The Glass Ceiling Hasn’t Opened
Despite the number and variety of programs for women at large corporations such as Deloitte and Touche, General Electric, Procter and Gamble, American Express, etc. the number of women in top leadership roles at major U.S. companies remains relatively unchanged in recent years. For the most part these programs address such things as hiring and developing women and result in more women at lower and mid-level management roles. But glass ceilings stay put for most women who aspire and have the talent to contribute at the company’s highest levels.
Best Practices Won’t Do
Increasing the number of women in key roles at the top of corporations calls for culture change. Research from The Athena Factor: Reversing the Brain Drain in Science Engineering and Technology, and the World Economic Forum Gender Gap Report indicates that women still encounter an “uninviting and hostile macho culture.” The glass ceiling hasn’t opened much for over a decade. “Best practices” are simply known practices already in use and won’t result in significant improvements beyond where we are today. To crack the ceiling open we need uncommon practices.
But what they are?
Albert Einstein advised that “You cannot solve a problem with the same thinking that created it.” The culture that led to the glass ceiling is unlikely to produce the needed change in thinking. Why? Members of the dominant power group whose beliefs, thoughts and actions determine the culture, often don’t see the thinking that creates it. They are akin to the fish who don’t see the water in which they swim. Members of the non-dominant culture have an outsider’s perspective and a clearer view of the culture and the thinking or hidden assumptions on which it is based. Herein lies the dilemma. The very culture that needs to embrace change presents obstacles to entry for those women who will make it happen.
Uncommon Practices Are Needed
The following uncommon practices are designed to break through this impasse and shift us to a new more effective leadership paradigm.
1. The Rule of 3
- Set a near term goal of three women on each top leadership team where important decisions are made.
Why three? It is extremely difficult and unlikely for the lone woman – or any lone minority – to change the prevailing culture. Almost all lone women share the experience of speaking up during a team discussion and being ignored, overridden, or dismissed. Within minutes a man in the group states the same point. This time the peer group acknowledges the speaker and often supports his idea. The lone woman eventually become less active and less invested as this experience is repeated. Because no one else in the group shares the woman’s experience they do not notice this dynamic and without support she become less vocal. The opportunity for culture change diminishes as does her effectiveness in the group.
2. First Women – Selection, Support, Accountability
- Carefully select, sponsor and mentor first women who join the team before the rule of 3 is achieved.
They must be highly capable of doing the job and being trail blazers. These women are courageous, self-confident and resilient. They read the human landscape and respond with flexibility, keeping the end goal in mind. They need a solid support group inside and outside the company. Spending time with members of this group is part of the job.
- Hold both her sponsor/mentor and the first woman accountable for her success.
It is their success. Their relationship includes mutual learning and requires a high level of trust so that vulnerabilities and difficulties can be openly discussed and addressed. He also ensures that she has access to important networks. The sponsor creates a learning environment such that the first woman and her peers can explore sensitive issues to improve team performance. Advice and counsel from experts in change management, human dynamics, and diversity help ensure the first woman, her sponsor and the team are successful.
- Establish first women and first sponsor groups.
A formal group of all the first women becomes a mechanism for supporting each other and changing the culture. A first sponsor group plays a similar role. These two groups also work together to learn, review progress, identify and remove impediments to culture change and enhance the success of first women.
3. Rapid Readiness of High Potential Women
To keep the pipeline full use very fast track approaches to prepare women for top leadership roles. A recent study by Steve Wolff, DBA*, the Hay Group, found the role of executive assistant, not to be confused with secretary or administrative assistant, to be one such method. High potential women who participate in decision making discussions with senior executives are ready for top leadership positions sooner than when traditional methods of moving up through the ranks are used.
These practices create change at the individual, team and organizational levels simultaneously. The first women, sponsors and peer groups increase their capacity to work across the gender boundary. They remove impediments to culture change and act as role models. The effects cascades through the organization and the critical path to success for second women is faster and smoother. In addition, the first women are ready-made sponsors and mentors for those next in line.
*Steve Wolff, DBA. The Coming Leadership Gap. Presentation to New England Society for Applied Psychology. Waltham, MA. March 7, 2010
These are but a few uncommon practices for cracking the glass ceiling. Please add your ideas, suggestions and comments. Together we can crack the glass ceiling.
