Comments on: Women on Board? http://www.catalyst.org/blog/glass-ceiling/women-on-board Catalyst is the leading non-profit engaged in building inclusive workplaces and advancing women and business. This is it's CEO's blog. Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:50:59 -0400 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Ilene http://www.catalyst.org/blog/glass-ceiling/women-on-board/comment-page-1#comment-2271 Ilene Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:48:22 +0000 http://www.catalyst.org/etc/wordpress/?p=183#comment-2271 Thank you for your comment Miguel. I agree that the board sets the tone for the organization— this is why we need to get more women on board in the first place! One quick note: Labor force analyses used by Catalyst control for part-time work and there are still unexplained gaps that can only be attributed to bias. For example, in our recent study, “Pipeline’s Broken Promise,” we controlled for parenthood and found gaps even when no children were in the picture. In a true meritocracy, good talent would rise to the top. Because it often does not—as evidenced by corporate leadership and pay gap statistics— this means something is interfering. The evidence suggests gender-based stereotypes are getting in the way. Thank you for your comment Miguel.
I agree that the board sets the tone for the organization— this is why we need to get more women on board in the first place! One quick note: Labor force analyses used by Catalyst control for part-time work and there are still unexplained gaps that can only be attributed to bias. For example, in our recent study, “Pipeline’s Broken Promise,” we controlled for parenthood and found gaps even when no children were in the picture. In a true meritocracy, good talent would rise to the top. Because it often does not—as evidenced by corporate leadership and pay gap statistics— this means something is interfering. The evidence suggests gender-based stereotypes are getting in the way.

]]> By: Miguel http://www.catalyst.org/blog/glass-ceiling/women-on-board/comment-page-1#comment-2268 Miguel Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:02:22 +0000 http://www.catalyst.org/etc/wordpress/?p=183#comment-2268 I fully support that there should be an equal ratio of women:men in the workplace to the same ratio in the economic labor force. However, I find your numbers misleading. While there is a correlation in your stats, there is not necessarily a causation. Perhaps a segmentation of positions in the labor force can shed some light on this. For example, a woman may not be willing to put more than 8 hours a day due to different circumstances. As simple as trying to find some more time for her children. This tells us that the career time span may be shorter than that of a man, and therefore, will not make it to the board. So you really cannot compare the number of women in the labor force to those sitting in the board of directors. However, the absence of women in boards does set the tone of the organization. I fully support that there should be an equal ratio of women:men in the workplace to the same ratio in the economic labor force. However, I find your numbers misleading. While there is a correlation in your stats, there is not necessarily a causation. Perhaps a segmentation of positions in the labor force can shed some light on this.

For example, a woman may not be willing to put more than 8 hours a day due to different circumstances. As simple as trying to find some more time for her children. This tells us that the career time span may be shorter than that of a man, and therefore, will not make it to the board. So you really cannot compare the number of women in the labor force to those sitting in the board of directors. However, the absence of women in boards does set the tone of the organization.

]]>