Women Leaders in CA - Stagnation!
Today marks the 2009 release of the UC Davis Census of Women Leaders where they are reporting that once again, the number of women in the C suite and on Boards of the top 400 public companies in the state of California is a paltry 10.6% which is DOWN from the 10.9% number reported in 2008.
Equally shocking is that 118 (29.5%) of California’s largest 400 public companies have no women board directors or executive officers. Only 15 of the 400 companies have a woman CEO. The Bay area has the county with the greatet percentage of women directors - San Francisco (15.7%), as well as the county with the least - Santa Clara (8.2%) - the heart of Silicon Valley.
I was really excited to participate in an NPR interview this morning until the first comment from a listener came in with the remark about why are we even talking about this issue since many women want to stay at home to take care of kids while their husbands bring home the paycheck.
When asked to respond to this, I could only comment that it is an example of the gender bias and stereotyping that exists for both women and men that keep things stagnating the way they are.
The reason I don’t understand why we have to talk about this issue is that there is so much data out there supporting that when there is diversity of all kinds in the board room and the C Suite that there is better financial performance, more measured risk taking, and greater creative thinking and problem solving due to the diversity of backgrounds, disciplines, gender, race etc.
Organizations will face a major talent shortage in the near future as qualified, educated women (more women graduating with MBA’s than men for example) will look at those companies who created intention around having diversity of all kinds as a better place to work. Those who create sponsorships to create opportunities for women, who measure the degree of diversity in hiring and who actually walk the talk will be the ones who win the talent competition.
Women also can influence changing this picture by learning how to network more strategically to break into the power circles where decisions are made; negotiate higher salaries rather than justifying what is offered; and seeking out and accepting roles they might need to stretch into.
Men will take a role if they are 50% qualified and feel they will figure it out when they get there. Women tend to feel they need 100% of the competencies before they can accept the role.
This issue is about choice. Maria Shriver’s recent report on women talks about how roles are changing as many women are the main career bread winner and the husband stays home to take care of things on that front. And, there are many women who are choosing to stay home to relish the valuable time they will have with their children.
The point is, there is not one right answer here. But corporate America seems to be stuck in a model of one way of doing things that does not support the aspirations, life challenges, or goals that many women have.
We’re having a dialogue about this issue tonight with Dean Currall of UC Davis Graduate School of Business, Maureen Connors, Board Member of Decker Outdoor Corporation (in the Top 25 companies in CA on the UC Davis list); Karen Rohde, SVP of Sun Microsystems (being acquired by Oracle), Bethany Mayer, Chief Marketing Officer of BlueCoat, and Deborah Campbell, Director of Membership from Catalyst. Come join us at 6pm at DLA to continue this discussion or comment here on what you have to say about this very important issue.
November 20th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
[...] Wendy Beecham’s Blog, Nov. 19, 2009 [...]
November 21st, 2009 at 11:40 am
Women have no place in business.
November 22nd, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Wendy - thanks so much for taking a lead on this issue. It was terrific to see FWE&E partner with UC Davis. Congrats on the significant media coverage and getting out the message.
December 11th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
The UC Davis study provides interesting data but I think it is key to note that their study included only the top 5 paying positions within the companies they surveyed. I think we would see more encouraging data with a study that included the entire top executive team and even more woman-friendly statistics if the study included all VPs and above.
Studies show that women are not as motivated by money as men are so it is not surprising that the top 5 highest paid positions would be held by men. Also, some of these very top positions likely are occupied by men who got to that level before women began breaking through the glass ceiling.
So to our friends at UC Davis perhaps an idea for a grant proposal would be to do a broader study.
December 15th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Interesting statistics which again point out the need for women to learn to promote themselves. I tell my clients at Performance Power Media that in order to do good work in the world, you must first be KNOWN. Then amazing and wonderful things can happen.
December 23rd, 2009 at 5:16 pm
[...] say it is, I just figured it was only things like boards of directors in places like the UK and California, not bias against something as basic as your [...]
January 14th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Women need examples to be encouraged to stay it the workforce, and companies need to address this in a concerted effort and an openness and understanding of the issues they face. Until there is equitable pay, the women will leave. They make less and the family will naturally opt for the larger compensation.