Anne, this is an excellent article. The power of 3 is a critical component of cultural change and advancing women. The lone woman is too often not heard. Women also need to understand the rules of the game and thought processes set by the men. They are playing a games where someone else made the rules. Playing by their own rules won’t work. With critical mass we can then change the rule book.
Spot on Shayna. Part two will clarify your last point. First women, their sponsors, mentors and peers are all chartered and responsible for the culture change. Would love to collaborate with you on part 2 or have you contribute in some other way if you’re interested.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Dale Lawrence, Mike Henry Sr., Meghan M. Biro, JoeGerstandt, cv harquail and others. cv harquail said: Great Points! (via @joegerstandt) @bizshrink: Cracking the Glass Ceiling: Uncommon Practices http://bit.ly/crackglass #women #leadership [...]
Yes, yes, yes!!! You make great suggestions here, and we can only hope that companies will be open to this!!!
I appreciate the power of three in your post. The lone woman will not only be unheard, but they will likely also be the “token” woman to appease perception or quota. It’s such a double-edged sword, because many women want the senior-level positions, but they don’t want to get there ‘that way.’
I also think one additional thing that needs to change is that women need to learn to support each other more fully. We need to stop criticizing one another and support the decisions and career aspirations that we each individually have. This unified approach will help to empower more women to feel confident in the choices they make.
Straight at the point! I love the suggestions on HOW to get this to happen within an organization. I know many male leaders that are interested in having more gender balance but just can’t find a way. Your rules would just as much apply to adding other kinds of diversity to an otherwise homogenous group (by race, beliefs, origin, nationality, etc) You do stress here that they need to be capable women, worthy of the level of commitment, engagement and work required. I truly appreciate that! So many half-hearted efforts just include people to make it look like they are cracking the glass ceiling when in practice, it is not happening because the women that make it that far are yes-women or those who do not present a threat to the powers that be.
Monica – You’re right. Thanks for pointing out that The Rule of 3 and the rapid advancement approaches apply to all non-dominant groups. It would be great to hear from men who want more gender balance at the table. They could add much insight about how women and other minorities can get a seat and be heard.
Anne – excellent points. A topic after my own heart! I love the concept of a Rule of Three!
60% of European graduates are now female. Here too, they are concentrated in lower and mid range positions, below board level. Women have a number of specific challenges in the workplace: criticised for embracing male corporate culture (aggressive) criticised for not embracing it (soft). They tend to get bullied more often and are paid less then their male peers. So eventually, not unsurprisingly, the gilt wears off the corporate gingerbread and passivity sets in and engagement levels are reduced.
So we have to start changing corporate cultures to incorporate female values and business models so that they flourish.
Onboarding programmes I feel should start at the lowest level and include content on constructive communication training, self advocating, negotiation styles and conflict management, not just the location of the coffee machine! Having formal mentoring programmes and workplace support groups will also go a long way too achieving these goals.
Trail blazers and high fliers should clearly be identified, but as I’ve found out in my research on bullying and salary negotiation, even the most talented women can be subject to abuse and despite their obvious skills, don’t step up to the negotiating table. They eventually become disenchanted with organisational life.
My feeling is that this training should be available to all women from the bottom up.
I would even go one step further and suggest it should be part of university curricula!
.-= Dorothy Dalton´s last blog ..The Lipstick Jungle: Female saboteurs =-.
Terrific additions Dorothy. Thanks. Part 2 will include these suggestions.
Anne – great list of uncommon practices to get women into those seats of power! Here’s another one to add to the list: workplace flexibility and family leave policies, which typically are labeled “women’s issues” yet in reality are workplace problems that impede overall productivity and foster stereotypes. I spoke with a female attorney at couple of weeks ago who explained how her performance went on a watch list – because her billable hours went down while on maternity leave. Outrageous!
Jane – You’ve identified the chicken and the egg dilemma. More women in powerful seats will advance such policies, but until such policies are advanced progress on getting more women in powerful seats remains painfully slow. And you’re right about workplace flexibility and family leave not being women’s issues nor is the 24/7 clock. Men at Enrst & Young were vocal about how the curbing “extreme jobs” benefited them as well. Thanks for adding your powerful voice to the discussion.
Very timely article. I needed the encouragement today!
