Catalyst Blog

By Ilene Lang and Jeanine Prime, PhD

Seventy-four percent of the men we interviewed in our series, Engaging Men in Gender Initiatives, identified fear and apathy as barriers to supporting gender equality. In today’s Take 5, we look at reasons why men should care. Men have a lot to gain, and nothing to fear from equality. Here’s why:

#1: Good business sense. Gender bias inhibits problem solving and hinders innovation. And study after study has linked increased female leadership to stronger, on average, financial results.

#2: Boost your net worth. Women in the US lose about $380,000 due to the gender pay gap over the course of their lives. If your partner is a woman, closing this gap makes good financial sense for you and your family.

#3: Increased personal freedom. Imagine a world where you do not need to hide family responsibilities from co-workers and you have the freedom to admit you don’t know something without calling your masculinity into question.

#4: Live longer. Sometimes being a man—especially if it means never asking for help—can compromise your health. Equality has shown to improve health and quality of life.

#5: Your children. Equality now ensures that the next generation will have all the opportunities to succeed on an equal playing field for all.

Women earn, on average, 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man in the United States, with global percentages varying, but rarely better. Can having a daughter help close the gender pay gap, as some newspapers allege? In today’s guest post, Catalyst’s Jeanine Prime, Senior Director, Research, explores this question. According to Jeanine, the so-called “daughter effect” only goes so far.

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If you read the The Wall Street Journal or Financial Times recently, you might come to believe the so-called “daughter effect” can have a powerful impact on wages.

Recent coverage of the daughter effect cites an academic study of salaries of hundreds of thousands of Danish workers at 6,231 firms. The researchers found that when a male CEO had a daughter, the wage gap in their company closed, on average, by 0.5%. And when a male CEO’s first-born child was a girl, the wage gap closed by nearly 3%. The birth of a son had no effect on the gap.

“The first daughter ‘flips a switch’ in the mind of a male CEO,” the authors wrote, “causing him to attend more to equity in gender-related wage policies.”

This seems a bit of a stretch.

According to the original research, the daughter effect was only large enough to be called statistically significant in companies with 10-50 employees. This tells me that, at best, having a daughter might have a small bias-reducing effect on the salary decisions over which a CEO has direct control. This explains why in a small company, where the CEO’s span of control is more direct, the daughter effect can be felt.

But the effect of having a daughter is apparently not so mind-altering or powerful enough to inspire a CEO to display the kind of dedicated advocacy that’s needed to overhaul the institutionalized bias ever-present in many large companies with more complex talent management systems.

This rings true for me.  In Catalyst’s Engaging Men series, we looked at what factors make men advocate for gender equality on this grander scale, as visible gender equity champions within their workplaces. We did not find that having a daughter was a factor in creating champions. Rather, our research suggests that a deep commitment to fairness sets many champions apart. Having a working spouse can make a small difference too.

The bottom line: While I’m sure having a daughter can be transformative for some men, for most men it isn’t enough of a call to advocacy. And this makes sense.

Men have been having daughters since the beginning of time, but throughout the world, gender inequity and the wage gap remain entrenched.

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Jeanine Prime, Ph.D., Senior Director, Research, leads studies of women’s leadership and organizational effectiveness at Catalyst. She authored the first two studies—Women “Take Care,” Men “Take Charge:” Stereotyping of U.S. Business Leaders Exposed and Different Cultures, Similar Perceptions: Stereotyping of Western European Business Leaders—in Catalyst’s research series that examines gender stereotypes and the ways in which stereotypes contribute to gender disparities in the global workplace. Additionally, Dr. Prime leads cross-cultural research examining strategies for creating inclusive workplaces, including techniques for engaging men in gender diversity. She has a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Cornell University, an M.B.A. from the State University of New York at Binghamton, and a B.A. in Psychology from Spelman College.

The gender gap receives attention as a serious business issue as more corporate leaders adopt programs and policies to remove barriers to advancement of women.  Women are being recognized as a source of talent and future leadership, and progressive business leaders are working toward a truly level playing field.  Some recent stories point to research by Catalyst and others to support these actions.

