Whether it’s Hollywood movie studios and their paucity of
female directors, the tech industry and their alarming exodus of frustrated
women, or the stifling male fraternity culture that dominates Wall Street, women
continue to be marginalized in the business world.
The vast majority of CEOs responding to a McKinsey survey
noted that hiring females is essential to “getting the best brains.” Sounds
pretty obvious, doesn’t it? Despite increasing awareness of this issue,
meaningful change remains agonizingly slow—less than 20 of the Fortune 500 CEOs
are women, and on average, women earn just 77 cents for every dollar earned by
their male counterparts.
Having worked in a variety of industries, I’ve been
enormously fortunate to work with many incredibly talented and accomplished
women including:
·
Carol Tomlinson-Keasey, Ph.D., the first—and founding—chancellor
of the University of California, Merced.
·
Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, M.D., senior vice
president, Eli Lilly Company and former CEO, Riley Hospital for Children and former
CEO, University of Michigan Health System.
·
Cleopatra Vaughns, civic leader, San Francisco
Municipal Transportation Agency (MUNI) chair, the first female board member and
the first female chair of San Francisco Visitors and Conference Bureau, Blue
Shield of California community relations head, and president of the National
Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs.
·
Susan Hallat, the first female leader of golf
marshals, Palmer Private course at Humana Challenge (and its forerunner, the
Bob Hope Desert Classic).
·
Barbara Kiely, CPA, and captain, U.S. Naval
Reserve and head of her own firm in Chicago.
·
Helen Mann, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital (Ann
Arbor), head of special events and community engagement.
·
Barbara McElroy, R.N., Indiana University
Hospitals physician relations head.
These women have been exemplary role models for all, but
especially for women. Their
indefatigable drive, personality, intelligence and adaptability have inspired
me and countless others. All of
these women welcomed tough assignments, and more importantly, delivered
results—often in the face of adversity.
Real leaders commit all available resources to creating a
positive organizational climate that has zero tolerance for any discriminatory
behavior, whether against women or anyone else. Real leaders require their
teams to establish systems and cultures that reward women and men equally,
thereby encouraging women to focus on contributing, instead of fighting against
out-of-date biases. Real leaders understand that expertise and contributions—not
your sex—is what wins the race.
Here are five critical steps leaders need to take to increase
the role—and value—of women in their organizations:
1.
Make the commitment: It sounds basic, but chief
executives need to understand—and accept—that their organization’s bottom line
will be enhanced by including women in policy-shaping forums and decisions.
2.
Make the commitment count: Tie executive
compensation to the active inclusion and advancement of women—simply meeting a
quota is not enough (and in fact, is counterproductive).
3.
Encourage and mentor women: The fact is that
more women take on the combined role of breadwinner and caregiver than men, and
organizations need to accommodate that—or they will ultimately suffer the loss
of some great talent. Women want
tough assignments, and in my experience, are often better than men when it
comes to collaborating.
4.
Check male egos at the door: Consciously or
unconsciously, the “old boys” network is alive and well. Organizations must
adopt a zero-tolerance policy against discrimination (and not just against women). Instead of celebrating the behavior
that still exists on Wall Street, it needs to be wiped out.
5.
Recognize women’s unique contributions: Most of
the women I know and have worked with have been better at multi-tasking than
men (myself included), and reach consensus faster and with less contention than
most men. It’s no coincidence that
more female U. S. Senators have co-sponsored bills and reached across the aisle
to get things done than their male counterparts.
Organizations need to realize that leadership requires extra
innings. Not all games are decided in nine innings. Excelling in business
requires a real team effort and leveraging the talents of everyone involved, regardless of their position within the
organization—or their sex.
