Catalyst Blog

In the early 1970s, I was among a handful of women in Harvard’s M.B.A. program. One day in class, we were assigned a case study on marketing floor wax. I’ll never forget it: all of my male classmates looked to me for advice!

The assumption was that because I was a woman, I would know something about waxing a floor. They were surprised when I said I didn’t. Was this a harmless case of stereotyping? Maybe. But I was offended.

More than 30 years later, I am still upset by blatant stereotyping—especially in the media. While men perform more housework today than ever before, some newspapers and magazines continue to portray women as mere risk-averse cleaner-uppers.

Last month, for instance, Jullia Gillard became Australia’s first female Prime Minister, replacing Kevin Rudd as head of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). Sexist headlines followed. “Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s Messy ALP Clean Up,” charged the Daily Telegraph.  “Gillard Must Mop Up Swan’s Mess,” wrote the Business Spectator, referring to Treasurer Wayne Swan.

In 2008, Iceland’s appointment of two women to rebuild the country’s shattered banking system garnered similar headlines. “Iceland Appoints Women to Clean Up ‘Male Mess,’” said the Financial Times. The Guardian proffered: “Women Clean Up the Bankers’ Mess.”

American media also stereotype. In May, Time magazine featured on its cover three stern-faced women in business suits with the text: “The New Sheriffs of Wall Street: The women charged with cleaning up the mess.”  While the article is well-written, the cover seems to imply that FDIC chair Sheila Bair, SEC chair Mary Schapiro and TARP chair Elizabeth Warren are humorless cleaners. And last year ForbesWoman ran an article about financial oversight headlined, “Cleaning Crew: The Women Who are Fixing the Financial Mess.” It featured a picture of a woman in business attire and rubber gloves cleaning up a chalkboard with a watery sponge.

These images reminded me of sexist advertisements from the 1960s. But it’s 2010, people—let’s act like it!

It’s easy to fall back on old stereotypes, but if you take a minute to engage your brain, you’ll find that less offensive and more accurate terms for female leaders exist. To do otherwise is just plain sexist. Is “cleaning up” a leadership trait? I don’t think so.

Is hair twirling responsible for gender inequity?

The 1982 book, Women at Work: A Psychologist’s Secrets to Getting Ahead in Business, instructs readers that “attitudes of male-oriented management” are not to blame for the barriers women face at work. Rather, women’s passive, risk-averse, “ladylike” qualities are the problem.

According to the authors: “Women’s speech tends to be more polite and more emotional in quality”; “Men’s speech is more direct, more informative”; and “Women make their voices go up in a questioning tone, as if they’re asking for approval.”

The book’s bottom line: women must change their behaviors to get ahead.

I wish I could dismiss this book as a vestige of a bygone era, a time where fixing the women was more important than fixing the workplace. But nearly 30 years later, women are still told how to act to get ahead.

Take this recent article in ForbesWoman. “Women are the champions in the warmth and empathy arena but lose out with power and authority cues,” writes Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D. Her solution: stop “acting girlish,” including “twirling hair, playing with jewelry or biting a finger.” And she observes: “Women’s voices often rise at the ends of sentences as if they’re asking a question or asking for approval.”

Sound familiar?

Speech and body language are important—a female or male employee who wears short shorts to work or leads a meeting in undecipherable whispers is unlikely to get a promotion (or a job, for that matter). But the reality is, many women do not do these things and still can’t get ahead in business.

The playing field is not level. Ingrained biases, unfair hiring practices, unequal pay, and sexist stereotypes are rife. These barriers are rooted in social and cultural norms that are hard to change, but businesses and leaders are addressing them. And the solutions have nothing to do with hair twirling.

Where is the women’s movement heading? What can we do better? Philosopher Nina Power outlines ten areas feminists should focus on. We must “campaign for fairer and better work, even in the midst of an economic crisis,” she writes. More of her points plus news about the gender pay gap, The Catalyst Canada Honours, and the new UN agency for women in C This.

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Feminism 2.0

British philosopher Nina Power charts a new path for feminism. One suggestion: Don’t fixate on female firsts. “Feminism should not be misled by the successes of individual women at the top of their professions (politicians, CEOs, etc.),” she writes. “Feminism would do well to remember how the struggle for real equality and fair income can sometimes be disguised by the purported success of the odd individual woman.”

READ: “10 Things That Feminism Could Do Better,” by Nina Power, Alternet, 7/9/10

Frozen Gap

The latest data from the US Department of Labor reveals almost zero progress on closing the gender wage gap for women ages 16–19. The gap persists because young women still start and stay behind equally skilled men.

