Tag Archive for: Diversity and Inclusion Leader

Indhira Arrington: Global Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, Ares Management

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Indhira Arrington“My career trajectory is a combination of two factors. The first is that I am standing on the shoulders of people and organizations who have sponsored me and have opened doors for me to join rooms, organizations and functions that I otherwise would not have been able to,” says Indhira Arrington. “The second is that while I was fortunate to have those opportunities present themselves, I was also prepared and motivated to seize those opportunities.”

Stepping Up to Opportunities, All the Way to the C-Suite

Instilled with a strong work ethic by her family and driven to prove herself as an immigrant in a new country, Arrington was determined to perform at her best and demonstrate her value from early on.

“Being an immigrant really is at the core of my experience,” she says, “Even though I’ve now lived in the U.S. longer than I lived in the Dominican Republic, I distinctly remember that feeling of being an ‘outsider.’”

With her parents speaking little English and no precedent for success in corporate America, Arrington’s “second family” at INROADS set her up with the mindset and skills that enabled her to perform at a high level (academically, as a 4.0 student) and step up to opportunities.

With both the prodding of her INROADS mentor and with the sponsorship of The Consortium, she received her MBA at NYU Stern School of Business before taking on sales and trading roles at Citi and Morgan Stanley: “I didn’t know what I didn’t know, and I was fortunate to have people who saw my potential as much bigger than I did. They pointed me in different directions.”

While building her career on the trading floor, Arrington says that DEI was her steady second job. As a “double only” Latina in the room, she was often called on for diversity conferences and networking needs. She wanted to show up and open doors for others, too.

Then came a crossroads of choice.

“Sales and trading was where I could have maximized my earning potential, but I faced the difficulty of having the intensity that job required and being the type of mother I wanted to be,” reflects Arrington. “I was very good at my job, but it didn’t fit with how I wanted the rest of my life to play out.”

Coinciding with the economic downturn and start of her family, Arrington shifted into diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as her primary career focus in 2009 – first at Bank of America and then Wells Fargo, before taking her present role at Ares Management Corporation as Global Head of DEI in 2021.

“There are thousands of people that are good at their job and that want to ascend the corporate ladder, but doing it alone likely won’t get you there,” she says. “You also need to have strong executive presence and act like a leader, and then hopefully that combination gains you the sponsors who have the power to open those doors, propel you and pull you up.”

Becoming an Impact Player

As a constant learner, Arrington has focused on becoming the subject matter expert of her craft. Once she realized she could be vulnerable, ask for help and not figure everything out by herself, it was a game-changer in advancing her learning curve: “I always say to my team that when I don’t understand something, even today, explain it to me like a five-year old.”

A key principle she abides to and encourages in her team is to be in service of others: Don’t aim to be basic. Aim to be exceptional.

“Anybody can do what they are told and put the spreadsheet together. But if you’re in the service of others, you’re going to ask the next question about what they are trying to do and the end goal,” she says. “You take the work to the next level, and in doing so, you build good will and advocates who will remember you.”

Whether it’s volunteering to bring in great talent, working with ERGs, or taking the initiative to fix a broken process, Arrington suggests to ask, “Outside of your day job responsibilities, what are you doing to contribute to the greater good of the organization and to make yourself an impact player? Anybody can get work done. People want to promote impact players.”

Leveling Up To Advance Your Career

Arrington emphasizes that leveling up requires the maturity of being open and direct about what you need and want and what your expectations are, and not just expecting your boss (or anyone) to be a mind-reader.

Owning what you want also means learning to “manage your manager” – putting your objectives and goals out, and then soliciting the clear guidance on where you need to focus on developing your skillsets and capabilities to be able to reach your goals. Find out what might be getting in your way and what superpowers you need to double-down on to excel.

“Be unapologetic and say this is what I’m thinking, but also leave space in the room for your managers to say ‘maybe you’re thinking too small’ or ‘maybe you’re thinking too big.’”

