The Latest Insights from Leading NOW

100 years ago today, August 18th, Tennessee became the final state needed to ratify the 19th Amendment, and a week from now, August 26th, it was officially signed into law. August 26th is now known as Women’s Equality Day here in the United States.  While we are celebrating this watershed moment in US history, we should ask ourselves how far the 19th Amendment went towards granting women’s equality? 

This week we invited Tim Kemp, our Senior Consultant based in the United Kingdom, to author our most recent blog post. Read ON!  --- 35 years ago I wrote a chapter in a book called Gender and Work.  My chapter was entitled ‘Who dares loses’ and was a modest attempt to encourage men to appreciate that greater gender equality meant accepting that there would be more capable women in positions that men had traditionally seen as their own preserve.  In other words, if men were successful in playing a part in ensuring that power was more fairly redistributed, then it would also mean that we (men) would have to embrace the fact that many of us would lose some of that power. The more women took their places on boards and in the C-suite, the more they would replace men who had found a comfortable home there.   A classic zero-sum-game. And while there is still a logic to the maths, this narrow assessment misses out on some fabulously important elements. Elements that have become my most valuable learning around the dynamics of inclusion in organisations over the past three decades.

In celebration of Pride Month, we invited Michelle Redfern, our Senior Consultant based in Melbourne, Australia, to author this blog post. Read ON!  --- I have been in a deeply committed and loving relationship with my (now) wife for nearly 20 years. Our relationship is public knowledge. However, in the early years of our relationship I wasn’t ‘out’ about my same sex relationship, particularly in my workplace. I made this choice because amongst other things, I was fearful of being judged and having my career aspirations affected because of my sexual identity. I worried about the negative consequences of being openly gay at work.  LGBTIQ+ people are often not able to bring their full self to work, feel like they have to hide elements of their life and have their psychological well-being compromised by feelings of ‘otherness’. This is a significant issue that  68% of LGBTIQ+ people in America are still grappling with. 

How to Mix & Serve the Perfect Corporate Cocktail Many a career-impacting conversation has happened over a great drink. Not with any intent of impropriety – simply away from the confines of cubicles and conference calls. So, as a Black professional woman with years of earned and discerned corporate experience, I’d like to share some tips on how to build a better “corporate cocktail” for Black women like myself* who want a career they can sip and savor without the anguish of a 30-year hangover.   

  Here's a fact about closing the leadership gender gap that might surprise you.

March 8th is International Women's Day and in addition to the official #BeBoldForChange campaign, other groups across the United States and the world are preparing for an International Women's Strike. A "day without women" is not a new concept and has happened a number of times across the world with varying effect, most notably in recent times,  Iceland's Women's Day Off on 24 October 1975. Women from all across Iceland, with different backgrounds brought the country to a screeching halt.  According to the Global Nonviolent Action Database: "The striking women achieved their goal of demonstrating the importance of their work, at all levels from home to workplace, to the well being of the country. They essentially shut down most of the nation for the day. While this was their main goal... it even led to the passage of an equal rights bill..." While the bill did little to change things immediately, Iceland is now ranked #1 on the WEF's Global Gender Gap Index. While they still have a ways to go to reach true parity, they have taken steps to insure they are moving in the right direction. 

Since the 1970s, many companies have understood and taken action on the business case for gender initiatives, made progress and reaped benefits. Others are still questioning whether this topic warrants their attention. In a recent interview for an upcoming TV biz news interview I was asked about this:

We use this blog to track the research into the correlation between the % of women in senior management and on boards and measurable business performance. It is updated as research comes in. You'll find related information on correlation v. causation here.

February is Black History Month in the United States and what's historic this year is that while all around us change is endemic, when it comes to the advancement of Black women in major corporations, little is new. With a few exceptions - most notably Ursula Burns, former CEO of Xerox, the percentages of African American women at the top of and in director positions at Fortune 500 companies is appallingly small. The reasons are many, and we're grateful to share this insight gleaned from our work with multicultural women. For more African American women to make history in major corporations, women's leadership programs must address the fact that conventional advice to women can create problems for women of color.