Women need coaching and men need education.
Coming from careers in large companies, consulting and academia Paul Harrietha and Holly Catalfamo, cooperated to research and expose the ongoing reasons why women remain so badly under-represented at senior leadership levels, and to suggest the solution. Their book originated in Paul’s academic thesis, as reinforced by their personal experiences and observations. Paul and Holly describe it as a passion project - one that researches, highlights, explains and strives to solve the problem:
● That has plagued society and business for an extended period,
● That limits economic success of companies, and yet
● Is an area where significant effort, policy and rhetoric have already been focused; without significant improvement.
Holly and Paul’s passion allowed them to really probe the area that, on the surface, appears to be a gender issue but is at its core a significant business issue that blunts returns, both frustrates and discourages people, and holds female leaders back from senior positions in corporations.
Show Notes
In much of the world companies, and various special interest groups, have since at least the middle of the 20th century been working on the issue of gender equity in business. At least 50 to 60 years! Yet statistics show that little progress has been made. There remains significant lack of diversity at the senior management and board level. Many would describe it as
- Not yet having moved past the problem of “like hires like”, and
- A need to challenge, in a more forceful way, a range of embedded assumptions.
We need to acknowledge and deal with gender and inclusion as the business issue that it is, not as a women’s issue.
Too many women either choose to leave large corporations or, when they stay, have to work to overcome significant challenges. The explanation is nuanced and complex. Women who succeed have CAPS. Men who have supported and gained the most from enhanced representation and inclusion of women have a different mindset to the traditional; they fully understand the business advantage of true diversity.
The cyclical process, or staircase, of earning Credentials, Adapting, gaining Profile, and being Sponsored serves to elevate deserving women to senior roles and break the cycle of “hiring the convenient candidate rather than the right one for each role”.
As the world continues to change in areas spurred by the pandemic, and with new potential for recognizing the value and success of managing on output and productivity rather than presence, or time in the office, an opportunity exists to also innovate in this area. Business will experience significant financial and operational benefit from achieving greater diverse representation and including more women in senior roles of management and boards of directors.
Tune in to hear about:
- Four key biases Holly and Paul identified in their research - including a tightrope, a wall, judgement by women, and repeat proof.
- The detailed explanation of how credentials, adaptability, profile, and sponsorship create an exceptional partnership and model for success of, and by, women and the network around them.
- The work being done by the CAPS Leadership Institute to promote gender equity, start the conversation and effect change that removes barriers.
- And more.
Mentioned in this episode
The Invisible Rules - At
Indigo Chapters
The Invisible rules - on
AmazonReach out to further the conversation with Paul and Holly
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