Understand the system, make a strategyWomen in Leadership

January 2016

Janice Fraser Director, People Pivotal

Keep in touch!

@clevergirl

I’ve been in business for a long time.

Janice Fraser, 2016 @clevergirl

We’ve come a long way since the day my business partners tried to deny my maternity leave retroactively because in their view parenthood was a “lifestyle choice”.

Janice Fraser, 2016 @clevergirl

Even so, women don’t advance into leadership proportionately.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

IC Manager Director VP SVP C-Suite

Source: Women in the Workplace 2016, McKinsey22

This study comprised 132 companies that employ collectively 4.6 million people.

% Men

% Women

Janice Fraser, 2016 @clevergirl

But why? It doesn’t make sense.

Janice Fraser, 2016 @clevergirl

What’s true in the world?

Literature review.

Synthesize findings & map out a system model

Make explicit strategies to support the advancement of women.

My plan.

Janice Fraser, 2016 @clevergirl

1. Stanford Study: Climbing the Technical Ladder: Obstacles and Solutions for Mid-Level women in Technology, Clayman Institute for Gender Research 2009 2. McKinsey Study: Unlocking the full potential of women at work, 2012 3. Catalyst Study: Good Intentions, Imperfect Execution? Women get fewer Game Changing Leadership Roles, 2011 4. Anita Borg Institute: Barriers to the advancement of technical women. A review of the literature, 2007 5. HBR: To Close the Gender Gap, Focus on Assignments, 2012 6. HBR: Why Men Still Get More Promotions than Women, 2010 7. HBR: Women in Management, Delusions of Progress, 2010 8. Bersin: What Exactly Are Talent Calibration Sessions Versus Talent Reviews?, 2008 9. Fortune: The abrasiveness trap: High-achieving men and women are described differently in reviews, 2015 10. HBR Press: Through the Labyrinth, 2007 11. Catalyst Study: The Double-Bind DIlemma, 2007 12. HBR Study: Women Get Fewer Game-Changing Leadership Roles, 2012 13. Clayman Institute: Senior Leadership Summit for Women (WT2 Conference), Feb 2016 14. Forbes: The 'Glass Cliff' Phenomenon That Senior Female Leaders Face Today And How To Avoid It, 2015 15. PWC/Strategy& Study: The 2013 Chief Executive Study, 2013 16. Google, Search result definition. March 2015 17. Journal of Advances in Gender Research: Gendered Networks: Professional Connections of Science and Engineering Faculty 18. UC Hastings: Double Jeopardy? Gender Bias Against Women of Color in Science 19. HBR: Prove Yourself ... Again: Why Women Get Overlooked for Management Positions 20. Slate Study: How to Get Ahead as a Woman in Tech: Interrupt Men 21. Catalyst Study: The Double Bind Dilemma for Women in Leadership: Damned if You Do Doomed if You Don’t 22. McKinsey Study: Women in the Workplace, 2016 (Just published this week)

The studies.

Janice Fraser, 2016 @clevergirl

• Senior women get fewer key opportunities than men.12, 14

• Self-reinforcing factors bias leadership pipelines against women.1, 2

• Research from leading institutions has identified a small number of causal patterns.2, 13

• This situation can be reversed over time through sustained effort rooted in belief about the problem.1, 2

What I found.

Janice Fraser, 2016 @clevergirl

Stanford researchers have identified 3 causal factors that significantly hinder women’s ascent to top leadership roles.13

Good news. Sourcing & Screening

Interviewing & Selecting

Power & Team Dynamics

Performance Reviews

Talent Reviews & Calibration

Assignments & Promotions

Compensation

Janice Fraser, 2016 @clevergirl

Women’s Leadership Pipeline Inputs and Outcomes

Sponsorship

Networks & Social Capital

TalentReviews

Stretch Assignments

Senior Leadership

OPT OUT

Staff Role

Laterals

Sidelines

70%

Mentorship Glass Cliff

20%

Performance Evals

Janice Fraser, 2016 @clevergirl

Women’s Leadership Pipeline Inputs and Outcomes

Sponsorship

Networks & Social Capital

TalentReviews

Stretch Assignments

Senior Leadership

OPT OUT

Staff Role

Laterals

Sidelines

70%

Mentorship Glass Cliff

20%

Performance Evals

Janice Fraser, 2016 @clevergirl

Women’s Leadership Pipeline Inputs and Outcomes

Stretch Assignments

Senior Leadership

70%

Janice Fraser, 2016 @clevergirl

Women’s Leadership Pipeline Inputs and Outcomes

Stretch Assignments

Senior Leadership

OPT OUT

Staff Role

Laterals

Sidelines

70%

Glass Cliff

Janice Fraser, 2016 @clevergirl

Women’s Leadership Pipeline Inputs and Outcomes

TalentReviews

Stretch Assignments

Senior Leadership

OPT OUT

Staff Role

Laterals

Sidelines

70%

Glass Cliff

Janice Fraser, 2016 @clevergirl

Women’s Leadership Pipeline Inputs and Outcomes

Sponsorship

Networks & Social Capital

TalentReviews

Stretch Assignments

Senior Leadership

OPT OUT

Staff Role

Laterals

Sidelines

70%

Glass Cliff

20%

Janice Fraser, 2016 @clevergirl

Women’s Leadership Pipeline Inputs and Outcomes

Sponsorship

Networks & Social Capital

TalentReviews

Stretch Assignments

Senior Leadership

OPT OUT

Staff Role

Laterals

Sidelines

70%

Mentorship Glass Cliff

20%

Performance Evals

Janice Fraser, 2016 @clevergirl

Explicit Strategies For Managing Career Advancement

Sponsorship

Networks & Social Capital

Stretch Assignments

Staff Role

Laterals

Sidelines

Glass Cliff

CULTIVATE relationships across “type”

BE ONE FIND ONE Remember this is a quid pro quo relationship

CAUTION

CAUTION

SEEK

Thank you!