Archive for the ‘C This’ Category
C This
Be assertive, focus on objectives, and stay online as much as possible. These are three helpful tips for virtual workers drawn from a recent study on remote work. Researchers found that most women would prefer to work remotely at least three days per week. Our philosophy at Catalyst is simple: if you can get the work done, it doesn’t matter where you do it. It’s heartening to see so many women recognizing the same thing—now it’s up to more companies to take heed as well.
Read more about the remote work survey, and other news, in today’s C This.
—
Fibbing to the Top?
Men’s capacity to exaggerate previous performance may play an important role in creating gender gaps. When asked in a recent study how they scored on a test taken one year prior, men rated their performance about 30% higher than it actually was, while women ranked their performance about 15% higher. Managers should take note that men tend to exaggerate. According to researcher Ernesto Reuben, the findings call for “more sophistication on the part of hiring committees and recruiters to understand there are gender differences in how people evaluate themselves.”
READ: “Is Cockiness a Man’s C-Suite Edge?” CFO World, 12/18/12
The power of roles models is profound. An MIT study in India found that towns with without female village leaders, or pradhan, experience deep gender gaps, while villages with female pradhan have virtually no gaps. For example, boys are 6 percent more likely to attend school and 4 percent more likely to be literate in villages with male-only pradhan. But in places that have had a female pradhan for at least two terms in office, that gap disappears.
READ: “Leading by Example,” MIT News, 1/13/11
Fueling Growth
With a projected annual GDP growth of 7 percent, Indian companies need all the talent they can get. Yet women make up only 36 percent of the Indian labor force. In this interview, I explain why women are vital to the country’s sustained economic growth, and how corporations can work towards advancing more women into leadership.
READ: “India Has Pressing Need for More Women at the Workplace,” Economic Times, 1/17/11
Working @ Home
A recent survey by Microsoft Office 365 and 85 Broads found that women would prefer to work remotely an average of 3.1 days per week. In this so-called “blended” remote setup, employees work from home a few days a week, then step into the office the other days. Respondents said that this arrangement leads to better work/life balance. From my experience at Catalyst—an organization where many work on fully virtual or “blended” schedules—I couldn’t agree more.
READ: “Women Finding Balance in Remote Work Arrangements,” Forbes, 1/17/11
Looking Towards the Future
Economic gains and political power are two sides of the same coin of women’s advancement. Fortunately, 2012 promises to be a year for making strides on both fronts, as record numbers of women run for United States Senate seats and the number of companies launching programs to advance women hit a critical mass.
READ: “High Hopes 2012 Will Be a Good Year for Women,” The New York Times, 1/10/11
C This
Women drive economies. The flood of women into American workplaces over the past four decades has boosted U.S. GDP by at least 25%, and eliminating the remaining gender gaps could bump up our GDP another 9%. But where are the women?
Find out Wednesday, December 14, 2011, when Catalyst unveils our latest count of women in Fortune 500 boardrooms and C-suites. At 12pm EST, we will be holding our first official Tweet Chat to discuss the latest stats. For more information on the chat—and for the latest news on women, work and equality—check out today’s C This.
—
Tweet With Catalyst
I’m thrilled to invite Catalyzing readers to join our Tweet Chat on December 14 at 12pm EST to discuss the release of the 2011 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500. Rachel Soares, Senior Associate, Research, will lead a conversation regarding the latest census of women directors and executive officers at Fortune 500 companies. Follow along via Twitter.com or use Tweetchat.com for a more streamlined view of the discussion. Please use the hashtag #ChatCat for every tweet you send during the event. Happy tweeting!
Roaring Engines
Closing gender gaps in employment can drive the world economy to new heights. New research from Goldman Sachs shows that eliminating gaps can boost the euro zone’s GDP by 13% and Japan’s by a staggering 16%. So what are we waiting for—let’s get to work!
READ: “Closing the Gap,” The Economist, 11/26/11
This inspiring list of the Canada’s top women leaders in public, private and nonprofit sectors is filled with both new and familiar names. Among those who made the list are established executives like Elyse Allan, CEO of GE Canada, entrepreneurs like Margot Micallef, founder and president of Oliver Capital Partners Inc, and trailblazers including Jennie Carignan, a Colonel in the Canadian Forces.
