Catalyst Blog

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

On Monday, the U.S. Senate confirmed J. Paul Oetken for a federal judgeship in New York City, making him the first openly gay man to serve on the federal bench. While his confirmation is a milestone and a step in the right direction, it’s important to think bigger than firsts.

The LGBT community still faces enormous workplace hurdles in the United States, which are outlined in today’s Take 5:

1) Almost two-fifths (39%) of lesbian and gay adults in America’s workplaces report facing some form of hostility or harassment on the job, while 11% experienced very frequent or frequent harassment or discrimination.

2) Gay men earn 10% to 32% less than heterosexual people with the same job and personal characteristics.

3) Ninety percent of transgender individuals experienced harassment or mistreatment on the job, or took steps to avoid it, while 47% were fired, not hired, or denied a job promotion because they were transgender/gender non-conforming.

4) Only 310 Fortune 1000 companies have non-discrimination policies that include gender identity.

5) In 34 states, it is legal for LGBT employees to be fired simply because their employers discover, and disapprove of, their sexual orientation.

Let’s talk about sexism.

Now I know the word “sexism” carries baggage. But no matter what you call it—gender bias, systemic inequity, inequality, or discrimination—the belief that a woman is not as capable as a man simply because she is a woman is at the root of many challenges we face.

Spectacular examples of sexism and harassment get front and center attention—Anthony Weiner is merely the latest in a long line. But insidious day-to-day sexism often goes unchecked, unnamed, and tolerated.

I’m talking about sexual harassment from men on the street in the form of “hey baby” or “sweetie,” scantily clad models who give out product samples in public spaces, or advertisements that pander to the lowest stereotypes around homemaker wives or dumb, oafish dads.

When broadcast messages or the language we use everyday reinforce sweeping generalizations about women, it’s hard to make real progress in the workplace or across society. Sexism reinforces a notion that women are valued less.

And this has a real impact.

In industrialized countries, women working full-time earn, on average, 82 cents to every dollar earned by men working full-time. In turn, paying women less reduces GDP in the United States by 9%, in the Euro-zone by 13%, and in Japan by 16%.

Exposing sexist messages and images for what they are—inaccurate falsehoods that perpetuate bias—can help end this vicious cycle. What do you see? What don’t you see? (Remember, the absence of women is sexism too!)

Only by saying something—and doing something—can we stop sexism at the source.

Diverse women are double outsiders. Women of African, Asian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern and Native American descent make up about 36% of the U.S. female population, but as today’s Take 5 highlights, many are excluded from high-paying leadership positions in corporate America:

1) In 2008, African-American women earned 61 cents and Latinas earned 52 cents for every dollar a white non-Hispanic man earned.

2) Among full-time wage and salary workers in 2009, Latinas’ median weekly earnings were $509—the lowest of all racial, ethnic, and gender groups—while Asian women earned $779. White men, on average, earned $845 per week.

3) In 2010, there were only nine diverse women general counsels in the Fortune 500.

4) Today, 70.1% of F500 companies have no diverse women serving on their boards.

5) The number of diverse women in F500 leadership remains stagnant: In 2010, they held 3.0% of board seats in the Fortune 500, down from 3.1% in 2009.

Catalyst recently found that for diverse women, stereotyping, exclusion from influential networks, and difficulty gaining access to high-visibility assignments can impact access to trusting relationships with managers. Mentor and sponsor relationships—coupled with targeted diversity training and mechanisms to hold managers accountable for meeting diversity goals—can increase awareness and dismantle the challenges many diverse women face.

Attention Class of 2011: Women start behind, and stay behind, equally skilled men after graduating from prestigious MBA programs.

In today’s Take 5—a new Catalyzing feature highlighting five important Catalyst findings—we look at our research into our best and brightest: MBA grads from top business schools across the globe. A level playing field does not exist even for these high-potential women. Here’s why:

1) Women MBA grads earn, on average, $4,600 less than men in their first job out of school. This is after taking into account number of years prior experience, job level, global region, industry, and parenthood.

