Beyond good intentions

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/03/2023 (1087 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

March is always the month when society celebrates International Women’s Day, a global event that recognizes the economic, political, social and cultural achievements of women around the world. It is also a time when women once again raise the ongoing issues of gender awareness, gender parity, equality, diversity and discrimination as well speaking out against stereotypes.

It’s hard to believe that in spite of International Women’s Day being celebrated for more than 100 years, women across the world are still struggling for equal rights and an equal place. Just take a look at the furor in Iran regarding the death of a young woman who breached the country’s strict dress code. While this is an extreme example of women’s struggle, there are also more subtle negative actions being taken elsewhere.

For instance, the United States is now experiencing significant pushback on women’s rights. It is discouraging to see the impact of recent U.S. court decisions that have reversed more than 50 years of women’s health gains established in the early 1970s. It is also discouraging to see progressive U.S. legislators continue to struggle to garner support from their colleagues for such rights as maternity leave, family leave or medical leave which many of us in Canada enjoy.

Thankfully, there appears to be more progressive support for women in Canada. For instance, the Canadian government’s 2022-23 plans for women and gender equality include multiple goals to advance the rights and protection of women. As well, a recent report by McKinsey & Company reported gender diversity amongst Canadian companies is a top priority. That’s all good news but is there really enough actually happening to move the so called needle forward? I’m not sure!

The McKinsey report identified the following findings:

● Organizational commitment to gender diversity alone has not resulted in any significant progress for women.

● Only two per cent of women report that they plan to leave the workforce in the next five years to focus on family.

● Women still represent 50 per cent of entry-level positions and are underrepresented at every other organizational level.

● Women and men share the same desire for promotions.

● Women are just as likely to be promoted to a management role but are less likely to be promoted to a vice-president role.

● Women at senior levels have fewer sponsors or mentors and are more often called upon to prove their competency.

● Women at the senior level are often the only person of their gender in this group.

● Women in general continue to face discrimination at work as well as microaggressions such as demeaning comments.

So, what does this study indicate regarding the actual situation regarding corporate leadership commitment to women in the workplace? I will report some of the study conclusions alongside my own comments.

Management commitment: While 80 per cent of survey leadership stated their full commitment to women’s issues and gender diversity, many women participants believed their leaders weren’t doing enough. Obviously, there is more work to be done here regarding employee communication and planning.

Transparency and tracking: Less than 50 per cent of surveyed organizations were engaging in setting targets and tracking while only 38 per cent indicated that leaders were held accountable for their achievements or lack thereof. Failing to set targets and tracking accomplishments suggests corporate goals are often seen as all talk and no action.

Leadership development: Less than 35 per cent of organizations offer specific interventions to support and develop women in leadership. Certainly, there is a need for generic leadership training, but I strongly believe in providing specific leadership training for women that is focused on their experiences and the different challenges they will experience.

Inclusive mindsets: Only 43 per cent of employees participating in the McKinsey survey felt that promotions were based on objective criteria. On the other hand, less than 40 per cent of corporations provided training on unconscious bias and/or reviewed their hiring processes for potential bias. Corporations need to get on board with training on the issue of unconscious biases as these impact more than just recruitment.

Impact of technology: With technology gallivanting at a pretty fast pace in both society and in the workplace, the McKinsey study also reported that automation will continue to create an increasing danger for women. For instance, women are at least 50 per cent more at risk of potential job loss because of their cluster in the clerical front-line support type of roles. In my view, management must engage in ongoing workforce planning as it relates to technology, creating strategies for redundancy and new skill development, particularly as related to women employees.

Overall, one of the key study results showed that companies are not doing enough to train and recognize managers. Frankly, there is no point having policies if managers don’t understand them and don’t implement them. This is increasingly important because our society is becoming more diversified and culturally aware. Most managers growing up in a western culture don’t recognize their own unconscious biases and don’t recognize the impact of policies and procedures on issues such as discrimination and/or inclusion.

As a result, corporations and organizations of all types really need to focus on management training. Programs need to include general leadership skills as well as inclusion, gender and equity issues and how to identify and handle micro-aggressions in the workplace. As well, managers need to know how history has shaped our thinking such that bias creeps into decision making and policy development. This knowledge is especially important because our world is becoming more and more diversified and cultural nuances are becoming more respected and recognized.

While women’s issues have been receiving some focus for over 100 years, it is important that young women — and men for that matter — don’t take these many accomplishments for granted. All we have to do is look at what is now happening in the United States with respect to women’s rights being eroded. And we only need to look at countries such as Iran where women still have little to no rights at all.

Personally, celebrating International Women’s Day is an important event for me. Each year I turn to the 1972 song by the Australian-American singer Helen Reddy. Here are a few words for readers to ponder.

I am woman, hear me roar

In numbers too big to ignore

And I know too much to go back an’ pretend

’Cause I’ve heard it all before

And I’ve been down there on the floor

And no one’s ever gonna keep me down again

Source: Women in the Workplace, 2022, McKinsey & Company; Women and Gender Equality/Canada, 2022-23, Departmental plan, Honourable Marci Len, PC.MP.

Barbara J. Bowes, FCPHR, B.Ed, M.Ed, CCP is a human resource professional, author, radio personality, speaker, executive coach and workshop leader. She can be reached at barb@bowesleadership.com.