Thirdly, Arrington has learned from experience that “the unwritten rules are real.” Knowing the difference between titles, influencers and key decision-makers, as well as knowing the personalities you are interacting with, is essential when it comes to succeeding in advancing your ideas as you rise to bigger roles where more is at stake and few ideas get funded.

“Pre-selling your idea to the right individuals and setting yourself up to succeed is so critical, but women often don’t focus enough on that,” she observes. “We focus on the best idea and presentation and assume everyone is going to like it. The pre-game and understanding how things really get done in your organization is key.”

Arrington encourages women to have a portfolio of sponsors and advocates you spend time with and who know the value you deliver, and be more strategic in building your network. She observes that men tend to build diverse networks that create a matrix intentionally directed towards where they want to go, whereas women tend to build their networks around proximity and likeness. Leverage your network as an opportunity to put your intentions out there to those in the places you want to go.

Impacting Change as a Latina

“As Latinas, we’re bred to be loud and we’re bred to sit in our truth,” laughs Arrington, reflecting on her cultural capital.

As a Latina woman she’s brought her personal experiences to the table: “There’s nothing like breaking down barriers by being vulnerable and telling your personal story of microaggressions and how you have been made to feel less, unwelcome or like you don’t belong in situations. It changes the way that reality lands when a person realizes that somebody that they know isn’t having the same experiences that they are.”

For two decades, Arrington has sat on the board of directors for the Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, supporting Latinos in New York around school, work and childcare. She is currently the Vice Chair for the Council of Urban Professionals (CUP), focusing on supporting women and people of color to leadership roles in corporate organizations. Her experience of feeling like an outsider has inspired her towards actions that bring about change.

While successful in overcoming obstacles, Arrington admits it has been challenging at times to be the only Latina in a room: “That’s where vulnerability came in. Without somebody that would have a naturally predisposed affinity towards me, I had to figure out how to break down barriers to be let in and be embraced even though I was different,” says Arrington. “It’s much easier when you feel that level of comfort and connectedness.”

Why Managing Is Really Coaching

Arrington jokes that she cannot have a boss who doesn’t want to be her friend, but she also means it: “If you don’t know me and you don’t understand what drives me and what ails me, then how could you truly be in charge of growing me and taking me to the next level?”

She continues, “I think it’s really important as managers that we take the approach of being coaches and changing the relationship from ‘I’m here to manage and make sure you do what you’re supposed to do’ to ‘I’m here to coach you and make sure that you exceed that.’”

In a coaching relationship, honest feedback can be received as care and guidance with your best interests at heart.

“Most managers feel like I can’t get too close because then I can’t be objective, and I think it’s the opposite,” says Arrington. “If you’re not close enough, you’re going to miss what’s happening and you’re going to miss opportunities to support people in a way that makes them want to come to work and be part of the community.”

Having often felt she had to prove herself along her journey, she would have a simple message to her younger self: “Stop being so scared. Try to enjoy it more along the way. You are worthy. You are good enough. You’re more than good enough.”

These days, Arrington practices giving herself grace on a daily basis. With her twelve and nine year-old sons playing flag football on the weekends, Arrington confesses to be that sports mom cheering on the sidelines with a cowbell. She enjoys yoga and learning through documentaries, and is an avid reader when she can sneak a few chapters in.

By Aimee Hansen

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How Big Data Can Revolutionize DE&I – If It’s the Right Data

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DEI DataData is commonly called “the oil of the 21st century” given how indispensable it is to the modern economy. Virtually every company today depends on collecting, tracking, and analyzing vast troves of data to better understand their customer needs. We have an unprecedented ability to become surgical in our understanding of a wide range of trends.

One of the great promises of having data at our fingertips is better tracking and more transparent reporting on measures of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Professionals in the workplace can arm themselves with data on key accomplishments and performance measures that can elevate the visibility and stature of their careers and teams.