Anne,
I think you make two excellent points that help to explain the issue in a context that those already in charge of establishing corporate culture can better appreciate.
The point you make at the start about how it’s near impossible to expect those who created the corporate culture to understand the challenges women (and other minorities) is one that needs to be spoken of more often. Indeed, I would like to think that in some companies, the desire for workplace diversity is there; however, what they fail to understand is that by creating the culture themselves, they are inadventenly introducing elements that make this rather difficult to achieve.
And this leads to the second point that you made about creating a group of three to aid and hold each other accountable. Again, I’m sure in certain companies like Xerox where there is a woman in charge, there’s this impression that it must be easier for women to ascend to leadership positions than elsewhere. But as you said, without a chorus of voices asserting the same points/issues, it’s easy to disregard what these women leaders are trying to point out. And with little change being made, I’m sure other women in the company start to believe that if the situation can’t be changed even with a woman leader in charge, there’s not much hope for it to ever happen.
Some great food for thought, Anne. Thanks for putting this piece together.
.-= Tanveer Naseer´s last blog ..Leaders, Are You Asking the Right Questions? =-.
Tanveer – Thank you for your thoughtful response. It is so important that this discussion moves across and between gender boundaries. You are the first man to step in and speak up. Much appreciation. Interesting piece of Xerox story is that Ursula Burns, current CEO, is the first woman to succeed a woman as well as the first black woman to head up a major U.S. based corporation. She emphasizes the importance of two male mentors/sponsors in her career at Xerox. Kudos to them, to her, and to Xerox for being the kind of company that made this happen. Won’t it be wonderful when we don’t have to talk about these “firsts” anymore. Until then, hope you’ll keep talking. You have an open invitation to speak up here.
[...] Tweets about this great post on TwittLink.com [...]
Bravo Anne!
For a very well written article on an essential issue, but also for starting such an international Forum on women and empowerment.
I have so many things to add to the discussion, I know I need to continue this in a post.
Here are 3 ideas of posts it triggered (I love the rule of Three, in presentations as well as in fairy tales… Three is a magic number!)
1. What are the reasons why women don’t crack the ceiling?
2. What are the implicit, invisible rules that shape today’s Organization’s culture?
Men are not responsible for it and don’t consciously conspirate against women. Women don’t intentionally aim at sabotaging each other, either.
Once we have made it clear that no one is to blame but centuries, thousands of year of pervasive patriarchal culture, we can start to face the complexity of the reality and address different levels at the same time.
In the complex situation today, we must also recognize that there’s not only a glass ceiling, but once it’s cracked, the fall is painful and almost inevitable on the glass floor.
(See the beautiful and touching video Catalyst has designed to illustrate this idea
http://geronimarion.posterous.com/for-our-daughters-we-never-dreamed-there-was )
3. How can we create a culture where it’s easier for women, not only to get to the top, but to stay there once they have succeeded?
A culture that would benefit both men and women in raising happy kids and leading balanced lives for themselves.
On twitter yesterday, I forwarded an article about women mentoring men, with the origins of the first female mentor…
http://www.catalyst.org/blog/
That’s a way to gain cooperation at work!
There’s also the question of quotas.
Although it’s not an ideal solution, on the short run, it’s a proven efficient way to bring changes. It has been implemented successfully in Norway, with over 40 % women on board rooms.
In Spain, in France and also in India where the women’s reservation bill has imposed a 33% quota for women in India’s federal and state assemblies.
Other ways?
See my comment on Dorothy Dalton’s excellent post about women bullying each other.
http://dorothydalton.wordpress.com/
Mentoring, role model, training and coaching, both for men and women.
What else? (George Clooney could be invited to our forum, Anne, as you’re giving sexiest man awards…)
Seriously, the next simple step would be to commit to each write an article or a blog post on our website or on a platform, and join our hands, minds, heart and soul to each of us, contribute locally and globally!
Oh, that was a long comment!
Thank you for all the wonderful people who already commented, I read each of you carefully and applaude with both hands!
Bravo, Sister Anne!
.-= Marion Chapsal´s last blog ..A New Beginning: Here Comes Geronima! =-.