READ: “Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100,” Financial Post, 1/6/11
A Census Bureau report on childcare found that 32% of fathers with working wives watched their children on a regular basis—an increase from 26% in 2002. Don’t fire the babysitter just yet, though. The same report found that families with a working mom and kids younger than 15 years old paid an average of $138 per week for childcare in 2010—up from $81 in 1985 (adjusted for inflation).
READ: “Recession and Its Aftermath Create More Mr. Moms,” The Wall Street Journal, 12/6/11
An award-winning study involving 445 business managers found that personal biases can easily infect performance reward systems, even those explicitly defined as meritocracies. Tasked with dividing up a $1000 bonus among several equally skilled employees in a fictitious company, the managers gave, on average, $46 more to men. Researchers believe that when managers are told a meritocracy exists, they are less concerned about their actions being viewed as sexist. In turn, their biases surface and they reward men with more money.
READ: “Why Pay Bias Flourishes in Meritocracies,” Harvard Business Review, 12/1/11
Produced by Australia’s GetUp.org, this video brought many Catalyst staffers to tears. Hit play below, and be prepared to see some wonderful scenes of Sydney and a powerful message on marriage equality.
WATCH: “Possibly the Most Beautiful Ad for Marriage Equality We’ve Seen,” The Advocate, 11/25/11
Mandatory diversity?
A recent survey found that 41% of female directors surveyed in 26 countries support the idea of government quotas on the number of women on boards of directors. Only 13% of men supported the idea. Catalyst has found that quotas are one proven strategy on the road to parity—what do you think about government mandates on diversity?
READ: “Cause and Effect,” Financial Post, 12/6/11
C This
In the early 1980s, some companies in Latin America forced women to sign a resignation letter when they started work. The letter was held in a file until the day they got married. And when they tied the knot—they got the boot!
A lot has changed for working women in Latin America over recent decades, but gender gaps still run deep. Today’s C This explores the current challenges—and solutions—for women in Latin America and beyond.
Persistent Gaps
A report issued last week by the US Government Accountability Office found that while a higher proportion of American women than men finish high school and complete bachelor degrees, women represent a higher percentage of low-wage workers. Although disheartening, the report did find a modest closure of the pay gap. Adjusting for age, race, education, number of children and part-time status, the GAO found that women now earn 86 cents for every dollar earned by men—a five-cent improvement from 2000.
READ: “Gender Gap on Wages Is Slow to Close,” The New York Times, 11/3/11
Women Rule Markets
Pepsico’s CEO, Indra Nooyi, spoke recently about the power of women in the global economy. “Across the globe, women are the biggest emerging market in the history of the planet – more than twice the size of India and China combined,” she said at Ad Asia 2011, a media and marketing conference. Recent studies show that women control two-thirds of the global consumption expenditure of $18 trillion. How best to access these markets? By having diverse leadership that reflects the marketplace. “Attracting and developing the right talent is now perhaps the most important leadership task,” she said.
READ: “Women the biggest emerging market, not Ch-India: Nooyi,” First Post, 11/4/11
Latin Gaps
Studies reveal that Latin American companies have fewer women in senior positions than any other region in the world. “From a societal and cultural perspective in Latin America, it’s still very difficult for a woman to have professional success,” said Softtek President and CEO Blanca Treviño, one of the region’s few women CEOs. “You’re still expected to be much more the mother at home than the executive.”
READ: “Latin America: Female Boardroom Blues,” Latin Business Chronicle, 11/7/11
STEM Sells
American universities have pioneered novel ways to attract young women to traditionally male-dominated science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. Officials at Texas A & M, for example, reach out to sixth-grade girls with programs like “Expanding Your Horizons,” a one-day on-campus immersion program featuring hands-on science experiments. “The real issue is women are falling out of STEM fields all along the pipeline, starting in middle school and high school,” said Stuart Schmill, dean of admissions at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, another school that engages in outreach to young girls. “To increase gender balance, it’s all a matter of getting the right story out about science and engineering to young women, that it’s not about sitting at a desk doing math all day.”