Women in Power Is a Leadership Issue

In a opinion piece in The Globe and Mail’s Time to Lead: Women in Power series, North American Vice President Deborah Gillis uses facts and research to counter the misconceptions that women have made it and that promoting women disadvantages their male colleagues.  The fact is that women continue to be underrepresented at senior levels of business and in Parliament.  And corporations with women at senior levels are growing their bottom line—and opportunities for all their employees.

READ: “More Women in the Workplace is Good for Business”, by Deborah Gillis, The Globe and Mail, 10/13/10

Women on Boards Correlate to Stronger Financial Performance

Corporate recruiter Janice Ellig, CEO of Chadick Ellig, cites research by McKinsey & Company and Catalyst to demonstrate effect of senior women on financial performance.  “It’s not just in the boardroom, it’s at the C-Suite too.  Those are the people making the decisions.”

READ:  “Surveys Show a Strong Link Between Gender Diversity and Financial Performance” by Gennine Kelly, CNBC, 9/28/10

Gender Diversity:  Not Just a Woman’s Issue

Gender equality is still an issue at work, but it is not a women’s issue. Gender initiatives have traditionally focused on improving women’s participation in the workplace, but recently (in sociological terms, anyway) there has been a shift towards making “gender-“’ a gender-neutral problem.

READ: “5 Ways to Engage Men in Gender Diversity Initiatives” by Elizabeth Harrin, The Glass Hammer, 9/29/10

 Powerful Women Make Mistakes—and Make the Most of Them

Moira Forbes blogs about the similarities between an effervescent seven-year- old’s “awesome” pink cast and the lessons some powerful women have learned from apparent setbacks.

READ: “What Do Highly Successful Women and 7-Year-Olds Have in Common? by Moira Forbes, Forbes, 10/12/10

Last week, I wrote about Catalystos—guys who are not afraid to stand up against gender inequity. These men are active role models and partners in our challenge to stamp out sexist stereotypes, ingrained biases and the barriers holding women back from leadership.

With a view to amplifying their voices, I asked some of the men of Catalyst to tell me why they support our mission. Some appeared in my previous post; here are more. These men are part of the solution. Please help me spread their inspiring message far and wide.

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Josh, Member Relations:

I have seen the effects that a glass ceiling can have on a woman’s career and even her own self-confidence. This was the case with my mother, and the story of my “a-ha” moment. My mother has had, in my eyes, a very successful career in the financial industry, yet she doesn’t think so. The company she worked for (which will remain unnamed) passed her over for promotions into the executive level time and time again, despite her obtaining an M.B.A. and consistently excellent performance reviews.

Her company, for some reason, gave her a job level that was rarely used between the most senior directorship and VP, but would not give her what she coveted – that VP title. It is upon reflecting back at her struggle that I realize it wasn’t an issue of her not being qualified, and to be fair, I don’t think it was outright discrimination. I think as a working mother, she never joined “the boys” at the bar or on the golf course. She came home to spend time with her family. It wasn’t that she didn’t do a good job, it was that she had far fewer opportunities to connect with the right people.

The experience my mother went through in the corporate world, as well as my own awareness of discrimination as a gay man, led to my studies in gender and sexual diversity and the development of a real sense of social justice and a drive to fight for equality. I decided long ago that I needed to contribute to something positive and feel as though I am making a difference.

Thomas, Member Services:

I’ve been interested in the topic of gender since sociology courses in undergrad—it wasn’t just the classes that affected me, though. My time at college coincided with eye-opening experiences involving race, life, gender and sexuality. Things I wasn’t prepared for coming from a corn-fed, Midwestern background. Anyway, I remember when we first began talking about the global implications of patriarchy in class—in patriarchy, no one wins, not even men. Understanding the shades of inequity helped me understand that while the system we live in may benefit some, it comes at a cost to everyone.