Investing in understanding where the gaps are in diversity is advantageous to enterprises – not only in terms of doing the right thing, but in terms of business results. A mountain of research has confirmed that diversity pays off and leads to the creation of more innovative teams.

As the Harvard Business Review recently noted, companies with women in leadership positions saw a 10% frequency of terms expressing companies being open to transformation and change in company statements. Other studies back it up: more diverse C-suites are directly correlated with larger profits, higher margins, and increased total returns to shareholders.

There is a lot of work to do on this front.

The number of women serving in leadership roles, for example, remains dismal. The figures only look worse the higher you look on the corporate ladder. Today, about 25% of C-suite positions are held by women. The results are a little better for women on Boards at 29%. The purpose of having data at our fingertips is to enable organizations to report on their progress and give them the tools to address the gaps. The information gives investors, stakeholders, and employees a clear-eyed look at the obstacles.

It’s also critical that organizations use the right kind of data to meaningfully move the needle towards more inclusive workforces. If you’re not using the right information, your organization may lag behind its specified diversity goals.

There are two key challenges in how organizations use DE&I data:
  • They use lagging data – Lagging data refers to figures that indicate results only after a process is complete. This stands in stark contrast to indicators that track activities on an ongoing basis, which offer real-time data to help mitigate unconscious bias in the workplace. The use of lagging data is a common pitfall of organizations who are not diving in closely enough.
  • They don’t get granular enough – Organizations may track the hiring rates of women but fail to consider intersectional factors like race or sexual orientation. There is a pronounced need to go deeper and more granular in order to understand what your employees are experiencing. While an organization comprised of a majority of women may not believe they have inclusion challenges to address, how many of those women are people of color or represent other underrepresented groups? By looking only at only one consideration – gender – they risk missing key analytics and a better understanding of where barriers remain.

DE&I solutions require tools that provide greater insights through anonymized aggregated data which examines a range of factors. Measurement of data could enable leaders to better gauge levels of unconscious bias within their organization and develop an effective mitigation strategy. Not least, this is the first time in history as many as five generations of professionals have worked alongside one another in the workplace. An organization may recognize a need for dialogue and training to educate employees about working across generations.

Surgical granularity enables leaders to diagnose specific workplace trends, such as women of color experiencing disproportionately more discrimination than men. This process of measurement and evaluation must not be a “one and done” exercise, but an ongoing process updated in real-time.

The take-away is that effective diversity, equity, and inclusion work requires an investment of time, resources, commitment, and a sustained effort. Companies will find the dividends enormous given the tremendous boost to the bottom line organizations see as a result of building more inclusive and welcoming workforces.

About the author: 

Michele Ruiz is an entrepreneur, an author of a bestseller, a social media influencer, and a sought-after keynote speaker. Michele’s ventures include founding BiasSync, a science-based technology company designed to help organizations effectively assess and manage unconscious bias in the work environment with proprietary data and analytics. Michele also founded Ruiz Strategies, a consulting firm specializing in change management, reputational management, internal communications, unconscious bias training and assessments. She is an advisor to senior executives at Fortune 20 multinational corporations and some of the highest-profile thought leaders and elected officials.

Michele is a subject matter expert in empowerment, entrepreneurship, sophisticated communication strategies, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA). Before becoming an entrepreneur, Michele Ruiz enjoyed a long career as an award-winning broadcast journalist and received 16 Emmy nominations during her news broadcasting career, 5 Emmys, 4 Golden Mikes, and LA Press Club Awards.

(The opinions and views of guest contributions are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com)

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Megan Hogan: Chief Diversity Officer, Goldman Sachs

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Megan HoganIn the latest edition of the Glass Hammer, Megan Hogan, Goldman Sachs’ chief diversity officer, shares her path to the firm, comments on her passion for diversity, equity and inclusion, and discusses her interests outside of the office. 