READ: “Closing the Girl Gap in Science,” The New York Times, 11/4/11
Gay Marriage in the Mainstream
Public support for gay marriage hit a record high among Americans according to a new poll. Today, 45% support gay marriage while 46% are opposed. This reflects a dramatic shift since 1996, when only 27% supported and 65% opposed. Support is now highest in the Northeast (59%), followed by the West (56%), Midwest (40%) and the South (34%).
READ: “Public Support for Gay marriage Continues to Edge Upward,” Pew Research Center, 11/3/11
C This
Women represent 40% of the world’s labor force yet hold 1% of the world’s wealth—does this seem fair to you? The latest World Bank report on gender equality and development paints a dark picture of global inequities across health, wealth and education. Find out the latest World Bank statistics, plus the demise of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and the pervasive “think-leader-think-male” mentality, in today’s C This.
Leaks in the Indian Pipeline
A recent study of 21 large multinational companies across Asia found that India has the largest percentage of women dropping out of the workforce—with 50% attrition rates among women moving from junior to middle level. Some experts blame India’s high rate of so-called “daughterly guilt”—societal pressure to take care of elderly parents or in-laws.
Where Women Rule
Using five metrics—Justice, Health, Education, Economics and Politics—Newsweek determined the best and worst places to be a woman. Nordic countries top the list while many Middle Eastern and African states hang at the bottom. Surprises include Canada, which ranks third best overall but 26th in Politics, behind countries like Burundi, Brunei and Cuba.
READ: “Global Women’s Progress Report,” by Jesse Ellison, Newsweek/The Daily Beast, 9/18/11
Where We’re At
The World Bank’s latest survey of gender inequality around the world contains an array of troubling statistics, as well as a few bright spots. Women account for more than half of university students worldwide, yet still lag men in health and wealth. “On the one hand, the enrollment of girls and young women in schools and universities and the participation of women in the labor force have increased in most of the developing world. And in many countries, such as Bangladesh and Colombia, at a pace much more rapid than was the case in the U.S during the 19th century,” said World Bank’s Sudhir Shetty in a press release. “On the other hand, gender disparities remain stubbornly large in most countries if earnings gaps, excess deaths of girls and women, and the representation of women in leadership positions in government and business are the focus.”
READ: “New Facts on the Gender Gap from the World Bank,” by Sudeep Reddy, The Wall Street Journal, 9/18/11
Do Tell
On Tuesday at 12:01 AM, the decades-old military provision mandating that LGBT soldiers “don’t ask, don’t tell” was officially rescinded. “Our nation will finally close the door on a fundamental unfairness for gays and lesbians, and indeed affirm equality for all Americans,” said House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, an advocate for the policy change.
Think Leader Think Male?
Stereotypes around leadership attributes are alive and well in the UK. A recent Oxford Brookes University study of middle-to-senior managers found that staff rated women higher than men, but bosses rated men higher than women! “A major problem for women is that they simply don’t look like the notion of a leader, because leaders look like men,” said Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe, chief executive of the Real World Group, a corporate coaching and research firm.
Double Up
It does make a difference if a woman is in charge. A new report by Corporate Women Directors International found that companies with a woman CEO have twice as many women in management and double the number of women board members as companies with a man CEO. These findings compliment previous Catalyst research showing a positive correlation between the percentage of women board directors in the past and the percentage of women corporate officers in the future.
READ: “Female CEOs Put More Women in Boardrooms,” The Daily Beast, 9/13/11
C This
Working moms earn a lot more than just a salary. According to a new study, children of working mothers have fewer behavioral problems and are less likely to be obese. Check out more myth-busting findings about working moms and dads—plus the latest stats and solutions around gender leadership gaps—in today’s C This.
Getting Hitched
On Sunday, July 24, 2011, New York became the sixth state to offer legal same-sex marriage. Don’t miss portraits of 20 couples who said “I do,” some interesting changes in wedding etiquette to consider and learn how travel providers are competing to draw gay honeymooners.
A University College London study found no evidence that working mothers harm their children’s social or emotional development. In fact, the study revealed that the best arrangement for a child’s well-being was where both parents lived at home and worked.
