The Latest Insights from Leading NOW

I recently had the pleasure of joining Steve Rush on his podcast "The Leadership Hacker." I'm a big fan, and was excited to be invited to speak with him. Before the official interview, he and I discussed our perspectives on women in leadership - and I was thrilled to hear that during his career he frequently hired more women leaders than men! And, I'm pleased to say that Steve is absolutely committed to gender balance in his podcast, and will be working diligently to interview an equal number of men & women leaders.

Time for a reality check about “Closing the Leadership Gender Gap”—something every CEO should strive for in their organization, but few actually get right (or get it done!). And while you’ve probably been talking about becoming a more inclusive and diverse company for a while now, have you ever really asked yourself why you’re no closer to closing that gap than you were ten years ago?

This season of Covid has certainly shed a new light on the inequities in the workforce and communities. From the new pressures on working women with children at home full-time, to the data that’s emerging on how Covid is impacting the underserved, to horrific demonstrations of racism. Many have said that Covid has become the tinder for the flames that are needed to burn down the vast array of inequities that exist. From a gender perspective we have seen lots of “new” goals and promises make headlines, with more and more organizations willing to state their commitment to a 50/50 gender balanced workforce by 2030. Yes, in response to the coronavirus, but also in response to data like this from McKinsey’s latest “Diversity Wins” which states: “companies in the top quartile for gender diversity in their executive teams were 25 percent more likely to experience above-peer average profitability.”

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.

This blog is a departure in this way. Because it is a capstone for one of our Reverse Mentoring programs, it is a compilation of articles written by women and men on what it takes to be a great male ally for women in STEM. And rather than focus on who male allies are, the positions they hold or an academic definition of the term "male ally," here we focus on what male allies (and others) do to support the creation of level playing fields for women (especially those in STEM).

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

Equal Pay Day in the United States is 10 April this year, but what does this actual mean? On the surface it means that the average woman in the United States needs to work 15 months to earn the same amount that their male peers earn in 12. But this does not paint the full picture.

2018's International Women's Day campaign theme is #PressforProgress. "Individually, we're one drop but together we're an ocean. Commit to a "gender parity mindset" via progressive action. Let's all collaborate to accelerate gender parity, so our collective action powers equality worldwide."

Just in time for International Women's Day, Worldwide Business with kathy ireland® announced an exclusive story featuring our CEO and Founder, Susan Colantuono. Susan will be discussing the importance of closing the gender gap that exists within various industries, sectors and companies on Sunday, March 4, 2018 (check your local listings for times). photo credit: Leading Women Appearing on the set of Worldwide Business with kathy ireland®