Megan Hogan, Goldman Sachs’ chief diversity officer, joined the firm in 2014 as a vice president on the Diversity & Inclusion team, and has spent her time at the firm supporting efforts related to the recruitment, development and advancement of diverse professionals.

Prior to her current role, Hogan led the diversity recruiting team, spearheading new programs such as the firm’s Black Analyst and Associate Initiative and Neurodiversity Hiring Initiative, which provide mentorship and networking opportunities to Black and neurodiverse individuals, respectively. In addition, Hogan’s team partnered with teams across the firm to establish the Market Madness: HBCU Possibilities Program earlier this year, which recruits students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

She notes that she’s most proud of launching the neurodiversity initiative in 2019 on World Autism Day. “As a mother of a child with learning differences, it has been important for me both personally and professionally to create opportunities for children like mine who are exceptionally bright, but navigate the world differently,” said Hogan.

A Thread of “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” Throughout Prior Work

“Prior to joining the firm, there was a thread of advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in my corporate law work,” said Hogan. She worked as a litigation associate at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP covering white collar, insurance, and complex commercial cases and trials. During that period, Hogan dedicated significant time to pro bono cases, primarily representing immigrants seeking asylum. “I come from an immigrant family – my mother’s family came from the Dominican Republic to find better educational and economic opportunity for themselves and their children. It’s always been important to me to advocate for people seeking refuge from persecution as a way to pay it forward and allow others to find those same opportunities,” said Hogan.

During an externship, she also spent six months working for MFY Legal Services, where she provided legal assistance to low-income New Yorkers to resolve issues in the areas of housing and foreclosure. “A large part of my work was focused on identifying housing opportunities for people who had difficulty finding affordable housing,” Hogan said. “This included protecting them from private actors or individuals who might be biased against them.

Commenting on her decision to interview at Goldman Sachs, Hogan said: “I ultimately realized that I wanted to work on diversity, equity and inclusion full time.” She went on to say of the firm’s diversity and inclusion work in recent years: “We have done a lot of great work to level the playing field across recruiting, and opening up opportunities at the firm to an even greater array of candidates.”

Recruiting and Diversity-Related Goals

Discussing Goldman Sachs’ recruiting and diversity aspirational goals, Hogan highlighted that the firm has “seen the power of having goals, as well as remaining transparent and holding ourselves accountable.”

She went on to underscore the importance of providing transparency to ensure that managers across the firm understand their role to recruit and retain diverse individuals on their teams: “We need to ensure that every individual throughout Goldman Sachs understands they have a responsibility to help reach our aspirational goals and foster inclusion and diversity.”

“I Never Lose, I Only Win or I Learn”

Hogan, who earned a BA in African-American Studies and Psychology from Yale University in 2003 and a JD from Fordham University School of Law in 2006, shared that early on in her career, she reflected often on a Nelson Mandela quote: “I never lose, I only win or I learn.”

She went on to note that, “As a first generation college student, I thought there was no room for failure or mistakes. I realized there should be no fear when it comes to failure – we only learn from our missteps over time, and it leads us to do more interesting things.”

Hogan also shared advice for individuals beginning their careers, noting the importance of taking risks: “After graduating from law school, I felt the need to have a five-year plan mapped out. But, by being so focused on implementing this plan, I didn’t take advantage of other stretch opportunities, such as mobility or working in different areas of law.” Her recommendation: “Innovate and learn by thinking outside the box, taking risks and betting on yourself.”

A Passion for Helping Others

Hogan has been a long-time advocate for addressing hunger insecurity throughout New York, a cause she describes as “near and dear to my heart.”

For several years, she has volunteered with the West Side Campaign Against Hunger, and notes that the employees of this organization are “on the front lines, making sure that homeless individuals or those in shelters have access to their next meal.”

In addition, Hogan serves as a member of the Advisory Board for the Center on Race, Law & Justice at Fordham University School of Law and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s New York Advisory Council.

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OP-Ed: 3 Ways For You To Be An Inclusive Leader.

