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GENDER
INTELLIGENCE™
REPORT A newsletter from Barbara Annis & Associates |
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Vol 1, No. 1 Dec. 3, 2008 |
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Stalled: Why Gender Diversity Programs Can’t Climb Higher
The men and women who have worked to implement gender diversity programs in their companies have achieved great things. For many professional and managerial roles, there is true equality at the entry level. However, you need only look at photos of the Board of Directors to know that something goes astray between equality at lower levels and the paucity of women at the top. Somehow our gender diversity programs have stalled. Why has this happened? Let’s look at five popular approaches we’ve used to attack the lack of diversity and see where they have gone off track. 1. Filling the Pipeline The not unreasonable assumption of many companies was that if you simply filled the talent pipeline at the bottom with women, then over time, they would make their way to the top. We’ve been using this model for twenty years now and it’s become clear that it isn’t working. Women’s numbers thin out progressively as you get higher and higher in the organization. Some companies refer to this as a revolving door: they do a great job of bringing women in, but other women are exiting as quickly as the new ones come on board. Gender balanced recruitment is a good idea, but it’s not going to fix the problem that diversity programs have stalled. 2. Reducing Turnover Some organizations have noticed the revolving door and have taken action to improve the retention of women. But these companies also find that too few women reach the top ranks. Retention is important, but retention and advancement are separate issues. Unless organizations can solve the issue of advancement, then women will never reach the top ranks. 3. Building Women’s Networks One common belief is that women face certain barriers to succeeding in business, and hence they just need a helping hand. Companies have set up women’s networks and have encouraged women to mentor each other. It’s a well-intentioned idea, but experience has shown that if it isn’t part of a cohesive plan, it’s rarely effective and may even backfire. We saw one notable case where a woman’s network shot itself in the foot—at their first meeting, they held a fashion show. They were thinking they wanted to do something the members would enjoy, but the signal it sent rocketing around the organization was that women managers were not serious about the business. It’s also common to hear women’s networks referred to as the “lunch box club” or less charitably the “wine and whine club”. If these networks simply create a forum for women to commiserate, then they don’t drive productive change. The principle of women mentoring other women is a nice idea, but there are just not enough senior women for this practice to have a big impact. Another unintended consequence of women’s networks is that it creates a divide between women and men. Since men hold most of the senior positions, the last thing women need is to be put off to the side in their own network. In some cases, men can’t help but resent the special support that women seem to be getting. As one manager said, “If I formed an exclusive club to help men get ahead in this company, I’d be on the cover of the New York Times—and not in a flattering way.” Women’s networks can be very effective when the strategy is business and solution focused, and most importantly when on certain occasions the network includes men. 4. Providing Mentoring Mentoring is a proven technique for bringing people up through the organization, but somehow men mentoring women hasn’t been as fruitful as we have hoped. Male leaders do recognize that there are distinct differences between mentoring men and mentoring women. The trouble is that while they recognize the difference, they don’t know how to handle it effectively. They also worry that, if they’re not careful, a comment might inadvertently come across as sexist. As a result, they are uncomfortable and end up being cautious and ineffective. In particular, they are unsure how to give critical feedback and end up soft-pedalling (“you are doing fine”) when they ought to be giving pointed advice. Men mentoring women is very important, but in most cases it hasn’t been powerful enough to help women move up the ranks. 5. Responding to the Reasons Women Leave There are a number of commonly-held beliefs as to why women leave. Some people feel women don’t want the stress of battling their way to the top. Most think that work-life balance issues are a major reason why women leave. Based on these assumptions, companies implement new work-life policies in an attempt to improve conditions for women. Improving work-life balance is a wonderful thing to do; the trouble is that it is not a significant differentiating factor between men and women. Both men and women report struggling with work-life issues. Work-life balance is an issue for everyone, so it doesn’t explain why women leave more than men. Until companies correctly diagnose the reasons women leave, their diversity programs will be ineffective. What Do We Do Now? The first step is for organizations to recognize that their existing approaches to gender diversity, well-intentioned as they are, have run out of steam. More of the same won’t solve the problem of the dearth of women in senior positions. Just giving the process more time isn’t going to help. Organizations need better diagnosis and more effective interventions. We will be discussing these topics in future reports. To receive these reports, or to talk with us about improving the effectiveness of diversity initiatives in your organization using a Gender Intelligence™ approach, please contact us at (212) 672-1710. Leadership and the Sexes In September, John Wiley published my latest book, Leadership and the Sexes, co-written by Michael Gurian. The book reveals the latest brain-based research on gender differences in leadership, and shows how to maximize the innate talents of both genders in the workplace and in the world. You can read more about it at www.genderintelligence.com. |
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New York * San Francisco * London * Tokyo Barbara Annis & Associates Inc. 245 Park Avenue, 39th Floor * New York, NY 10167 Phone: (212) 672-1710 * Email: info@baainc.com * Web: www.baainc.com |
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| © Copyright 2008 Barbara Annis & Associates Inc., 245 Park Avenue, 39th Floor, New York, NY 10167 | ||||
