The Gender Gap

Eliminate this gap now.

Leaders must reframe their thinking to reflect needed changes in the composition of a workforce. A prime area of focus should be on ensuring gender equality. Leaders’ insight and sensitivity to these issues will guide their recognition of the necessity to change behaviors and modify an organization’s culture.

To begin this re-framing their thinking, leaders must assess their subconscious biases, misconceptions, and culturally driven presumptions about women. In her book Successful Women Think Differently, Valerie Burton notes, “It is important to overcome thought patterns that sabotage success.” Any leader who expects to transform his thinking and the culture of an organization must incorporate the intelligence, perspectives, and capabilities of women into the vision and strategic plan of an organization. Women’s talents and skills cannot be ignored or inhibited; they must be fully supported and empowered as members of the leadership team.

Two major areas of concern regarding women in today’s workforce are the gap in leadership and the gap in compensation.

GENDER GAP IN LEADERSHIP

Although some progress has been made in recent years, the gender gap in leadership for women is widespread. Men substantially outnumber women in leadership positions in business, education, military, and politics. This fact, however, does not reflect a lack of qualified candidates or educational preparation. Women:

• Comprise nearly 51% of the U.S. population and constitute

• 47% of the labor force. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

• Earn approximately 60% of undergraduate degrees. (National Center for Education Statistics)

• Receive 60% of all master’s degrees. (National Center for Education Statistics)

• Occupy almost 52% of all professional-level positions. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

These data notwithstanding, women are significantly underrepresented in senior executive positions across all segments of the employment spectrum. In S&P 500 companies, women represent 44% of the workforce but only 25% of senior-level management. They occupy 20% of board seats and 2% of the CEO positions. In higher education, women comprise only 31% of full professors; only 27% of college presidents are women.

A woman’s ability to lead has been well-established yet rarely fully appreciated or acknowledged. Queen Elizabeth II, Malala Yousafzai, and Michelle Obama each provide a unique perspective on women in leadership or influential positions in the 21st century.

Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning monarch in the history of the British Commonwealth. Now in her nineties, she has committed her life to the service of the people in the commonwealth. Her extensive travels throughout the countries of the commonwealth and support of hundreds of charities, social and professional organizations have gained her the respect and admiration of millions of people and world leaders. The Queen is a constitutional monarch with three constitutional rights; the right to be consulted, to encourage, and to warn.

Queen Elizabeth II has skillfully employed these rights over more than six decades to effectively work with, advise and influence 12 prime ministers from Winston Churchill to Margaret Thatcher. Her actions qualify her as a transformational leader through her collaborations with these prime ministers through crises like the Suez Canal, Falkland Islands War, and the dissolution of 15 parliaments. She was also transformational by making the monarchy more transparent to the public by allowing access to coronations, weddings, and other royal activities.

Malala Yousafzai, from a different generation and culture, is a 24-year-old Pakistani woman, who at the age of 15, survived an assassination attempt because of her strong advocacy for the rights of women and children to be educated. After recovering from a gunshot wound to her head, Malala resumed her activist role for education with undaunted passion and devotion. Although she reigns over no one and leads no corporation, she has gained the love and respect of millions around the world for her leadership, courage, and commitment to educating women and children. In 2013 she was named one of Time Magazine’s most influential people. In 2014, she became the youngest person to be awarded the Noble Prize for Peace.

Michelle Obama, Princeton graduate, a prominent lawyer, was the first African American to serve as the First Lady of the United States. In 2008, she was named Time Magazine’s Woman of the Year. Two years after leaving the White House, she was named by Good Housekeeping Magazine as one of 120 Women Who Have Changed the World. Michelle Obama has achieved many notable accomplishments that have earned her these accolades. Four of the most notable are:

In 2010, she launched Let’s Move!, bringing together community leaders, educators, medical professionals, parents, and others in a nationwide effort to address the challenge of childhood obesity.

In 2011, she and Dr. Jill Biden came together to launch Joining Forces, a nationwide initiative calling all Americans to rally around service members, veterans, and their families and support them through wellness, education, and employment opportunities.

In 2014, Mrs. Obama launched the Reach Higher Initiative, an effort to inspire young people across America to take charge of their future by completing their education past high school, whether at a professional training program, a community college, or a four-year college or university.

In 2015, Mrs. Obama joined President Obama to launch Let Girls Learn, a U.S. government-wide initiative to help girls around the world go to school and stay in school.

Although these women have achieved world prominence in distinctly different ways, at very different ages, they also have some common attributes that we associated with the best leaders and the People Value Proposition. They have committed their lives to improve the lives of others. They are pursuing their visions with unshakable determination, dignity, and integrity. They understand the importance of seeking value in others, acknowledge it, and help to enable that value to flourish.