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Inclusive Leader“The future doesn’t just happen- people create it through their action, or actions today” according to The World Futurist Society. 

If you are a leader, you probably want to be your best self when it comes to creating high performing teams where people can feel empowered and like they belong, regardless of who they are. But, often the demanding focuses of the day job can suppress the best of intentions and actions in this space. Ever wondered how to fix this?

Let’s start with why diversity and inclusion seems to be the slowest, toughest and least integrated part of most businesses.

Close to twenty five years ago in 1996, Robin Ely and David Thomas wrote an article in HBR called “Making Differences Matter” —outlining three paradigms or approaches to diversity. This is possibly the best single piece of work for companies to follow as a “how to” for creating a learning culture for effectiveness in all areas, and specifically diversity. Ely and Thomas themselves know their “learning and effectiveness paradigm” was not implemented, to the detriment of the theme, and patiently explained again to the world what needs to be done in their latest paper in November 2020 called “Getting Serious about Diversity: Enough Already with the Business Case”.

The approach that they so accurately describe is to create a learning organization, meaning —in my opinion and in plain language— do the right work, not some pretend moral endeavor which is supposed to lie in ethics, which only some are compelled by, and only to some degree even with the best of intentions. Also, stop approaching representation as counting or hiring two of each type onto Noah’s Ark, thinking you have to be a giraffe to sell to a giraffe.

Lastly, they rightfully point out to stop the fallacies of women being magical unicorns who make share prices rise alone due to their presence on boards and instead: understand the work, make mistakes and learn, integrate the work. Rinse and repeat.

Adding to this, I would say stop categorically believing women’s networks or other ERGs (employee resource groups) can take the place of a systemic change rooted in behavioral change—which needs everyone to buy in and change. Having a strategic network is different from being part of an ERG that wants to do philanthropy or overlooks the fact that it has no real authority or power, as it’s not inside the hiring or promotion discussions for every person in the firm, where the changes that actually need to happen for real outcomes take place. Lobby for change, educate and gather —as ERG’s are good for some things— but know what they are there for, and align goals and resources accordingly!

Here are 3 areas to consider on your leadership journey to grow into the leader you want to be:

#1 Know yourself

Start with you and understanding your styles and preferences regarding work. You can recognize that others have a different style to you, once you see styles for what they are and how they show up in communications, learning and thinking. How do you uncover your style? The fastest way is to work with a good executive coach who specializes in executive and leadership development, as opposed to straight career coaching.

But, if you don’t have access to that type of resource, then ask yourself: what are your style preferences when it comes to communicating and being communicated with? Are you direct and candid or do you prefer to couch your requests in sentences where the audience can hear a gentler message, sometimes amongst other messages? We are all different and there are many free versions of Myers Briggs and other great tools free online to start, such as SCARF (the neuro-leadership institute) and Emotional Agility report by Dr. Susan David. The Learning Styles Inventory (LSI) is not expensive and comes with a full explanation of how you learn and apply knowledge. Curious souls on their development journey will benefit.

We are all somewhat beholden to how we were raised in our families and societies, unless we have taken the time to disrupt that – which you can start doing today by reading Immunity to Change. Doing this with a coach, or even by yourself, will help you to understand what is stopping you from reaching goals in any sense, including D&I ones.

# 2 Take time to know others

Some cultures find it quite impolite to just ask and other cultures find it weird not to say what’s on your mind. Some people might not comply with what you culturally assume they might, so rule number one is don’t assume anything.

Regardless of which schools of thought you buy into, or where you were brought up, or the body and skin you were born into, the psychology of inclusion and high performance are the same. Simply put, nobody likes to have grind or experience hindrances and barriers in doing their job and everyone wants psychological safety. We are exploring what it means to speak up safely.