READ: “Working Mothers ‘Do No Harm to Children’s Behaviour,’” BBC, 7/22/11
Fixing the Pipeline
In February 2011, Lord Davies of Abersoch called on FTSE 100 companies to set a target of at least 25% female board member representation by 2015. While generally lauded as a step in the right direction, some critics argued that Davies failed to address career challenges of mid-career women. “A focus on corporate culture should look at how ‘work’ can be done differently at all levels to strengthen the pipeline to the top and how to get women into the executive roles which feed into the board position world,” said Charlotte Sweeney, Head of D&I, EMEA, at Nomura.
READ: “The Davies Report: What Does It Mean for UK Women?” by Cleo Thompson, The Glass Hammer, 8/3/11
Few Asians at Top
Despite comprising roughly 5% of the U.S. population, less than 2% of Fortune 500 executive positions are held by Asian-Americans. What’s worse, roughly one-quarter of Asians surveyed said they face workplace discrimination.
READ: “Study Finds Asians Occupying Few Corner Offices,” by Kyle Stock, The Wall Street Journal, 7/25/11
How best to diversify boardrooms? Margaret Heffernan suggests six “rigorous and consistent” actions companies should implement right away, including term limits for board members and candidate lists that include 50% women.
READ: “More Women on Boards: A Great Goal, But…” by Margaret Heffernan, BNet, 7/27/11
Inspiring Entrepreneurs
You may have heard of Pepsi’s Indra Nooyi, but what about Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw? Kiran is the founder of Biocon, a biotechnology company based in Bangalore, India, who was recently named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. Want to learn more? Here’s a quick primer on the Indian businesswomen leading the way.
READ: “Five Most Admired Women Entrepreneurs in India,” Silicon India, 7/20/11
C This
New research shows that 29 companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 have no women on their board of directors or among their top five highest-paid officers. The lack of women atop S&P 500 companies aligns with Catalyst research on the Fortune 500, where women hold only 15.7% of board seats and 7.6% of top-earning positions. While frustrating, these numbers point to opportunities these companies have in promoting women to the top. More news about these challenges, and solutions, in today’s C This.
———————
Opportunity Knocks, But Mind the Gap
MBA programs and students around the globe have been swamped by increased levels of recruiting, job postings, and job offers. While this may signal an uptick in the global economy, what hasn’t changed is the MBA pay gap: women still earn about $4,600 less in their first job out of business school, regardless of region, parenthood status, and prior experience.
READ: “Doors of Opportunity Open Again for MBAs,” by Della Bradshaw, Financial Times, 6/27/11
Where Are the Women?
New research shows that 47 companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 have no women on their board of directors—a number that has grown since last year. What’s worse, tokenism is rife: only three companies have boards composed of more than 40% women. “If you only have one woman on a board then it can be difficult,” said Aida Alvarez, a former administrator of the Small Business Administration who now sits on corporate boards. “If you have at least some numbers, then you feel more empowered about opening up and expressing your doubts,” she added.
READ: “Boys Only Boards,” by Joel Stonington, Bloomberg Businessweek, 6/23/11
A Catalyst in Malaysia
Malaysia has joined Norway, France, and Spain, among other nations, by imposing quotas to increase the number of women atop corporations. A continuation of a similar policy set for the private sector in 2004, the Malaysian government recently imposed a policy that women must comprise at least 30% of decision-making positions in the private sector by 2016. “I believe this landmark and important decision made by the Cabinet last week will be a catalyst to an affirmative action towards gender equality in the corporate sector,” said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
READ: “PM: 30% of Corporate Decision-Makers Must Be Women,” by Mazwin Nik Anis, The Star, 6/27/11
The Good Fight
Three of India’s most powerful women in politics—chief ministers Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal, Jayaram Jayalalithaa of Tamil Nadu, and Kumari Mayawati of Uttar Pradesh—each struggle for social change. Banerjee is fighting to create a national ombudsman to investigate official corruption, Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party aims to empower India’s lowest castes, while Jayalalithaa leads a crusade against election fraud. “What clearly unites them is the common theme of struggle,” notes journalist Jyoti Malhotra.
Scandal-less Women?