When it comes to women in business, it seems as if the workplace is one of the most important places to deconstruct patriarchy. When women have increased economic power, many of the other realms of patriarchy can come crashing down, too.

Brian, Marketing:

I care about opportunities for women and work because my mom was actually fired from her job teaching in the early 1970s in Boston for getting pregnant! That’s right, the policy in the Dorchester School District at the time was that pregnant women were not allowed to teach. After my parents were married and my mother was pregnant with my older sister, she tried to hide it from the school principal. But after five months, it was obvious she was pregnant, and the principal pulled her aside—and fired her on the spot. She never worked in education again. I hope to prevent discrimination along these lines for others.

On a bigger level, I really believe in the concept that if you invest in women, you invest in a better world. A woman with an education can teach her children important skills. And she can open a business. That business can bring in more money for her family, and it can improve everyone’s health. The growing business can hire more people and help them financially, too. In turn, this improves a local economy, and the wider economy as well. The more visible women become in business, the more others will follow. And the more everyone’s life can improve.

Are you a Catalysto?

A Catalysto is a man who wholeheartedly supports the work of Catalyst. He is an advocate for women, a role model for other men, and a positive force for change.

Catalystos are influential. In March, at the 2010 Catalyst Awards Conference, Frank J. McCloskey, Vice President of Diversity at Georgia Power and a true Catalysto—spoke about the impact one voice can have in the fight against inequity. “If you can just get one or two of several hundred to understand [gender inequity]—that’s a success,” said Frank. “They might impact millions.”

With this in mind, I wanted to amplify the voices of the Catalystos I knew. And I’ve started with the ones closest to me—the men who work at Catalyst.

I asked them why they support our mission, and I’ve broken their responses into two blog posts. I’ve changed their names to protect their privacy.

These Catalystos have some common traits, including a deep-rooted sense of empathy and fair-play. I was inspired by their answers. Hopefully, you will be too.

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Todd, Marketing and Public Affairs:

I come from a family predominantly of men (father and three brothers). My mother, not allowed to maintain a profession once a wife and mother (a nasty combination of religious, cultural, and patriarchal beliefs), channeled her formidable entrepreneurial and natural talents into creating sons who believed in boundless opportunities for themselves—a great challenge since we were in rigid boarding schools by first grade! She was my biggest and most unflappable fan—another challenge since I was not becoming a priest as assumed by said boarding school (and father).

I was in my late teens when my parents divorced and my mother found herself quite free to pursue her passions. She went back to her profession of nursing where I witnessed her nurture in ways I could only envision being honored to do. My own career has been very much shaped by my mother. Since her passing, I have worked solely for women and for women’s causes, and I have been extremely satisfied in those choices.

Jeffrey, Information Technology:

My wife works as a chemist and I saw that her pay is not the same as her male colleagues. Most of her supervisors are men. Hopefully, she could get paid the same someday and move up to better opportunities within her company. I do think many women out there also experience this.

Connor, Consultant:

Social justice has been a core concern of mine all of my adult life.  As a consequence, I have been involved in one form or another with empowering those at the margins.  Having worked in both corporate life in the States and having lived and worked in the developing world for ten years, I have witnessed firsthand the disparities in both access and equity so many women face every day at home and at work. I believe passionately that Catalyst’s mission, and the delivery of its expertise, has the potential to ably address these issues within corporate culture, and hence, to more broadly influence women’s lives across the vast expanse of their endeavors.

Vincent, Information Technology:

Since my wife and I are expecting a daughter soon, I care about the Catalyst mission now more than ever. I hope that my daughter never meets with discrimination based on stereotypes so that she can do and be whatever she wants.

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.

One of the world’s first mentors was a woman. Aptly, her name was Mentor.

When Odysseus went to fight the Trojan War, he left the education of his son, Telemachus, to his old friend Mentor. What he didn’t know was that Mentor was actually Athena in disguise. As Mentor, she schooled and protected Telemachus. With her guidance, he went on to find his father and later to rule Ithaca.

Female mentors aren’t just the stuff of Greek mythology. You can also change a life by mentoring a man.

