Catalyst is an organization based on research on women and business that leads to knowledge and actionable solutions. As we’ve grown these past 50+ years, we’ve found new ways to make our research easily accessible to our members. In this issue, we’re happy to present the
Catalyst Research Centers—four avenues that will lead you down a pathway from issue to solution to implementation based on the following structure:
- The Context
- The Barriers
- Actions Leaders Can Take
- Actions Organizations Can Take
In addition to our research, in this issue we are highlighting people who are making a difference and implementing change through our video-sharing site
I Am A Catalyst. Share your story about stepping up and being heard.
Equity in Business Leadership
MYTH: There are not enough qualified women to achieve gender parity on corporate boards.
REALITY: There is no supply problem—there is a demand problem. In the largest Canadian and U.S. companies alone, there are over 1,500 experienced senior executive-level women who could be tapped for board service.
The Catalyst Research Center for Equity in Business Leadership examines and documents workforce demographics and their impact on employees, companies, communities, and society. Learn more.
Career Pathways
MYTH: Mentoring, sponsorship, and leadership development programs are enough to produce women leaders.
REALITY: Women need to get the right experiences—the “hot jobs” in an organization—to obtain the skills and visibility needed to advance to the top.
The Catalyst Research Center for Career Pathways exposes root causes of gender gaps from the classroom to the boardroom, conducting research that sorts myth from fact, identifies the true problems that hold women and other underrepresented groups back from advancement, and provides a solid basis for more effective talent development. Learn more.
Advancing Leader Effectiveness
MYTH: To drive inclusion in the workplace, all it takes is a few senior leaders to set the tone at the top.
REALITY: Inclusion doesn’t always trickle down. To build inclusive workplaces, organizations need influencers at every level who are role modeling and taking responsibility for making change.
The
Catalyst Research Center for Advancing Leader Effectiveness explores a central challenge facing today’s business leaders: how to leverage employee diversity to achieve success through inclusive decision-making and talent management.
Learn more.
Corporate Practice
MYTH: Useful, innovative strategies can only come from other companies in the same industry or region of the world.
REALITY: Organizations share similar challenges, and successful implementation approaches can be applied across industries and regions. Role models are all around.
The
Catalyst Research Center for Corporate Practice conducts research distinguishing sound talent management strategies from fads and documents best practices. Our partnership with an Expert Community, a consortium of business leaders, informs organizational policy and practices, leading to actionable solutions and systemic change.
Learn more.
Women On Board®
This Catalyst initiative provides a solution to the lagging representation of women on corporate boards. Women On Board
® pairs board-ready women with sitting Canadian board chairs who mentor and sponsor the women.
Read more and check out the new edition of Women On Board
® Source, a listing of women board candidates, available
online later this month.