Are male CEOs more scandal-prone than women? Not necessarily. “The first and most obvious reason why my male CEOs are involved in more scandals is because there are more [male] CEOs,” writes Chris MacDonald. While higher rates of testosterone have been linked to financial risk-taking, it’s harder to connect risky behavior in one domain to a tendency toward risky behavior in another. Only time will tell if the next Skilling, Madoff, or Boesky will be a “Ms.” or “Mrs.”
READ: “Want to Avoid Scandal at the Top? Hire a Woman!,” by Chris MacDonald, Canadian Business, 6/13/11
C This
Corporate boards have grown less diverse over the past six years—but why? Is the recession to blame, or an uptick in African-Americans choosing to retire from boards, or an unintended consequence of U.S. financial legislation? To find out more about the culprits—and what you can do to help reverse the trend—check out today’s C This.
——–
Dropping the Ball
Last year, white men made up 72.9% of board members at the nation’s 100 largest companies, up from 71.2% in 2004. Why are the numbers going backward? As I suggested to MSNBC, amid the recession many companies took their eye off the ball when it came to diversity. Companies are not actively excluding women—they’re just not making a focused effort to include them.
READ: “Minorities Lose Ground in Big Corporate Boardrooms,” by Allison Linn, MSNBC, 5/3/11
Just Say “No”
Study after study has shown that companies with more women in senior positions outperform those with fewer. Joe Keefe, CEO of Pax World, argues that shareholders should say “no” to all-male corporate boards on annual proxies, and say why. And I agree. If you have a voice as a shareholder—use it!
READ: “Women-Savvy Companies: A Better Investment Bet,” by Linda Tarr-Whelan, The Financial Times, 4/25/11
Messing Up Mentoring?
What are the pitfalls around mentorship programs? At the top of the list: a lack of clear goals. “Without a goal—a reason for the mentoring program—there can be no strategy, and without strategy, you won’t create a mentoring impact, let alone a mentoring culture,” said Ann Tardy, a San Francisco-based management consultant. “Before you do anything else, determine why you want a mentoring program, what goals you have for the program, and what success will look like.”
READ: “How Companies Mess Up Mentoring,” by Harvey Schachter, The Globe and Mail, 5/9/11
Top Earners Mostly Men
A survey of the salaries, bonuses, and long-term incentive awards of CEOs from America’s top 350 companies found that median compensation surged 11% to $9.3 million this past year. Poring over the names of the 350 top earners, I was disappointed to see only a handful of women. Since most top earners are men, it’s no wonder that women lag men in pay throughout the rest of the system.
READ: “CEO Pay in 2010 Jumped 11%” by Joann S. Lublin, The Wall Street Journal, 5/9/11
Macho Men
Bad news for “macho” men: New research has shown that sixty-five-year-old men with macho attitudes are about half as likely as their peers to have gotten basic preventative medical care in the past year. And Catalyst research suggests that dropping a “macho” attitude is a key determinant of whether men support or resist efforts to close gender gaps in the workplace. So, do you still want to be a macho man?
READ: “Machismo Kills Men,” by Christopher Shea, The Wall Street Journal, 4/26/11
C This
Kraft Chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld made her mark on the business world by constantly challenging herself. As she explained at last month’s Catalyst Awards Conference, while at General Foods she volunteered for a role others shied away from: reviving a troubled business division. Although risky, the opportunity offered exposure to higher-ups. “This gave me exposure I otherwise may not have had. It was an important career enabler.”
For more career advice from Rosenfeld, plus the latest round-up of news on women and work, check out today’s C This.
——
Jump for Joy
In January 2011, I wrote about how the International Olympic Committee said it “needs more time” to decide the fate of women’s ski jumping in the 2014 Winter Games. Well, the committee has spoken: welcome women ski jumpers! The decision followed the Nordic world championships in early March, where women jumped in fog and strong wind. IOC sports director Christophe Dubi was impressed by “quality and depth” of the competition—and recommended approval of the sport for 2014. “We worked really hard for this,” said U.S. jumper Lindsey Van, the 2009 world champion. “It’s just a big relief for me and I’m really excited for the future of the sport.”