Catalyst research shows that men who have been mentored by women are more likely to be aware of the hurdles women face in the workplace. In turn, they can become advocates for equality and more committed to initiatives that eliminate barriers.

We are all shaped by our personal experiences. Being mentored by a woman or having a close working relationship with a woman can make a difference.

This message hit home for me when I recently heard from a man who worked for me over ten years ago when I was CEO of AltaVista.  Now a senior executive at a major global technology company, he volunteered to sponsor his division’s women’s initiative. He later told me when the women in the group asked him why he stepped up, he said he had worked for some very good women in his life— including me!—who had been his mentors.

Frankly, I’d never thought of myself as a mentor to men.  I thought we had a good relationship and that I was a decent role model. All of that apparently had an impact on him.

Men are speaking up about women mentors.  Frank J. McCloskey, Vice President of Diversity at Georgia Power, owes his awareness of gender inequity to the women around him. During his talk at the Catalyst Awards Conference, he told the women in the audience: “Even if your supervisor has a bias, think about how to create a relationship.” He added: “If you can just get one or two of several hundred to understand [gender inequity]—that’s a success. They might impact millions.”

One man can act as a catalyst for change. Mentoring a man is a great way to start the chain reaction.

Change can happen in the least likely of places.

At the Waldorf during our Awards Conference in March, I overheard a well-dressed man grumble: “Now I know what it feels like to be a woman.” He didn’t say this during a break-out session—he was waiting in a long line for the men’s bathroom! Staff at the hotel had converted several Men’s rooms to Ladies rooms— hence the shortage.

But the comment got me thinking…sometimes all it takes to understand another person’s perspective is to stand in their shoes—even for a brief moment.

At the conference, Frank J. McCloskey, Vice President of Diversity at Georgia Power, explored this very theme. During a session on men supporting women’s advancement, Frank said his upbringing had conditioned him to be a “typical guy.” Raised in the South, he played football at Georgia Tech, drank beer, and never thought about inequality. “Men—we are just who we are—we are not a very evolved species,” he mused. He said he suffered from a “pathology” that held “anyone who is different is less than.”

Frank had an “a-ha” moment on inequality when he revisited a painful episode involving his wife Debbie. “Whatever progress I have made in my own way was because of pain I inflicted on someone else,” he said. Empathy was the key to understanding his wife’s perspective.

Frank recalled that when Debbie was pregnant with their first child, she asked him pointedly: “Are we going to do this together?” Frank responded: “I’ll be with you all the way.” But soon after their child was born, Frank was offered a promotion. “It was a 2 year commitment— 24/7— and I accepted it,” he said.

It wasn’t until years later that he understood what he had done to his wife. And he felt terrible. He had accepted the promotion “without thinking of the consequences it would have on her and the child,” he explained, noting that the incident had been “the first time in our relationship that we had a breach of trust.”

Life lessons were thrust into sharp relief. “I managed to understand that maybe someone else has a different life experience. And once I started hearing other women’s voices…I was hearing things that were so difficult to hear,” he said. For most of his life he tried to minimize those voices and blame the women so that he would feel comfortable. “It took me a long time…to acknowledge that maybe something is going on with others that is not going on with me.”

This realization led Frank to ask himself two questions: “What am I doing to create that experience for you? And what should I do with myself to counter it?”

At Georgia Power, Frank oversees an array of gender initiatives. He believes that “leadership means men being part of the solution.” They should “unravel the pathology, hold themselves accountable.” He now believes, he said, that “if anything takes away from women as a whole, I should fight it.”

Catalyst research suggests that before individuals will support efforts to right an inequality they must first recognize that the inequality exists. Here is Frank’s advice for men on creating awareness: “Who are those that are closest to us outside of work—wife, daughter, sister?” he asked. “Say to them, ‘Help me understand how your life is different from mine.’”

For the women reading this, I’ll add some advice of my own. Allow the men you know to see the world from your eyes. Share your experiences. It can change their perspective, or even their lives.