2) Mentoring benefits men most: Men with mentors received $9,260 more in their first post-MBA jobs than women with mentors.

3) Men got more promotions than did women, even after taking into account prior work experience, time in role, starting level, industry, and region.

4) Men’s salary growth outpaced that of women, perpetuating the gender gap established in the first job.

5) Each promotion in 2008 amounted to an extra 21% in compensation for men, while each promotion for women amounted to an extra 2%.

And FYI: Pay inequity is a reality—MBA or not. The typical woman loses $431,000 in pay over a 40-year career.

What would you do with that cash?

Commencement addresses are often peppered with inspiring quotes, stories of perseverance, and warm anecdotes intended to uplift and inspire the next generation. But in a recent piece for the Washington Post geared for college grads, I opted to get straight to point about the challenges ahead. The fact is that a level playing field does not exist for women in the business world.

Gender-based stereotypes have a real impact on the careers of young women today. But there is one way to ensure the first step from college is the right one. Companies with high percentages of women and minorities at the top indicate that women and minorities are valued and enmeshed in the corporate culture. Such companies have invested in women. They are where you’ll have a career, not merely a job.

Below is my advice for the Class of 2011. If you know any graduates who are at this critical point in their lives, please share it:

——

The Mad Men days of open, unabashed sexism in the workplace are largely gone—at least in the United States. But just because you can’t see sexism doesn’t mean it’s not there.

For all the future leaders in this audience, a word of caution: Unintentional biases—assumptions about how a business leader should look or act—still exist in the business world. Women, on average, earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man. Even today, Catalyst research shows that women often start at lower positions than equally skilled men. And very few women occupy top positions in our most powerful companies. In fact, only 12 Fortune 500 CEOs are women.

How do you navigate this uneven playing field? Your first step can be critical. When considering where to work after graduation, look at the top of an organization. If you don’t see women included and leading on the highest levels, keep on walking. And men, keep your eyes open too. Here’s why.

Companies with more women leaders correlate with better financial performance and signal an environment where everyone is valued and rewarded, a place where advancement is not dictated by sexist stereotypes. Diversity on top also indicates a broader and deeper talent pool throughout the organization. This is crucial as these are the role models, women and men alike, who can mentor, sponsor and nurture your career.

So when you look for your first job, check the org charts along with the job description—and do this throughout your professional life, too. Value the companies that value women. Ask yourself, what do the leaders look like? Are there some that look like you? And if you don’t see women as part of the organizational leadership, let your feet do the talking.

A 2010 New York Times headline posed the question: “Why take our children to work?”

Amid criticism of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day’s purpose and a decline in participation among some school districts, many parents have no doubt asked themselves the same thing as Thursday, April 28, nears in the U.S. But, the day’s importance has never been greater.

Women lag men in the workplace in pay and promotions—and remain a minority in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. But by taking our children to work, we can inspire them to achieve anything, regardless of gender. It’s all about boys seeing women at work in all types of roles—not just stereotypic women’s positions—and for girls to see role models they can aspire to become.

The program was initially called “Take Our Daughters to Work Day” in 1993—a time when women were given even fewer chances to advance in business—but was expanded to include “our sons” in 2003. Girls today are still bombarded by images that narrow their vision of what they should and should not do when they grow up. This is why the program is still so valuable and why many companies participate.

Last year, for example, GE hosted an official event to mark the day where 176 children learned about nanotechnology, slow-motion photography, glass blowing, sign engraving, and even firefighting! This video, filmed by a parent whose daughter participated, sums up the power of the day to shape and influence young minds.

Bringing your child to work can spark new thoughts about their future. This can impact the choices they make at school and later in life as they enter the business world. Along the way, it can influence the choices of the people around them.

You are a powerful role model for the next generation of girls and boys. This Thursday, show them that they can be anything they want to be. The future is theirs—but it starts with you.