Soeur Marion – Thank you always for thoughts that make my heart sing. Your point is worth emphasizing again. No one is to blame for the current situation regarding the prevailing masculine culture and lack of women in top leadership roles. And we are ALL responsible for changing it. Decades, perhaps centuries of social and economic forces along with a belief system about gender roles set this situation in motion and maintained it. So much is changing. So much more change is needed so that together we can create a model and practice of leadership that includes the best of both masculine and feminine traits.
You have written powerful articles on women leaders, and I look forward to hearing more and more from you.
Do you think this is one of those cultural issues that we will and are aging out of? I’ve seen so much change in my lifetime. My generation seems to be the bridge between the male dominated world of 1950 and the co-equal world of 2020. I’m not suggesting that we made it happen but that the events during our lifetimes have precipitated the change for the better. I find that the attitudes of Millennials and Gen y’s value shared worth in ways foreign to us only a few years ago.
What a great discussion. I so agree with what’s been said by each of you.
I love your thoughts about “best practices”, Anne. I think up until now, the focus has been on incremental improvement rather than quantum improvement.
Erin’s comment about women needing to support each other more fully is right on target. Some of the things I’ve been reading on Dorothy’s blog about women and bullying have been shocking to me.
Anne, your “uncommon practices” are such great ideas.
As I’ve thought about these ideas and comments, I find myself wondering about the impact of generational differences on this in organizations. Generation Y is coming in with a whole new mindset, a whole new set of needs, and whole different way of needing to be managed. Yes, they’re a long way from the executive suite, but they are the future of leadership.
Another prong of a comprehensive culture change strategy would be to educate this generation on the power of collaboration and support in reaching career goals. The workplace they lead will be far different than the workplace the boomers are leading now.
As I’ve read the comments by each of you, it makes me crave some kind of global collaboration to design something amazing to offer organizations, leveraging the best thinking we each have to offer.
A girl can dream
[...] }*/ .feedback_prompt { background-color: #E3E9C0; display: none; } 5 Tweets Cracking the Glass Ceiling Requires Uncommon Practices | Germane Insights Despite the number and variety of programs for women at large corporations such as Deloitte and [...]
Some great points, Anne. Unfortunately, many organizations will see recommendations like this, rear back their heads, flare their nostrils, and scream, “Are you suggesting … a QUOTA??!!”
To which we all need to coolly respond, “Well … yes.”
“Quota” has become a really bad word, and that’s something we really need to change our thinking around, I think. Yes, in a perfect world, the smartest and most talented people would rise to the highest levels without regard to gender, skin color, culture, sexuality, faith, or disability. But does anyone really think that in 2010, we’ve achieved that kind of nirvana?
For most rational people, the answer is no. Neither, do I believe, is the answer simply changing an organization so that it is more “open” to women leaders. The few organizations who do get women into the boardroom do so because they actively WANT them there, and they take bold action to ENSURE that it happens.
Cue the cries of injustice from the straight, white, able-bodied, Judeo-Christian men who can’t bear to be “overlooked” just because of who they are. Irony much, guys? The fact is that most boardrooms in America don’t need yet another straight, white, able-bodied, Judeo-Christian man. And even though I know for a fact that there are some REALLY talented straight, white, able-bodied, Judeo-Christian men out there, what’s as important as getting a talented individual to take that empty seat in the boardroom is managing the TEAM around that table – and the TEAM will be enriched exponentially by including those who expand the kinds of voices that can be heard there.
.-= Eric Peterson´s last blog ..EPetersonSHRM: CNN: How we became white people, by Christian Lander. http://is.gd/bON97 =-.
One word response. WOW!
Multi word response. Thank you for sharing your strong and well-stated views. If more men like you were willing to stand up, voice up and be heard we soon would not need to have this conversation. Thank you Eric.
About quotas. The rule of 3 is not a quota but a goal adopted by companies determined to benefit from the competitive advantages women leaders bring to a the table. Quotas connote something legislated by an outside agency.
The irony is that the Y chromosome has been cracking the glass ceiling for some time now; as Eric puts it, the straight, white, able-bodied, Judeo-Christian man has chipped the windshields of GM, the banking industry, and so many more of companies of late that the spidering spreads and spreads, and some point you’ve got to replace it or it’ll implode.
Sadly it does takes implosion to change. I couldn’t even begin to add to your powerful post and all the thoughtful follow-up comments, but I will say that the latest implosion in the global business world has revealed a new vision: transparency.
