Catalyst Blog

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.

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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.”

READ: “IOC Approves Women’s Ski Jumping for 2014 Olympic Winter Games,” by Stephen Wilson, Associated Press, 4/6/11

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

Are all Gen Ys hip to the latest technology? Are all baby boomers resistant to change? Of course not, these are stereotypes. But these biases can be just as damaging to an organization—and careers—as gender inequity.

Case in point: My friend’s daughter told me the other day that her job as a social media consultant was in jeopardy because she was getting “too old,” at age 29!

New technology can be more intuitive to the Gen X/Gen Y crowd, but this isn’t surprising given that they have grown up in a world where cell phones and computers are the norm. When I worked at AltaVista, Sam Fuller, the Chief Technology Officer at Digital Equipment Corp. (our parent company), said:  “Advanced technology is anything invented after you were born!”

We are all always dealing with new technology. But this doesn’t mean boomers can’t benefit from these new technologies, too. Or that Millennials can’t learn from more seasoned professionals. It’s all about exposure to new perspectives and appreciating them.

Companies should set up opportunities for people of all ages to learn from one another and bridge the gap between perception and reality. As we outline in Beyond Generational Differences, some businesses are already leading the way.

Let’s drop these “old school” stereotypes. Different generations have always worked together in the workplace. Why should today be any different?

A CEO on Catalyst’s Board of Directors recently told me, “The business world is 24/7/365—people are not.”  In managing her employees, she works from that mindset. She places more value on their levels of engagement and productivity and less emphasis on the hours they log at their desks.

Why is it that so many people consider this an issue of “work-life balance?” I don’t like to use the word “balance” because it infers that equilibrium is the norm and puts the onus of achieving that equilibrium squarely on the shoulders of the individual. I am not alone—many others have abandoned the untenable concept of “balance.” As noted by working dad and blogger, Paul Nyhan, in an online chat last year:

“The word I think is needed is rhythm. I have said work-life balance is a crock, and what I aspire to is a sense of rhythm, there will be crazy busy times and quieter times, but having the tools and flexibility to gain a rhythm to balancing work and family.”

Over the years, Catalyst has developed a workforce approach we call WLE, short for “work-life effectiveness.” Our reports on WLE—Making Change—Beyond Flexibility I, Making Change—Beyond Flexibility II, and Making Change: Building a Flexible Workplace—outline a team-based approach that shifts the traditional request for flexibility from “me” to an organizational tool for “us.” At its core, WLE recognizes that people who work have lives outside of work. Pretty cutting edge, no?

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