Personality-based theory from behavioral and organizational psychologists would argue that all behavior is a function of your personality (traits, that are mostly intrinsic), times or reactive to the environment you are operating in. So, if you are a less-than-calm type, stress and certain work cultures will accentuate your excitability for example and can seem volatile. We know that certain people are judged more harshly for anger in the workplace than others, with Serena Williams punished for expressing something that Novak and all the men readily get endorsed for as part of an aggressive champion brand à la John McEnroe.

Instruments like the Hogan, which you may have done via a coach or a training session, will tell you these things. For inclusion, this plays out in many ways including, for some, a skepticism when people don’t walk the talk which makes diversity fatigue kick in, or else an overly diligent approach under stress to stick to outdated playbooks because historically things were done a certain way and status quo is a safer path.

Know where you are honestly at on your own journey. Take an audit of what life experiences you have had, what exposure and connection you have had to people different from yourself. Be compassionate about it, as it is a journey and about building trust and forgiveness for ourselves and others. In a recent Pew survey about cancel culture, the highest amount of respondents believed that context is the most important factor to understanding past behaviors. We can give people room to learn and adapt and grow, educate not punish.

Take the time to ask people who they are including. Straight white men are not a homogenous group either, just as all women or LGBTQ or Asian or African Americans/Black people are not the same. We are individuals, so the career advice here is to ask questions so that people can tell and show you who they really are, what their work styles are and where their interests lie as it pertains to projects. Just because you met one person of color once or a gay cousin, doesn’t mean you know them all, we are not a melded persona and the color of one’s skin or who they take to dinner doesn’t dictate their thinking or work preferences in any way, so just ask open questions to learn more. I am spelling it out here, but are brains are wired to evaluate and label and to override. We think we have seen the movie and how it ends before, when we haven’t.

#3 Know the cultural norms in your firm

How does work get done around here? Who gets rewarded and why (which behaviors) and what is not tolerated? It is key to understand the general ocean you are swimming in and the direction of the currents to truly leverage systems, programs and processes that can help you positively impact culture and succeed in being a change leader. Going from status quo to a new world of meritocracy is a change project. Who are your allies? And who can you form coalitions with to create a more positive inclusive culture where people get to thrive, not just survive?

Start today. The journey is worth it and a leadership one. Anything less demotivates talented people, discredits true high team performance and denies the reality of the world around you. Build trust.

by Nicki Gilmour, CEO and Founder, Evolved People (theglasshammer.com)

If you want to be a leader, work with Nicki Gilmour – Founder of theglasshammer.com , organizational and leadership coach this summer. Book here for a free exploratory session and then decide if you want to commit to a six session pack for $2,200 this year.

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Thought Leader: Silke Muenster, Chief Diversity Officer, Phillip Morris International

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Silke MuensterDiversity can drive innovation and innovation can drive diversity. This is a sentiment shared by Silke Muenster, Chief Diversity Officer at Phillip Morris International (PMI), a self-described ‘German mathematician’ but an interesting, committed and fierce change leader who goes way beyond any formula when she speaks passionately about diversity.

“Diversity is numbers, but inclusion is what makes diverse teams work.” She continues, “It is the culture that makes inclusion work and then innovation can happen. Innovation is fundamental to our vision at PMI of creating a smoke-free future. There are one billion smokers in the world, and our company is undertaking a huge task to make smoking cigarettes a thing of the past. Imagine the diversity that lies within our adult customer base so this is something we want to represent also inside PMI.”

Silke recounts how at university and in a large portion of her career, she was always surrounded by men from school classes to the senior management meetings she attended in Germany. Her career journey started at Coca-Cola where she stayed for twelve years and she joined PMI in 2011 as director, Market and Consumer Research, and then was appointed Vice President, Market Research in 2012.

In March 2020, she became PMI’s first Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) starting on the ‘first day of lockdown’ in Switzerland, in a year that would lead most people to reflect on the role of companies in advancing equity and furthering inclusion and diversity in society, and the future of work. Silke was working on this exact topic of “smart work” when COVID-19 hit, and sees real opportunity for everyone to have flexibility, now that the theory that remote work is not only possible, but possible for the vast majority of employees in many companies, has been truly road tested.