To further illustrate the historical impact of women leaders, I offer the following examples of accomplished women.

Joan of Arc

The daughter of a tenant farmer in northwestern France, she never learned to read or write. However, the teachings of the Catholic Church were instilled in her. By the age of 13, she began to receive what she called “divine messages from God to save France.” At the age of 18, she led the French army to defeat the English Burgundians at Orleans.

She was widely respected among French forces; however, some thought she was becoming too powerful and accused her of witchcraft, heresy, and dressing like a man. She was burned at the stake in 1431, at age 19, and canonized as a saint in 1920.

Harriet Tubman

Born into slavery in 1820 as Araminta Ross, she later adopted her mother’s name, Harriet. In 1844, she married John Tubman, a free black man. Harriet worked as a maid, field hand, nurse, woodcutter, and as a scout and spy for the Union army during the Civil War. Her greatest accomplishment was as an abolitionist and leader of the Underground Railroad. Through the railroad, Harriet led hundreds of slaves to freedom.

Historian Thomas Wentworth Higgins referred to Harriet Tubman as “the greatest heroine of the age.” The following quote by Harriet captures her tenacious spirit and determination, “There were one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other; for no man should take me alive.” She died in Auburn, New York, in 1913.

Frances Hesselbein

Hesselbein grew up in the mountains of western Pennsylvania. Following the death of her father, she dropped out of college after completing one semester to help care for her family. She went on to have a remarkable professional career, holding the position of president or CEO in four different companies. She often remarked that she had never applied for any of the positions and, in fact, had tried to refuse three of them.

Her last and most prominent position was as the CEO of the Girl Scouts of America. During her 13-year tenure, minority membership tripled, 250,000 new members were added, and the sale of cookies grew to over $300 million per year.

Peter Drucker, renowned author and management guru, described Hesselbein as “the best CEO in the US,” noting, “She could manage any company in America.” She died in 1915 at the age of 106.

Mary T. Barra

Born in 1961, Barra was 18 when she started working at General Motors. She earned a degree in electrical engineering from General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) and an MBA from Stanford University. She returned to GM and, over the next 15 years, began her ascent to the position of CEO of General Motors. In 2014, she became the first woman CEO to lead a major U.S. auto company.

Barra led GM to develop the Chevy Bolt EV, the first electric car for under $40,000, beating rival Tesla. She is known for her unique leadership style that utilizes her in-depth knowledge of the auto industry and cross-functional collaboration supported by three basic rules:

1. Keep it honest and keep it simple.

2. Make it about the company and the customer.

3. Use kinetic energy (their own energy) to mobilize people.

The women described in these examples, as well as countless others known and unknown embody many of the leadership qualities I have discussed in this book. Each embraces the principles of the People Value Proposition.

GENDER BIAS

Society has established numerous institutional and cultural barriers designed to exclude or diminish a woman’s right to lead. These barriers are based on false assumptions about what a woman thinks, understands, needs, or is capable of doing.

If an employer has ever hesitated to hire a woman based on a concern for her commitment to her family, potential desire to have children, or ability to function under pressure, then explicit bias exists. The ethnicity of women can also influence hiring decisions even before they are in an organization.

I recall working with a White recruiter to hire a physician. My decision was to hire a Latina woman. The recruiter questioned the wisdom of my decision, given that I was African American in a predominantly White organization. I viewed this as a fairly blatant manifestation of racism embedded in the organization’s culture. I ignored this concern and focused on the training and experience of the individual and knew that she would be an asset to my team. I hired her, and she proved to be a solid contributor to the medical staff.

I believe hiring practices based on unwritten or subtle rules may be carried out by men and women in hiring positions. These individuals are complicit in the bias of the institutional culture, perhaps because they are concerned about retribution from superiors. In the Mckinsey Report Delivering on Diversity, the data on the United States shows, “Women hold a disproportionately small share of line roles on executive teams, but women of color (including Black, Latina, and Asian) hold an even smaller share.”

As the “Me Too” movement has gained public recognition, more women and men are stepping forward to acknowledge these concerns about gender abuse and intimidation. These gender concerns are now coupled with an intense focus on improving diversity, equity, and inclusion across all organizations and industries.

Gender bias is also manifested in the inability of some leaders to accept women as peers, meaningful contributors to the leadership team, and participants in strategic dialogue. For example, a woman who makes a statement similar to that of a male counterpart, with comparable tone and inflection, may be described as “bossy, aggressive, cold, emotional or opinionated” while the man is deemed “assertive, decisive, forceful.”

Indeed, thought patterns, actions, and decisions that tend to minimize the role of women and negate their ability to provide leadership undermine the ultimate success of an organization. Thought patterns need to change, and definitive actions must be taken to change the perception about women’s ability to lead.