Unplugged
Between 2001 and 2010, the share of women in high-tech jobs dropped from 25.6% to 23.9%. Why are women unplugging? According to researchers, the answer is two-fold: a steep decline in the number of women pursuing computer science and engineering degrees, and a dearth of mentors in high-tech industries.
READ: “Women Unplug From the Tech Industry,” by Kyle Stock, FINS Technology, 4/8/11
Krafting Success
Just be yourself. This was among the many insights shared by Kraft Foods Chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld at last month’s Catalyst Awards Conference. Being authentic “can help to reshape the environment on the job” by shattering stereotypes about how a leader should look and act. Whatever you do, she added, do not be a “mini-man.”
READ: “Career Pointers From Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld,” by Barbara Mannino, Fox Business, 4/7/11
Getting Unstuck
Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal convened almost 200 top leaders in government, business, and academia to tackle the question why progress for women has stalled and help chart new ways to increase the numbers. Among the many solutions was a proposal to encourage companies to shift female employees from traditional support roles to jobs with an impact on the bottom-line—an area considered crucial for CEOs-in-the-making.
READ: “A Blueprint for Change,” by Rebecca Blumenstein, The Wall Street Journal, 4/11/11
Money Men
Eighty-three percent of female finance executives see an invisible barrier in corporate America that prevents their advancement to the top—and Catalyst data on the number of women in finance bear this out. Women were 15.3% of executive and senior level managers in the U.S. investment banking and securities dealing industries in 2009, the most recent year data is available. Some CEOs have worked to reverse the trend. “It’s our firm belief that all types of diversity make complete economic sense and best serve our shareholders in the long run,” said Seth Waugh, CEO of Deutsche Bank Americas. “It allows us to attract the best and the brightest …which the last time I checked is a broader universe than just Anglo-Saxon straight men.”
READ: “M&A Still Overwhelmingly a Man’s Game,” by Megan Davies and Paritosh Bansal, Reuters, 4/11/11
C This
New evidence of the recession’s toll on women has emerged—and it isn’t pretty. The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that of the 1.3 million jobs created in the last 12 months, about 90% have gone to men. This fact—combined with the Catalyst finding that women in senior roles were three times as likely to lose their jobs during the initial months of the recession—shows the true cost of the recent economic downturn. Some “mancession” this turned out to be!
Find out more about the recession’s impact, plus other important news about women and work, in this week’s C This.
Calling it Out
Media attention to the 2010 Catalyst Census: Financial Post 500 Women Senior Officers and Top Earners is still running strong. The Census revealed deep stagnation for women’s advancement in Canada’s top companies. In this article, my colleague Deborah Gillis targeted Canadian businesses for “vastly underutilizing talented women, even though women are the engine of our economies.” She’s speaking truth to power—go Deborah!
READ: “Women’s Advances in Workplace Not Always Easy,” by Darah Hansen, Ottawa Citizen, 3/15/11
Examining the Toll
Not only have men filled 90% of all new jobs in the past year, but women continue to lose jobs at a higher rate than men. Since the official end of the recession in July 2009, men have gained 600,000 jobs while women have lost 300,000 jobs. “I think that the recession has happened in stages,” said Myra Strober, a professor of education and economics at Stanford University. “The first stage hit manufacturing hard, and that’s where men have more jobs than women do, and now the recession has moved to state and local governments where women have a higher percentage of jobs.”
WATCH: “Women Lag Behind Men in Economic Recovery,” ABC World News with Diane Sawyer, 3/21/11
Leading the Way in Israel
Unlike in the US, women hold many of the top posts in Israeli construction, manufacturing and real estate firms. The new Catalyst Census of women’s representation in Tel Aviv 100 Index companies found that the companies Gazit Inc., Ormat Industries, Shikun & Binui, and Delek Drilling each have 50% women executive officers. Companies from other industries should follow their lead. “All studies show gender diversification in management is better for companies,” noted Ofra Strauss, Chairperson of the Strauss Group, upon the Census’ release.