When she took the role of CDO, she felt that it was an excellent time to start. She noticed that it was clear that people wanted to talk about the topic and wanted to reflect on their priorities due to pandemic-induced changes of circumstances and the happenings in the world at large that occurred in 2020 – notably, the extension of the Black Lives Matter movement and the growing awareness that came to the forefront of social justice issues.

Diversity And Inclusion

“There has been a tendency for people to think that Diversity and Inclusion is about everyone being nice to each other, but D&I is about creating room for people to speak up so that everyone’s voice is heard.”

Silke believes that it is crucial for people in the company to have the right discussions but that the organization needed to first create the psychological safety to start these conversations. She believes that not everyone has to be an expert, but rather a willing participant, to engage in the conversation about how they would like to see the world in the future.

“Discussions can be had, and conflict can also occur, but ultimately those discussions can be therefore very productive.”

Silke believes that inclusion has benefits for everyone and on her list of things to ensure she and other senior leaders do, is to find a way to empower every employee to enter into the discussion about how to improve inclusion and advance our diversity –to ultimately better our organization and our business— no matter who they are, where they come from, what they look like, who they love, their ability or any other dimension of their identity.

“Different views need to be heard. I&D is something for everyone to participate in. Everyone has to drive this agenda as everyone will benefit. It starts from the top as it needs total commitment that it is a valued task to undertake.”

When she reveals what she is working on, she mentions that this is where she does delight in the numbers, as she has seen the needle move from 29% of women in management in 2014 go to 37% at the end of 2020—with the number of women on PMI’s Senior Management Team doubling from 8 percent to 16 percent in the space of 12 months (since January 2020 until year-end).

“We make gender diversity a company-wide goal and part of leaders’ efforts, and we make sure internal talent processes align. We also have worked hard to create Employee Resource Groups and have updated policies, such as most recently ensuring that we have a more inclusive minimum global parental leave principles which include men and women, and ensuring everyone is covered regardless of sexual orientation. I am also proud to say we have just signed The Valuable 500 and are committed to bring disability onto our 2021 agenda in a much bigger way.”

The Hard Conversations

“Diversity work is a journey and I personally have done a serious amount of reading to learn what I didn’t know and was interested in growing my understanding in this domain. To do this work, to take the journey, you have to start somewhere and have discussions, perhaps hard conversations that include talking about how the playing field is not level. Senior managers have to show vulnerability, which runs deep of course.”

Silke speaks of her thoughts around mentoring and sponsorship freely, revealing she is a very passionate mentor herself and believes that mentoring is the best way to start a sponsor relationship as the chemistry can truly evolve. She feels strongly that pilot programs are the best way to see if certain programmatic efforts work specifically for PMI so that the success of the program can be evaluated and then implemented widely for optimal success.

“It is not about ‘fixing’ women; rather, it is important to recognize that there are specific barriers that women face when it comes to career advancement and we want to make sure to create the right solution that actually helps.”

Silke reiterates her desire for specificity and not a broad approach and believes that she is now a coaching convert also.

“If you had of asked me twenty years ago about coaching, I would have not been convinced, but I have seen how well this can work, especially when there are specific challenges identified, then coaching can really help women and men alike.”

Hope for the Future

Silke hopes that diversity and inclusion stops being such a hard topic in the future but understands that much like quitting smoking cigarettes, that change comes from new behaviors and habits often underpinned by educational facts, incentives via good policies and shifting of cultural norms for everyone in the society.