READ: “The Persistence of the Pay Gap,” by Heather Boushey, XXfactor, 7/14/10

Financing UN Women

The new UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women—now called UN Women for short—has an initial annual budget of $500 million, less than 1 percent of the $27 billion budget for the entire UN in 2008. “With the UN’s own working group proposing that by 2015, 15 percent of overall development assistance will be allocated toward gender, why is that not happening?” said Daniela Rosech of Oxfam International.

READ: “New UN Agency for Women–First Battle Won,” IRIN, 7/16/10

Secrets to Success

The recipients of The Catalyst Canada Honours share some insights with The Toronto Star. “You just have to understand, we would not be what we are if we did not recruit the best people,” said Ed Clark, President and CEO of TD Bank Financial Group. “If you don’t do this you will not be a high performing company 20 years from now.”

READ: “Making a Business Case for the Advancement of Women,” by Emily Mathieu, Toronto Star, 7/15/10

Campus Satisfaction

A survey by The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education revealed that male academics are more satisfied with their work than their female colleagues. The differences, noted COACHE Research Director Cathy Trower, “cut across disciplines and, in fact, are most evident in disciplines in which women are relatively well represented.” Physical sciences and humanities professors reported being most satisfied with their positions, while those in visual and performing arts and education reported being least satisfied.

READ: “Female Academics Less Satisfied Than Male Counterparts,” by Emmeline Zhao, Wall Street Journal, 7/14/10

Drum roll, please!

I’m happy to share with you that business leaders at TD Bank, Ontario Power Generation, and Scotiabank have been named the inaugural champions of The Catalyst Canada Honours for their commitment to advancing women in the workplace. Below is a CanCon cross-post by Deborah Gillis, Catalyst’s Vice President, North America, on this worthy achievement. Congratulations to this year’s recipients!

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Honouring Leaders

Someone once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

Today, Catalyst Canada celebrates three remarkable leaders who have made a difference in the lives and careers of countless women in Canadian business. TD’s Ed Clark, Ontario Power Generation’s Colleen Sidford, and Scotiabank’s Sylvia Chrominska share a common trait (aside from their personal success!). Each has made it their mission to champion women in their organizations, their industries, and their communities.

And for each of them, the reward comes not in personal recognition, but in seeing others become and achieve more than they ever dreamed possible.

There are few of us who can’t point to a time when our lives were changed by someone who offered advice, or an opportunity, or shoulders to stand on.  Certainly, if there’s one thing I hear consistently from women who have risen to the top of their fields in Canada, it’s that they didn’t make it on their own.  They benefitted from mentors and champions who stepped in, often at critical moments, and set their careers on a new path.

And that’s why we’ve created the Catalyst Canada Honours – to recognize champions of women in business and to mark Catalyst Canada’s tenth anniversary.   It’s our hope that in recognizing these champions, we will inspire others to step forward and create real change that will benefit both women and organizations.

The Catalyst Canada Honours began about a year ago, with a conversation I had with a woman who attended Catalyst’s first Canadian event.  She was surprised that the event was hosted by a CEO.    Today, no one would be surprised to hear a business leader in Canada talking about the importance of women to the bottom line.  Over the last ten years, the conversation has shifted.  Diversity—with women at its core— has become a strategic imperative for Canadian businesses.

And it started with a leader, who stood up and did something unexpected.

While today is primarily about Ed, Colleen and Sylvia, it’s also about all of the other leaders— today and tomorrow—changing workplaces and changing lives.  Thank you for what you do.  We are truly inspired.

What are men so afraid of?

Seventy-four percent of the men we interviewed in our recent series, Engaging Men in Gender Initiatives, identified fear as a barrier to supporting gender equality.

Some feared equality could only come at the expense of men—the zero-sum myth I wrote about previously. Others feared that they would make mistakes—such as an inappropriate comment—in the presence of women and open themselves up to criticism. Still others feared they would be made fun of by other men—be called “wimps” or “whipped.”

Perhaps the only thing men should really fear is better health, higher profit and more personal freedom. Not too scary after all, huh?

We know that companies with more women in senior positions and in the boardroom, on average, outperform those with fewer. And when the burden is off men to act macho or be the sole provider, everyone wins. They get more time with their kids and closer relationships with their partner or spouse, not to mention the freedom to define themselves according to their own values rather than traditional gender roles. And when men lose the macho “go it alone” attitude and share more with the people in their lives, they experience less stress and better mental and physical health.

So listen up, guys. Your job, health and freedom are at stake.

Do you want ketchup with your kroner? In Sweden, the Feminist Initiative party held a barbeque to highlight the gender wage gap. Forget about franks and burgers. They grilled up cash! One-hundred-thousand Swedish kronor went up in flames to protest the disparity between female and male wages. What an inspiring way to focus on inequity—the stunt garnered headlines across the globe and is the lead item in C This.

