With Hillary Clinton running for president, a woman may soon hold the top job in the country. Yet according to research by Catalyst, only 25% of senior-level jobs are filled by women at S&P 500 companies. From 2010 to 2016 the percentage of women heading companies in the S&P 500 index inched from 3% to 4%.
We still have a ways to go to create real change. If not now, then when?
At Ogilvy, we’re making strides: Females make up over 60% of the Ogilvy North America population.
But early in my own career, I had to work twice as hard to be considered for the same opportunities as my male colleagues. Today I still hear women sharing that they are facing those harsh inequalities when climbing the corporate ladder.
Women in the workplace, women of color and women who are industry leaders must continue to pave the path for generations to come. It won’t pave itself.
With change, comes action. No matter where we are in our careers, we can make a difference together. The first step is to join a company that is promoting diversity or help your existing company recognize the importance of diversity.
Below are key practices that must be in place in any workplace to foster diversity. Look for and these principles when starting out your career or searching for new opportunities and consider them if you’re founding your own company:
1. A Pledge From Leadership: It is key to not only look at a company’s diversity statistics but also examine the C-suite’s position on diversity. The most diverse companies are backed by leaders who value diversity among leadership, employees and stakeholders. Many companies also have a Diversity & Inclusion Officer, a position that is responsible for ensuring diversity and inclusion policies are implemented throughout all parts of the organization and create inclusive environments for employees. Understand your companies’ policies, activities and keep an open dialogue with Diversity & Inclusion Officers. They need to hear your perspective in order to make a difference.
2. Sponsorship Not Mentorship: Mentorship may provide valuable career advice but sponsorship can boost careers. (Sponsorship includes things like shadowing, training and the sponsor providing solid feedback to their protégés.) In a study conducted by Center for Talent Innovation, researcher Sylvia Ann Hewlett, author of Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor, found that sponsorship beat mentorship when it comes to career progression, especially for women struggling to climb higher than middle management. Finding a sponsor relationship is more difficult, because sponsors invest so much time. The key is to first demonstrate a stand-out work ethic and produce exceptional results — a sponsor will only invest time with someone they would like to work with. And look for a sponsor in the C-suite, or director level, as these executives will have the power to make a difference.
3. A Commitment To Eliminating Hiring Bias: The best way to find the most qualified candidate and rule out unconscious biases is a blind resume process. During a job hunt, search for companies that enforce such a policy, or work to institute such a policy at your own company.
4. Opportunity For Internal Advancement: When a position within a company opens up, managers often look to an internal pipeline and set a path forward for women of high potential to earn the promotion. To get in that pipeline, make yourself visible and let managers know your interests and aspirations. Most importantly, ask for what you want. The worst thing they can say is “no.” If you don’t get the opportunity you want, understand the reasoning and make a plan to reevaluate with managers in six months.
5. Effective Unconscious-Bias Training: We all have unconscious biases; it's in our DNA. To ensure they don't play out in the workplace, most companies mandate some form of unconscious bias training — but not all companies do it well. Trainings should happen often and all levels to provide employees with the tools to have courageous conversations about diversity like the Situation-Behavior-Impact [SBI] tool. The key to success is repetition; we need to think about eliminating biases in everything we do, not just during training sessions.
6. Flexible Work Arrangements: A majority of the time, family planning falls to women and in return, they often miss out on opportunities as they take time off for family. Great companies will eliminate these roadblocks by offering work-from-home options and flex-work arrangements. However, this shouldn’t be limited to family and major life events – flex work can be the key to work-life balance. A new study by McKinsey shows that millennial women are burning out faster than any other group, as women account for 53% of corporate entry-level jobs, but women only hold 37% of mid-management roles. Look for companies that were founded with flex work policies, they will be friendlier to remote work. If your company doesn’t have a policy in place, broach the topic with your manager and prove that you can be as productive working remote as in the office.
My advice to young women seeking the same opportunities as men is to find people you admire — emulate their leadership qualities, stay abreast of everything in your industry and be a lifelong leader. Attend as many industry events as possible, network with people all around you, don’t be afraid to ask for what you want and most importantly – take the opportunity to help women below you. As you move up the corporate ladder, remember to "reach back" to junior women and help develop their talent.
There is no better time to start than now.
