Last weekend, 1,500 people gathered in Seattle for the Hopperx1 Seattle, a local Grace Hopper celebration of women in technology.
Seattle is home to many of the world’s largest tech companies. While the overall workforce is comprised of (roughly) 50 percent women, in technology, the ratios are very different – approximately 25 percent of the tech workforce is made up of women.
We all know that not all bias is conscious. Some bias is unconscious—often, referred to as implicit bias.
This means that we may be engaging in bias without even knowing we are doing so. This is most likely to occur when we make snap judgments.
On some of the world’s most visible stages, women appear to be making huge professional strides. In the U.S., we had our first female presidential candidate from a major party and the U.K. chose its second female prime minister. Women are outnumbering men by a 3-to-2 ratio on college campuses, and they have earned more doctoral degrees than men for seven straight years. Even at this year’s Summer Olympics, the U.S. fielded a team of athletes made up of a female majority for the first time.
I'm so excited to share this post with you! I recently had a call with Sara Shinneman, SHRM-SCP & Deborah Rocco with Interaction Associates (Check out their site, I found a ton of great blog posts on the issue and some white papers) on their presentation they will be giving at #SHRM16 called "Bridging the Gender Gap: A New Approach to Shattering the Glass Ceiling."
With all of the focus on the new overtime rules, a major event could be forgotten. One year ago last night we said good bye to Mad Men. For some, it was just a television show. Allow them their blissful naivety. A lot has happened to our friends in the last year with career and life lessons for all of us. So let’s leave the real world for just a moment:
Sometimes clients ask me relative to gender:
1. Would it be gender discrimination if we do X?
2. Does the law require that we do Y?
Of course, we need to start with the legal imperative. But, as HR professionals, we know we must transcend the legal imperative and focus on the business necessity (and moral obligation) to ensure gender equality.
Women aren’t to blame for their own lack of advancement at work. Failure to lean in and greater responsibility for child care don’t fully explain why women aren’t reaching the top levels of many corporations.
The difficulty women experience networking with male colleagues and senior male executives is a major culprit behind women’s lack of advancement.
The 800-pound gorilla in the office is (likely) wearing a suit and tie.
Tackling a 'Macho' Mentality at Work
You are a fair employer. You try to look at all candidates equally and don’t discriminate based on demographics. You care about talent. But like it or not, stereotypes and unintentional bias impact our thought process and decisions in complex ways — ways we don’t even realize.
Q: My daughter is pursuing a career as a programmer and hopes to work for a company such as Google. I’m proud of her talent and aspirations. However, I have some concerns about the technical industry’s record regarding women. First, they’re under-represented and then women seem to leave the industry after only working an average of 10 years. What advice would you give her?
Insights and Inspiration from the 2014 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Technology
“It takes a great man to be a good listener” – Calvin Coolidge
I am pleased to include a link to an article I wrote last month for Entrepreneur on subtle bias: How Entrepreneurs Can Spot Subtle Bias
The focus is on what I collectively call “micro-indignities”: micro-inequities and micro-aggressions.
There are often are complex definitions for these terms. But the definitions can be simplified.
Female leaders deliver better financial results, studies show
Want your company to have a healthier bottom line?
Put a woman in charge.
A new survey published by HR consulting firm Development Dimensions International (DDI) and The Conference Board reveals that organizations with better financial performance have more women in leadership roles.
Those findings are backed by other research—and experiences on Wall Street.
She’ll Show ’Em the Money
On March 19, @WeKnowNext chatted with all the "bossy" folks on Twitter about the "Ban Bossy" Campaign.
In case you missed it, here are all the great tweets from the chat:
What does the word “bossy” mean to you?
Sheryl Sandberg's new "Ban Bossy" campaign seeks to eliminate the use of the word “bossy” when describing successful and powerful women, and replace it with positive words that highlight character, resilience and leadership ability.
