PowerPoint Presentation

							   Advancing women in business organizations
                    Mattis
• Causes of turnover among women of colour
• Roles for Senior leaders
• Behaviours of Front-line managers
            Organizational Initiatives &
         Women of Colour’s Turnover Intentions
Those who intended to stay described their companies as
  •   Appreciative of cultural differences
  •   Requiring few adjustments to fit in
  •   Addressing subtle gender bias
  •   Addressing subtle racism
  •   Respectful of people of different cultural backgrounds
  •   Having targeted hiring practices to increase diversity
  •   Being a supportive environment for women of colour
  •   Having managers with adequate diversity training
  •   Promoting women of colour to senior leadership positions

                                            Catalyst 98; 98 studies
             Key Barriers to Advancement
                 for Women of Colour
•   Not having an influential mentor/sponsor
•   Lacking informal networks with influential
    colleagues
•   Lacking company role models of the same
    ethnic group
•   Lacking high visibility assignments
          Managerial behaviours &
     Women of Colour’s Turnover Intentions

• Those who intended to stay described their
  managers are described as
  • Providing opportunities for visibility
  • Explaining/interpreting organizational politics
  • Mapping out clear developmental goals for direct
    reports
          Roles for Senior Leaders

1. Develop & communicate business case
2. Provide resources for benchmarking
3. Build commitment, ownership, sponsorship
   for action
4. Establish accountability
5. Provide strategic direction
6. Sponsor women for leadership positions
7. Initiate succession planning processes
        How Senior leaders can Develop
       & Communicate the Business Case

• Explain how recruiting women fully uses
  external & internal talent pool
• Identify the cost of the turnover of high
  potential or performing women
• Explain why company should reflect
  marketplace (e.g., bec it contains significant
  number of women buyers)
• Identify costs of not complying w/regulations
  & of litigation
        How Senior leaders can Develop
       & Communicate the Business Case

• Explain how company can increase its
  competitive edge via external benchmarking
• Explain and identify how company can
  improve its relations with stakeholders (e.g.,
  shareholders, employees, communities, etc.)
• Develop company-specific business case
• Identify personal advantages of diversity for
  employees
         How Senior Leaders can
      Conduct Internal Benchmarking
• Identify current rates of recruitment,
  retention, advancement for men & women
• Develop long and short-term goals for
  improvement of recruitment, retention &
  advancement
• Measure progress toward goals



                                 See also Cox ch 4
            How Senior Leaders can
         Conduct External Benchmarking
• Identify appropriate comparison companies
• Collect, analyze & evaluate data from
  comparison company
• Determine fit between own and comparison
  company before replicating a best practice
• Tailor & implement selected initiatives, assign
  accountability for monitoring results, evaluate
  & modify based on outcomes & needs
  – BMO example is VD or MD?
                                     See also Cox ch 4
              How Senior Leaders can
            build Commitment for action

• Define roles & accountabilities for all senior
  leaders
• Link rewards to diversity performance
• Link successful recruitment & training of
  women to key business priorities
• Make each company executive accountable for
  one key component of diversity initiative
              How Senior Leaders can
              Establish Accountability
• Clarify diversity-related roles for each
  employee
• Appoint HR person in charge of diversity with
  direct reporting relationship to CEO (see also
  Cox)
• Establish diversity goals for business units &
  individual managers
               How Senior Leaders can
                Establish Accountability
• Focus on diversity-related outcomes when
  conducting performance reviews (e.g., rates of
  turnover, promotion & hiring)
• Link diversity-related performance to
  incentives
• Educate managers on business case,
  monitoring of results, goals they are held
  accountable for
           Roles for Senior Level Leaders

• Develop & communicate business case
• Provide resources for benchmarking
• Build commitment, ownership, sponsorship for
  action
• Establish accountability
• Provide strategic direction
• Sponsor women for leadership positions
• Initiate succession planning processes
                  How Senior Leaders can
                 provide Strategic Direction
• Identify a systemic intervention that
  – Most immediate & visible change
  – Impact other systems affecting women’s
    advancement & retention
  – Possible systems to change
     •   Career practices
     •   Workplace practices & culture
     •   Work-life practices (e.g., Baxter)
     •   Market practices
• Identify financial and staff resources for
  change
      How Senior Leaders can Sponsor
      Women for Leadership Positions
• Sponsors are leaders who enable movement of
  others through the ranks of the organization
  through leaders’ power & influence
• Sponsors are needed for
  – Powerful positions in organizations
  – Membership/chairs of important committees
         How Senior Leaders can initiate
         Succession Planning Processes
• Move high potential candidates through
  different areas of the organization (via
  mentors/coaches) to
  – Allow learning about the business
  – Establish networks promoting their retention
• Provide support to enable risk-taking
            How Senior Leaders can initiate
            Succession Planning Processes
• Enable people to self-identify an interest in
  moving up/across organization
• Have performance monitoring systems that
  identify those with leadership, initiative, skills
  for developmental assignments & promotions
   Advancing women in business organizations
                       Mattis
• Causes of turnover among women
• Roles for Senior leaders
  – Develop & communicate business case
  – Provide resources for benchmarking
  – Build commitment, ownership, sponsorship for
    action
  – Establish accountability
  – Provide strategic direction
  – Sponsor women for leadership positions
  – Initiate succession planning processes
• Behaviours of Front-line managers
                       Roles for Managers
• Communicate verbally & non-verbally to reinforce
  diversity initiatives
• Managers influence access to
   •   Feedback
   •   Coaching
   •   Insider information on organizational politics
   •   Informal networks
   •   Developmental opportunities
   •   High visibility assignments on task forces/committees
• Behave in ways to reinforce diversity initiatives
                 Behaviors for Managers
•   Request at least 2 women to be on every list of
    potential candidates for a vacancy/promotion
•   Intervene in meetings where others’ behaviors
    interrupt/stifle women’s contributions
•   Assign a proportional representation of
    women on projects/task forces/committees
•   Include executive women in hiring/promotion
    interviews
              Behaviors for Managers
• Organize two social events/ per year where
  women can participate comfortably
• Encourage additional training for 2/3rds of
  female direct reports who have “plateaued”
• Join a committee or professional org where
  manager is minority
             Behaviors for Managers
• Become a diversity-thought leader
  • Annual attendance on diversity workshops/events
  • Find woman coach/mentor outside company to
    discuss gender-related issues
  • Cover a diversity-related topic at every employee
    meeting
  • Convene/participate in brainstorming sessions
    w/direct reports/peers to identify concrete things a
    person can do to bring equality to women
              Behaviors for Managers
• Initiate an annual gender-issues meting
  w/female direct reports separate from
  performance review to discuss barriers to
  advancement
• Have zero tolerance for overt discrimination,
  inappropriate behavior or inappropriate
  entertainment venues
• Send clear & frequent messages re: personal
  commitment to corporate diversity initiative
               Behaviors for Managers

• When providing performance feedback to
  women direct reports, discuss career path in
  organization
  • Shift focus from current performance to next
    position in organization,
  • Identify needed to be done to move to that position
• Promote women on the bases of potential for
  that next position
  • Instead of focusing on demonstrated performance
    of responsibilities of that position
       To advance women in organizations

• Senior Leaders and Managers have unique
  and shared roles
• Managers have additional responsibility of
  displaying diversity-related behaviors to