explanation of how to find your intuition, strengthen it and use it like a skill.
The Science of Leadership
“Really great leaders have very high emotional intelligence. It’s not about IQ, but more about self-awareness of strengths and limitations,” said Robin Ross, founder of RSR Advisory LLC, a coaching and consulting firm, which enables her to explore the neurology of leadership. “In regard to intuition, leaders have honed in on their self-awareness and can listen to that voice coming from within.”
Ross explains that your intuition comes from the oldest part of the brain.
“True intuition taps into the subconscious part of the brain, the basal ganglia. It’s the same part of the brain that remembers patterns and memory,” said Ross. “What’s interesting is that the basal ganglia is also connected to the intestines so a gut instinct really is a gut instinct.”
One part of the brain that Ross says is not directly connected to the basal ganglia is the language center, or the area known as the prefrontal cortex.
“There is no direct connectivity to the verbal cortex so when someone says they have a gut feeling but can’t put it into words, there is a reason why.”
Ross explains that there are times when you have to question your intuition.
“If you have past situations that are bubbling up and you know the correlation is wrong,” explained Ross, “this would be a good example of a time to listen to your intelligence, not your intuition.”
She said another example where questioning your intuition might be necessary would be when you are in a completely new situation and past experiences would not bear any resemblance to the outcome of the new event.
“When in highly volatile situations women should look at all the factors, not just their gut reactions. However if they have looked at all the data and it still doesn’t add up, trust your gut,” said Ross.
According to Ross, one way to benefit from a strong intuition is to bring it up in job interviews.
By Jarod Cerf
Although Japan and the U.S. occupy somewhat different rankings in The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, both Yoriko Kawaguchi, Japan’s former Minister for Foreign Affairs (’02-‘04) and Environment (’00-’02), and Ruth Porat, Executive Vice President and CFO of Morgan Stanley, are confident that a call to empower women was essential to any country’s “core growth strategy”—as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe refers to his 2012 initiative.
Government Policy as an Agent of Empowerment
“There are three critical components driving Abe’s proposal,” Kawaguchi explained at the Japan Society’s forum on policy, culture, and business practice as a means for providing greater opportunities. “The first is a declining birth rate and the resulting reductions in our future labor force; the second is the need for greater diversity in skills, background, and expertise—which is where women, both foreign and Japanese, can serve as a catalyst for growth.”
Though traditionally Japan has held to a promise of promotion, described by Kawaguchi as “seniority assistance” or “lifetime employment”, women who leave the workforce to raise and tend to their families often find it difficult to return to the same company or at the same level as their peers who remained employed.
To counter this, the Japanese government is funding a series of public day care and educational facilities near transportation hubs, investing in training programs for women and the companies who employ them, and providing assistance for those who seek to develop their own businesses.
“The last component,” as Kawaguchi noted, “is the evolving notion, in Japan, of gender equality as a means of ensuring our human rights; that we can no longer afford to do without the contributions of women in our effort to create a more just society.”
Changing Culture through the Practices We Employ
According to Porat, though, such a change or shift in culture is often subject to gradual progress and unusual proponents. “When the U.S. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” she explained, “there were, allegedly, certain Congress members who supported the inclusion of women’s rights under the belief that the modified bill would be seen as too outrageous to pass.”
By Mai Browne
If you’re doing business in China and an associate asks you how much money you earn, don’t be offended; he or she is probably just seeking a way to find common ground. Marie Seton O’Brien, a forensic due diligence consultant, learned this lesson while working in Beijing a few years ago for New York Global Group, a global strategic advisory, venture capital and private equity firm.
“In addition to salary, lots of people asked about my age and marital status,” said O’Brien. “At first I was taken aback, but then I realized that these questions were just a jumping-off point for building a relationship.”
When working in a foreign country, gaining an understanding of cross-cultural differences – and how they impact communication, teamwork, management and business development – is critical to your success.
Here are 5 things to think about when you travel to Asia for business:
1) Don’t expect everyone to brainstorm in the meeting.
When conducting meetings between Westerners and the Chinese (or other cultures concerned with “losing face”), make sure to invite those who are quiet to speak, and let them know in advance what topics on which you will ask for their input.
One example came to light this year in a HBR Blog Network article written by cross cultural change expert Erin Meyer, Professor at INSEAD Business School in France. Meyer describes a big lesson she learned around expecting people from other cultures to automatically follow her modus operandi. Meyer conducted the session with a colleague named Bo Chen, a journalist and the Chinese country expert in attendance at a French car manufacturers meeting.
Chen’s role was to present two concrete business examples to illustrate each cultural issue Meyer would be covering, but he stayed silent throughout until finally invited to speak. Chen explained his reluctance to jump in,
“We Chinese often feel Americans are not good listeners because they are always jumping in on top of one another to make their points. I would have liked to make one of my points if an appropriate length of pause had arisen. But Erin was always talking, so I just kept waiting patiently. My mother left it deeply engrained in me: You have two eyes, two ears, but only one mouth. You should use them accordingly.”
In the US, speaking up when you have an idea is culturally expected and extroverts are often promoted into leadership positions in part because of that trait. Furthermore, it is traditionally believed that the loudest person with the most executive presence is the authority on the topic at hand. Laura Liswood’s book, The Loudest Duck, is a fabulous resource to take along with you on these trips as she explains cultural nuances around how we are programmed to believe such expressions as “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” in the West. Liswood refers to these idioms as what our Grandma taught us and, as demonstrated in the example above, Mr. Chen’s Grandma and Ms. Meyer’s Grandma weren’t on the same page.
2) Understand the hierarchy and power and authority dynamics at play.
In the above example, when Meyer asked Chen why he hadn’t spoken earlier, he turned to their clients and said:
“In this room, Erin is the chairman of the meeting. As she is the senior person in the room, I wait for her to call on me. And, while I am waiting, I should show I am a good listener by keeping both my voice and my body quiet.”
In the Asian business culture, there are expectations around who is supposed to talk and who is supposed to listen that Westerners tend not to share.
3) Get cross-cultural training.
Meyer’s example is a powerful illustration of the critical need to develop multicultural competency in our increasingly global economy. Many large global companies provide some training, but if your company doesn’t, see if it will reimburse you if you take an outside course on the subject.