Advice for Ambitious Women

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Last week, BritishAmerican Business Women’s Network hosted a discussion on how women can access promotion opportunities in the tumultuous economic atmosphere. The panel, hosted by KPMG, featured Ana Duarte McCarthy, Managing Director and Chief Diversity Officer, Citi; Claudia Saran, Practice Leader – People & Change, KPMG LLP; Lareina Yee, Partner, McKinsey & Company; and was moderated by Leann Balbona, KPMG Network of Women Leader, Managing Director, Tax – International Executive Services, KPMG LLP.

Yee opened the event event with an overview of McKinsey’s Women Matter [PDF] report, which measured the views on gender diversity of about 1,500 business leaders globally. “There are enormous reasons to be very proud of where we are and be happy with the progress we’ve made.”

But, Yee said, we shouldn’t rest on our laurels just yet. For example, she explained, without the advances women have made in the workplace since the 1970s, today’s GDP would be 25% smaller. How much bigger could it be if we achieved gender parity in leadership? Considering the current economic circumstances, this question is growing ever more salient.

“The contribution of women undoubtedly matters,” she said. “If we’re going to get out of this economic funk, we’re going to need them. And we’re going to need them for a long time.”

Women and Ambition

It has been suggested that one reason women aren’t making it to the top ranks of companies in large numbers is simply because they don’t want to be there. But, Yee said, the survey showed that’s simply not the case – women are indeed ambitious and want to advance in their careers. “More than 52% [of women] at the mid management level said ‘I want to go to the next level,” she explained. “But only 26% are actually making it to VP roles.”

This brings up the issue of attraction and retention, Saran continued. Saran, who has worked to build diversity programs in several companies, said, unfortunately, there is no silver bullet when it comes to patching a leaky pipeline of female talent. “The root cause is often in their culture, their strategy, their history. When they want to fix it, there’s not a generic answer.”

Women want to climb to the top levels, but, said Balbona, they often lack confidence in themselves. “Men apply for a job when they may not have 100% of the qualifications, but the women ticks off every one before applying.”

Yee pointed out that McKinsey’s research revealed a good reason for this phenomenon. When considering women for promotion, leaders “tend to rate women on performance, and men on potential,” she said. Interviews for the study revealed other issues, for example, business leaders said promoting women was “risky.” Additionally, managers said they didn’t know how to give feedback to women, and senior males were concerned about perceptions around traveling with women for business. They also reported not being sure women would want to travel for work if they had children – and, we can assume, don’t always bother asking.

Leading with a Yes

Duarte McCarthy pointed out that in addition to encouraging companies to provide better training and programs to improve gender diversity, there are things women can do as well to improve their prospect for promotion. “What are the things we do?” she asked. “There is a sense of risk aversion. Are we leading with a yes? Or are we self censoring?”

She added, “Part of what we can own is taking that step and leading with a yes.”

Saran agreed that there are ways women can help themselves when it comes to getting to the next level. “When you think about your own team and how you promote people on potential, you have to know who they are – they have to have visibility.”

She continued, “Their performance you can get from metrics. But for someone to weigh in on your potential, they’ve got to know you.”

She recalled how earlier in her career she often assumed her work would speak for itself. “That’s dumb!” she exclaimed as the audience laughed. Women can increase their visibility by reorienting their career toward their passion. She explained, “When you strive too hard for a title, that can be a poison, an ankle weight. Think about what is your passion. I want my input to be heard and I want to have an impact on this organization.”

When you start working to achieve you passion – rather than just for advancement itself, “that visibility will come along,” she said.

Duarte McCarthy added that Citi has focused on building a sponsorship program to help women achieve that level of visibility that can boost them to the next level. She explained that sponsorship works best when it’s grows from an organic relationship, but nevertheless, 40% of the women in Citi’s program have moved to bigger jobs, and 95% of them have been retained.

“We’re asking women themselves to help women. We’re invested in them and we want them to [pass that help down],” she explained. “It makes a difference.”

Saran said that another issue women face is that they become so good at their jobs that it’s hard for managers to see anyone else in the role – and avoid promoting them as a result. “If you’re concerned about advancement, think about succession planning for your own role. …It would behoove you to to say, ‘let me cultivate some people who can take my job so I can do some other things.’”