Most of us want to be better me’s – personal and corporate responsibility on the rise has increased the need for transparency, and vice-versa. The traditional delineation of male roles versus female roles in business has never been more precarious; true leaders know how to facilitate growth regardless of gender or race; they know how to empower and unify and inspire so as to practically becoming invisible to the very folk they’re leading.
I’ve worked with more women than men in all my professional incarnations and only want to work with those who see beyond gender as a handicap. I use my Y chromosome to ward off indignant naysayers and to find healing waters for those who thirst to be better.
.-= Kevin W. Grossman´s last blog ..Warren Buffett on Compensating Managers and Customers Tattooing Your Logo on Their Chest =-.
Kevin – Thanks and you are officially Smart Sexy Man #4. You make wonderful use of the language of science- the Y chromosome – to talk about this issue. And I love your image of the Y cracking the glass to the point where it will need to be replaced. Your play on language makes the message clear and easier to hear. Thanks for voicing up.
Anne – thanks for these insightful and new ideas. Although some significant progress has been made for women executives, there are still some significant systemic barriers to welcoming women into the most senior ranks of organizations. The first and perhaps most critical is that there are so few role models that senior women can aspire to. Having role models makes it easier for women to see themselves in leadership roles. It gives them permission to use their power and influence in a way that is different than a strictly masculine model of leadership, yet can be just as effective. Indeed at Hay Group, our research shows that the best female leaders are those that show a blend of both masculine and feminine styles. It’s critical that organizations visibly position women in leadership roles, providing mentors and other women to support their success in the short term, while reinforcing their network and developing the broader capacities they will need to ensure their success in the long term.
Rick – Thanks for adding your perspective to the conversation. Were you involved in the research Steve Wolff referenced on the executive assistant role as a method for developing people for senior leadership positions?
Anne, thanks for your thought provoking ideas! It has been my experience that many women do still encounter an “uninviting and hostile macho culture” not only from men but unfortunately many women who have clawed their way to the top are also sometimes not very receptive or motivated to help out another female colleague! Love the rule of three process. Without a distinct process and strategy we will never see progress!
Susan – Thanks for stopping by and adding the very important note about women who do not help other women. I’ve had direct experience with such women and am grateful they a few in number. Sadly, however, the ones I’ve met, lead organizations whose mission is all about advancing women. What a double whammy.
Gail Evans, former executive vice president at CNN, and lone woman among men for most of her career is adamant in her message that women must pay if up, sideways and back to bring other women to the table. I was fortunate to hear her keynote when I presented at Linkage Women’s Leadership Summit in ’09. Gail has a new book on this topic – She Wins, You Win. You can read more about Gail and her books at http://www.gailevans.net/bio.html. So let’s pay it forward, back and sideways and the few who want to play alone in the sandbox can continue to do so.
No, I wasn’t involved, but I’m certainly familiar with the research.
.-= Rick Lash, Director in Hay Group’s Leadership & Talent Practice´s last blog ..The changing face of reward in the CMT sector =-.
Great Article, and I think really timely. However, I agree with some of the comments that setting a bar for 3 might be unrealistic. I just don’t see organizations flat enough these days to accomodate isolating roles to any preference other than talent. Let’s say we took this same approach with hispanic’s, then disabled executives. That would require a leadership team of 9. I think what is more valuable is for Women to find support groups. As a male, I’m working with a Women IT executives to help them network together. As an rare IT person who loves to network, I’m trying to use my skills and expereince in “breaking out my shell” to help IT Women who for the most part are not extraverts who enjoy walking up to a bunch of male IT (as one I can attest you can not get much worse in the area of lack of social skills) and feel free to bond. So I think women need to find groups for this. One I just came across and have been assisting is GIT. Girls in Tech. (I didn’t name them, so please don’t get offended at me for the term ‘girl’). So I think with this kind of support structure you could accomplish your sugggestions through a “virtual” sponsors and mentor first women.
.-= Matthew Hooper´s last blog ..More than words…. They needed to make a movie =-.
[...] For more uncommon practices to crack the glass ceiling and shift the failing leadership paradigm cli… // Posted in Leadership, Women in Leadership on June 10th, 2010 by Anne | 1 Comment »Tags: female, feminine, leader, Leadership, male, man, masculine, paradigm, woman [...]