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.”

READ: “Flawed Study Dismissing Job Bias Thrills Media,” By Rosalind C. Barnett and Caryl Rivers, WeNews, 2/22/11

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

One year ago, we launched Catalyzing with the belief that until women achieve parity in business leadership, we will be marginalized in every other arena. More than 70 blog posts and 65,000+ page views later, we’ve only scratched the surface.

What gives me hope amid entrenched pay and leadership gaps, and setbacks like defeat of the Paycheck Fairness Act, are inspiring interactions with women and men who share our vision of changing workplaces and lives. As I blow out the candle on our 1-year anniversary, I wanted to leave you with a selection of comments from readers. Brace yourself—they are funny, angry, and even sad. Taken together, they serve as a potent call to action, and a reminder that we will not stop until we achieve our goal:

————

Ilene, congratulations on using your blog to “catalyze” the use of the gender lens. The Economist’s “We Did It!” cover aside, women have a LONG way to go and corporations need to look at their advancement efforts with fresh eyes before we get to the 50% at the top that women reflect in the pipeline.

Susan Colantuono 2010/02/16 at 9:33 am

The glass ceiling is not only still here, it’s an illusion that it is window pane thin. It is about 10 meters thick and all you can see when you look up is the bottom of a man’s $350 shoes looking down at you like a gerbil treading a wheel that goes nowhere for their own amusement.

susan clark 2010/03/04 at 6:00 pm

How can you fix what you don’t know is broken?

I have a much loved uncle who, when I told him about the wage gender gap refused to believe it existed….I then spent the remainder of that Thanksgiving breaking down how it occurs, why it hasn’t stopped, etc., and by the time he left, he was writing a letter to his congressman asking why there weren’t laws against it. Hopefully there are more ah-ha moments happening every day

Shayna 2010/04/09 at 3:33 pm

We hear so much about the importance of senior men mentoring women (and it is important), but it’s very refreshing to reverse this and think about the benefits of women mentoring men.
Lynn Harris 2010/04/28 at 1:54 pm

I have implemented many mentoring-projects for women with mentoring men in Austria. Thanks for your blog, because I really think that it is time for an change. We have so many good women, who would be great mentors for open minded men.

Daniela Stein 2010/05/04 at 3:19 pm

(more…)

This just in: the latest Catalyst research highlights deep challenges—and potential solutions—for women seeking to climb the corporate ladder.

For the fifth year in a row, our Census of women leaders in the Fortune 500 showed that women are stuck. Women hold only 14.4% of Executive Officer positions and 15.7% of board seats in F500 companies. A whopping 12.1% of public companies have no women serving on their boards and 27.4% have no women Executive Officers. And women hold only 7.6% of top earner spots.

While disheartening, a separate Catalyst report, Mentoring: Necessary But Insufficient for Advancement, pointed to a possible reason for the disparity. Men have more senior-level mentors who are in a position to provide sponsorship, which can lead to more promotions and greater pay increases. Women, on the other hand, are “mentored to death”—getting developed but not promoted or compensated as much as men.

There’s a big difference between sponsorship and mentorship. Mentors show you the ropes and teach you about the unwritten rules of your organization, but sponsors have clout and advocate on your behalf. They look out for you behind closed doors and ensure you’re visible when opportunities are on the table. “She can do it—trust me,” one might say.

Sponsors can make all the difference to your career. So if your company has a formal sponsorship program, you should express an interest in participating, while companies that do not should consider phasing one in.

But don’t just wait around for a sponsor to find you. Sponsorship is not an entitlement—you have to “earn it” by being a top performer. Connect with senior-level people and communicate your contributions, skills, and interests. Do a great job, get noticed, and you’ll attract a sponsor.

After all, mentors can show you the ropes, but sponsors help you climb them.

- – - – - – - -

UPDATE: To find out more about why you need a sponsor—someone “on the inside”to advocate for you—check out my new op-ed in WorkingMother.com!