“If I was to hope for one thing to happen, it would be that everyone gets fully involved so that they can feel and see the joy of belonging for themselves and others; that they can feel the joy of being seen and heard when the speak up at PMI; and that they find benefits in an inclusive environment no matter who they are.”

by Nicki Gilmour, CEO and Founder, Evolved People (theglasshammer.com)

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Voice of Experience: Michelle Orozco, Assurance Partner and Diversity and Inclusion Leader, PwC Mexico

Michelle OrozcoPwC Mexico Partner Michelle Orozco reminds women not to be afraid of being ambitious. “It’s important to express your desire to develop professionally and share your opinion,” she says, adding that the issue of work/life flexibility is one that women need to be upfront about. “If you want more flexibility, or need to change some aspect of your work or home life to better balance, you can’t be shy about addressing it.” Over the years, she has learned that it’s ok to say no: “Sometimes you feel overwhelmed and even though you want to say yes, saying no demonstrates that you know what you want and can prioritize what’s important at any moment in your career.”

Orozco serves as a role model of a professional woman capable of successfully addressing work/life balance.

She joined PWC in 1997 as an auditor, soon heading to London where she spent four years assisting in developing guidance for accounting standards used by the firm worldwide. She returned to Mexico City, where her successful experience from London formed a critical part of the business case for her admittance to the partnership as an expert in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Her current role as head of Global Accounting Consulting Services in Mexico includes supporting clients with complex transactions, assisting with internal and external training in IFRS and providing advice to clients with respect to their accounting approaches.

“Everything that affects our clients is of interest to me, and it’s vital that we are prepared for the accounting consequences of global and national economic issues so we can advise them.”
She also was appointed diversity leader in June 2014, which she terms both a great honor and a great challenge. “My background is more technical and related to numbers so dealing with diversity initiatives allows me to explore a different side with more emphasis on business skills. It’s been a learning experience I have appreciated.”

Rooting Out Subconscious Bias

Orozco believes that subconscious bias is still prevalent in Mexico, reinforcing the stereotype that women should stay home and men should be the bread winner. “That belief can affect decisions about who is the best person for a certain role,” she says, adding that there needs to be an emphasis on accepting that not all women and men have the same desires.

“We need to focus on talent, rather than gender, and be cautious about how our beliefs may affect decisions that could prevent women from continuing to grow.”

For their part she says that women need to realize that they don’t need to be super women. “As long as you’re delivering results, you can manage your personal and professional goals. Take your flexibility and use it as needed and make sure you have the balance of teamwork you need at home and at work.”
Over the years, she has found that women face greater challenges in tackling balance. “Becoming a partner involves difficult work, and you have to make a choice that you will be sacrificing some of your personal time, but you have to balance that with the pride you feel in your professional accomplishments. In truth the sacrifice has been very limited; I’ve never had to miss an important family event or any of my children’s special occasions,” Orozco says.

She also believes that young women should carefully consider their partner’s support of their career aspirations. “It’s vital to ensure that you have the same interests and goals. Here in Mexico we have cultural differences, and some men believe women should stay at home, so that’s an issue that should be addressed.”

She has also seen great strides in men being more upfront about their desire to spend time with family, and that’s where she believes flexibility is important.

And she has seen that women have a role to play too: “We don’t always help other women, and that needs to change. We need to be more open and understanding that even if it was difficult for you, it doesn’t have to be as difficult for others.”

Making Time for Other Women and Family

That belief plays into her ongoing efforts to mentor other women. She has recently assisted in creating a firm network to discuss issues such as personal brand, improving confidence and other professional skills that they will formalize this year. She is also part of a mentoring initiative with the American Chamber, and next year will be involved in “Reach Out” — an initiative first introduced in India that involves PwC, American Express, Microsoft and General Motors. Women will be selected to network and attend monthly professional development sessions and also be mentored by the CEOs of those companies and others in the group.

A mom to three children, two boys, ages 12 and 7, and a four-year-old girl, Orozco relies on other supportive women, including connections she has with other families via her children’s schools.

Orozco prioritizes personal time, visiting her parents and friends often and focusing on her husband and kids. They enjoy traveling but also spending time at home, going out to the cinema or weekend restaurant nights, where, as she says, devices are forbidden and distractions are few, so they can really connect.

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