Woman, uninterrupted

Deborah Gillis took over as president and CEO of Catalyst in January. She talks about what Fortune 500 companies have done right in promoting inclusive workplaces, and how women can become a stronger part of corporate boards.

On the debate over women in the workforce.
When we started, the debate was: How can U.S. businesses and the economy (in the ’60s) benefit from—and encourage—highly educated women who had left work to raise their children to come back? We worked with individual women, offering advice on how they could write their resumes and prepare for interviews, and [generally] readying them to return to the workplace. In the subsequent decades, we made an important shift—from fixing women to fixing organisations.
Today, Catalyst’s work is with companies, helping each of our 700 member organisations shape their culture, policies, and practices so that women have equal opportunities to succeed. These companies understand that women are a critical part of the global talent pool.

On the impact of Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In.
Sheryl has been a powerful role model for men and women around the world. The book is wonderful. So much of what she talks about in it resonates with me and the work we do at Catalyst. I’d like to add to her message: Just as women must lean into their careers, organisations must lean in too. Our research backs this up: Even when women adopt the same strategies to manage their careers, have the same aspirations to succeed as men, and don’t have children, their career experiences are very different from those of their male colleagues. Even when women lean in, if their organisations are not leaning in as well with the kind of support they need to succeed—equal opportunity and inclusive workplaces—women will be pushing a boulder up a mountain.

On the biases that colour the idea of entrepreneurship and leadership.
There is a ‘think leader, think male’ mindset. Nearly all stereotypes of what leadership looks like and what the attributes are to be successful in business tend to be male-centric. This poses [unique] challenges for women entrepreneurs. Our research also shows that men tend to be rewarded based on potential, and women based on performance. If you think about women who want to start a business, looking for venture capitalists or other forms of investors, and looking to recruit a team, [they often don’t have] the same degree of confidence [as their male counterparts]—unless they have proven performance. If a man says, “I have a great idea,” there is a greater inclination to say, “I think he can do it.” For a woman, even if she has done it before, often it’s more difficult.

I suspect that some of the dynamics we see with women in the corporate sector come into play when they want to start a business. This is because the leadership stereotypes are pretty consistent. If some of the early women, who were leaders in technology, had been recognised for their contributions, they would have been very powerful role models that both men and women could look up to. That would have made a significant difference in the number of women who chose careers in the STEM [science, technology, engineering, mathematics] field.

How Fortune 500 companies encourage women leaders.
At important stages of their careers, women in these companies have consistently had opportunities to be in jobs that were critical for their business. Such opportunities positioned them for successful leadership roles. The most recent example is Mary Barra, who became the first woman to lead an automotive company as CEO of General Motors (GM). Mary had played a critical role in product development for GM as it was coming out of the financial meltdown and re-establishing itself in the market. She drove that process. The role earned her visibility and marked her leadership at such an important [time for] the business. These women are obviously smart, confident, and talented with the background they need to be successful. But what’s most important is they had the support within their companies.

We also see that many of these women have sponsors who ensure they have the right opportunities and support along the way. Take [Indra] Nooyi. One of her former bosses called her to say, “I have got a new assignment for you at the company.” Her response was: “Oh, I don’t think this is the right thing for me,” to which he said, ‘No, this is the right thing for you’. [Nooyi of course went on to become the CEO of Pepsico.] The same can be said about Ellen Kullman, CEO of Du Pont. Her predecessor Chad Holliday spent a long time developing women in senior leadership roles, and being a champion for Ellen to progress in her career path.

Recently, Chanda Kochhar, CEO of ICICI Bank, joined our board. She has been a very successful leader, and it helps when she shares her experiences with us.
The truth is, what it takes for women to be successful is the same as what it takes for men. But our research shows that women are less likely to get those opportunities, the mission-critical hot jobs, or sponsors advocating on their behalf. When those are in place, it becomes a level playing field.

What it takes to get women on corporate boards.
In the U.S., women hold around 17% of Fortune 500 board seats. That number has not changed in a year. [Clearly,] there is work to do for women’s representation on boards. Typically, when there is a conversation about women on boards, most people say, “We’d like to have a woman, but can’t find one.” [The thing is,] board searches are done based on networks and relationships, so this is not [really] a supply problem. It is a myth that there aren’t [enough] qualified women who can be board members.

In India, you have a legislation that requires at least one woman on the board of a company. It is an important first step to have one woman on the board. But it is often difficult to be the only woman on a board. Our research shows that the benefits in terms of financial performance significantly increase when there are more women, with an environment to be truly effective and recognised for their contribution. If there are three women on a board, we’d call it critical mass. But even one [can be] an important step, as Indian companies look more broadly and deeper for women to contribute at the board level.