READ: “Israel ranks global No. 2 for female board members, at 15%,” by Oren Majar, The Marker, 3/9/11
STEM Superstars
Although women make up roughly half of the American workforce, they hold only 14% of engineering positions and 25% of mathematics positions. Among the most powerful women to bust the myth that women can’t make it in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) careers is Ursula M. Burns, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Xerox Corporation. Ursula, who will chair the 2011 Catalyst Awards Dinner next week, made Working Mothers’ list of the “Most Powerful Moms in STEM.”
READ: “Most Powerful Moms in STEM,” by Leah Bourne, Working Mother, March 2011
Striking Ground
“There are museums in Washington, D.C., for everything from postage stamps to poetry to spies,” said actress Meryl Streep. So why isn’t there a museum to memorialize women’s contribution to America? Streep is the latest celebrity to lend her voice to the creation of a National Women’s History Museum. Supporters seek to raise funds and win Congressional approval to break ground in Washington DC. The museum currently exists only online—for now.
C This
An academic paper claiming that women are underrepresented in the sciences because of the lifestyle choices they make is getting a lot of play in the media. The only problem: the authors push aside clear evidence that sexism and institutional biases are to blame. Read more about this controversial study, plus news about the glass ceiling in the UK, the benefits of diverse leadership, gender equality in revolutionary Tunisia, and the lack of paid-parental leave in the United States, in today’s C This.
———-
Investing in Diversity
Invest in companies that invest in women. That’s the take-away message from a recent article highlighting this year’s Catalyst Award winners: Kaiser Permanente, McDonald’s, and Time Warner. Noting how female leadership is tied to strong financial performance, the article concludes: “When seeking winners for your portfolio, companies that embrace diversity and empower all their workers are a great place to start.”
READ: “Women Execs Drive Winning Performance,” by Selena Maranjian, MotleyFool/MSNBC, 2/16/11
Show Me the Data
Researchers Stephen J. Ceci and Wendy M. Williams claim in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that discrimination against women in sciences does not exist. Many disagree. Among the trove of research Ceci and Williams overlook in their paper is a 2007 landmark study, “Beyond Bias and Barriers,” which found that in sciences and engineering people are less likely to hire a woman than a man with identical qualifications, less likely to give a woman credit for identical accomplishments, and will far more often give the benefit of the doubt to a man than to a woman. “The language attributing women’s lower pay to their own lifestyle choices is seductive,” said a critic of the report, Hillary Lips, Director of the Center for Gender Studies at Radford University. According to Lips, a closer look will reveal that “the impact of discrimination is actually deeply embedded in and constrains these choices.”
We’re Number One?
At least 178 countries have national laws guaranteeing paid leave for new mothers, while more than 50 nations—including most Western countries—also guarantee paid leave for new fathers. The United States has neither. “Despite its enthusiasm about ‘family values,’ the U.S. is decades behind other countries in ensuring the well-being of working families,” said Janet Walsh, deputy director of the women’s rights division of Human Rights Watch. “Being an outlier is nothing to be proud of in a case like this.”
READ: “Report Decries Lack of Paid Parental Leave in US,” Associated Press, 2/23/11
Double Up, Or Else
A Parliamentary report on gender disparity in UK boardrooms called for companies to more than double the number of women on their boards by 2015—or face government action. Today, 18 FTSE 100 companies have no women in their boardrooms and nearly half of all FTSE 250 companies do not have female directors. “Radical change is needed in the mindset of the business community if we are to implement the scale of change that is needed,” said former minister Lord Davies of Abersoch, author of the report.
READ: “Davies Report Calls for More Women in Boardroom,” BBC, 2/24/11
Women’s Revolution
Revolutions now sweeping across North Africa and the Arab world had their genesis in the example set by Tunisia. But what drove Tunisia’s successful revolution? The country’s women. “It’s no coincidence that the revolution first started in Tunisia, where we have a high level of education, a sizeable middle class and a greater degree of gender equality,” said Fatma Bouvet de la Maisonneuve, a Tunisian-born psychiatrist and author now living in Paris. “We had all the ingredients of democracy but not democracy itself. That just couldn’t last.”
READ: “Women’s Rights a Strong Point in Tunisia,” by Katrin Bennhold, The New York Times, 2/22/11
You are currently browsing the archives for the C This category.
RSS
Subscribe to Catalyzing