There is hope. The Missing Pieces Report: 2018 Board Diversity Census of Women and Minorities on Fortune 500 Boards, a multiyear study published by Deloitte and the Alliance for Board Diversity, found that 38.6 % of the Fortune 100’s board seats and 34% of the Fortune 500’s board seats are held by women and minorities. Both represent increases over 2016. At this rate, the percent of women and minorities on the respective boards could reach 40% by 2024.

Further analysis of the Fortune 500 seats gained by women between 2016 and 2018 reveals the following:

• White women continue to be the largest segment of women on the boards with an increase of 124 seats, up 13.9%.

• African-American women gained 32 seats, an increase of 28.2%.

• Asian/Pacific Islander women gained 17 seats, an increase of 38.6%.

• Hispanic/Latina women gained 4 seats, an increase of 9.8%.

The strongest correlation with diversity on these boards was the longevity of the company on the Fortune 500 hundred list. This suggests that the leaders of these organizations recognized the value that diversity could bring to their organizations; the organizations’ longevity and profitability validate that vision.

A closer look at the Fortune 100 seats gained shows:

• The largest gains in 2018 were made by African-American and White women, with each gaining 13 seats, respectively.

• Asian/Pacific Islander women gained four seats.

• Hispanic/Latina women lost three seats.

The loss of seats by Hispanic/Latina women is not adequately explained in the report, given the importance of the Hispanic demographics and buying power in the U.S. Demographics (who you are, where you live, social-economic status) and buying power (ability to purchase a wide range of goods and services) are key drivers of marketing strategies for companies and are incentives for diverse workforces and governing boards.

The value of women in leadership roles is supported by research. A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center regarding women in business revealed that closing the gender gap would increase the global economy by nearly $28 trillion. Companies that committed to developing a gender-diverse executive leadership experienced 25% greater profitability. In addition, they were:

• 34% better at working out compromises.

• 34% more likely to be ethical and honest.

• 25 % more likely to stand up for their beliefs.

• 30 % more likely to provide fair pay.

• 25 % more effective at mentoring.

All of these attributes can contribute significantly to an organization’s ability to retain the best employees and achieve greater productivity and profitability.

GENDER PAY GAP

The inequity of women’s pay is nothing new. Before 1830, nearly all-American women worked from home. The 19th century Industrial Revolution created a critical need for an expanded workforce, and women stepped up to meet that need. Factories and mills in New England began hiring women who worked 14-hour days under deplorable conditions. In 1844, the first labor group was formed in Lowell, Massachusetts. The Lowell Female Labor Reform Association advocated for better working conditions and a 10-hour workday.

Conditions were far from ideal. Seventy percent of female immigrants arriving in New York City between 1880 and 1930 went to work in factories. Girls as young as eight years old and women as old as 60 worked long hours, for low pay, in unsafe conditions.

One of those individuals was Pauline Newman.

Born in Lithuania, she and her family immigrated to New York City in 1901. At the age of eight, Newman began working at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, putting in 70-80 hours each week for $1.50 per week.

As a teenager, she gained a reputation as an avid activist for improving working conditions and higher pay. She was often at the center of planning strategies, leading strikes, and energizing crowds. In 1909, Newman quit her job at the Triangle factory and was appointed general organizer for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU). In this role, she traveled around the county organizing garment workers to achieve better working conditions and pay.

The battle for equal pay continued as women began to fill jobs usually occupied by men during World War II. In 1945, Congress proposed the Women’s Equal Pay Act that stated women should be paid the same wage as men when performing the same job. Unfortunately, the measure failed to pass.

A renewed effort came during the administration of President John F. Kennedy when the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was passed as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. It was the first federal law to address gender discrimination. The Act mandated employers to pay equal wages and benefits to men and women performing the same job with the same skill, effort, and responsibility. It also included guidelines for when unequal pay was permitted, e.g., merit, seniority, quantity of production.

Significant progress has been made over the past five decades, but according to the 2018 Bureau of Labor Statistics, women 16 years of age and older working full-time are paid 81 cents compared to every dollar paid to men. This gap spans all occupations and extends across all 50 states for women working comparable jobs and hours per week. The question of why women are still paid less than men is yet to be answered or rectified.

Being aware of this historical perspective should incentivize leaders of today to act with a sense of urgency to end this legacy of inequality. Equal pay for equal work should be more than a slogan; it should be a reality championed by leaders of the 21st century. Leaders have a responsibility to promote, establish, and ensure women’s access and equity in every organization.

Excerpted from The People Value Proposition: See One, Do One, Teach One . . . LEAD: A Physician’s Journey to Leadership by Stanley E. Harris, MD, MA.

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