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Money to Burn

Sweden’s Feminist Initiative political party made headlines when members barbequed 100,000 Swedish kronor ($13,000) to protest the gender wage gap. In 2008, Swedish women working full time earned 81 cents, on average, for every dollar earned by a man. “It may seem desperate to burn 100,000 kronor,” said Gudrun Schyman, leader of the party. “But the situation is desperate as well.”

READ: “Swedish Feminists Burn Cash in Wage Equality Protest,” BBC News, 7/6/10 

Girl (Spending) Power

In 2005, women under the age of 30 in America’s largest cities overtook men in earning power. In What Women Want, Paco Underhill examines what happens to companies that fail to keep this in mind. Comp USA and Circuit City bit the dust, while Best Buy—known for actively catering to its female client base—still thrives. Lesson learned!

BOOK REVIEW: “Buying Without Guys,” by Meghan Cox Gurdon, The Wall Street Journal, 7/6/10 

Making It Worse?

Broadsheet, XX Factor and Jezebel are popular mainstays in the female blogosphere. But do these blogs exploit women’s insecurities to make money? Or do they help women by exposing sexism and shining light onto women’s issues?

READ: “Outrage World,” by Emily Gould, Slate, 7/6/10 

Faux Pas

Bangladeshi women are among the lowest-paid garment workers in the world, some earning only $25 a month. Now, Bangladesh’s government is considering an increase in the minimum wage. If wages increase, “that cute cheap dress may cost a fair amount more,” writes Naomi Wolf. “But it already costs too much to the women who can’t afford to feed and house themselves and their children.”

READ: “The High Cost of Cheap Fashion,” by Naomi Wolf, The Globe and Mail, 7/5/10

Baby in Baghdad

Is there a double standard for female war correspondents? Hannah Allam, a reporter for McClatchy Newspapers, is frequently criticized for working in a war zone while pregnant. “It’s dangerous, yes, I am responsible for another life, but I don’t see how it’s that much different than a man who comes here while his wife is pregnant at home,” she said. “You are still putting a parent at risk, you are still putting your child’s future at risk.”

LISTEN: “It’s A Boy: War Reporter’s Baby Shower In Baghdad,” by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, NPR, 7/6/10

One by one, people are starting to get it. What’s good for women is good for the world.

Last month began with the Women Deliver conference in Washington, DC on the economic impact of global maternal health. Then, days after the inaugural G(irls)20 Summit in Toronto, nearly 40 CEOs endorsed a UN-led initiative to empower women by promoting gender equality at work. The following week, the UN Economic and Social Council opened in New York with speakers calling for women and girls to be placed at the centre of the global struggle to achieve a set of UN development and anti-poverty goals.

All four events shared one simple message: women are the key to solving the world’s problems.

It’s all about access. When a woman accesses work and education, she can build a bustling economy in villages, towns and cities. When a woman accesses adequate healthcare, she can see to it that her  family’s health improves. When she can access women in political and business circles as role models, she becomes an active contributor. And when she gets access to political or corporate leadership, she can shape policy to further improve the lives of women, men and children.

It’s a cycle of positive change. And women are at its core.

A new blog is born! Last week, Catalyst’s second blog was launched. Dubbed Catalyst CanCon (short for Canadian content), this blog is penned by Toronto-based Deborah Gillis, Catalyst’s Vice President, North America.

In her introductory post, Deborah wrote that Catalyst CanCon is “an opportunity to extend the conversation in Canada and to share some of my thoughts, experiences, and reactions to change (or lack of change) in our workplaces and our society.” Deborah hopes to get a conversation going with CanCon—for readers “to agree, to argue, or to propose new ideas.”

Below is a cross-posting of Deborah’s most recent dispatch about the G(irls)20 Summit held in Toronto just prior to the G20 Summit.  She felt it demonstrated an enviable focus and spirit—3.4 billion girls cannot be ignored!

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Can 21 Girls Make a Difference?

Traditionally, the world’s 3.4 billion women have been neither seen nor heard when the predominantly male leaders of the wealthiest and most powerful nations meet.  But some new voices were raised in the lead-up to this year’s G20 Summit in Toronto, when 21 young women representing the G20 nations and the African Union gathered to chart a global strategy to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

I was privileged to review some of the applications for the 21 seats at the table.  After a long flight from Toronto for a business meeting in California, I got up at 4 a.m. to read amazing stories from accomplished and thoughtful young women.  Four hours later, when I left for work, I was refreshed, energized and inspired by their commitment to change the world.

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