Diane Danielson, Author at Real Leaders

Think you can’t do anything about gender inequality in the workplace? Stop thinking and take action! Here are 6 things (some easier than others) we can all do either individually or as an organization to support gender equality in the workplace in 2016.

Talk about the gender gap in terms of expected behavior. Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant wrote about how bias awareness may actually cause more discrimination. Studies have shown that reminding leaders that companies still institutionalize gender gaps could backfire and reinforce that it remains standard behavior. In 2016, we need to discuss the gender gap in terms of expected behavior, i.e. “smart companies like XYZ Corp. profit from gender diversity,” and not just reprimand for past or existing behavior.
Create accountability for diversity. In Harvard Business Review, Deborah Ashton, Chief Diversity Officer for Novant Health, recommends determining pay by value to the organization and not by past salaries. Why? Because women may have been “gender gapped” at a previous job. Ashton also suggests that HR departments create more transparency in their criteria for raises and bonuses; perform annual pay equity analyses; and assign individuals responsibility for pay equity.
Apply the 20% rule. The 2020 Women on Boards campaign goal is to increase the percentage of women on Boards of Directors to 20% by the year 2020. Why 20%? Stephanie Sonnabend, founder of 2020 WOB, defines diversity as having at least 20% women in the boardroom. “This creates diversity of thinking which is critical for good decision making, and better represents a company’s shareholders, employees and customers,” says Sonnabend. If you visit the 2020 WOB site and sign up as a supporter, you will receive monthly emails with links for you to send a pre-written email to a company that does not have 20% diversity on their board. Just one click and you can educate them as to why diversity is a profitable endeavor.
Apply the 20% rule everywhere. While we should definitely seek to increase women in leadership positions, we can also look around us to see if there is at least 20% diversity in our departments, in our meetings, on our committees, and even on our vendor lists. It’s easy mental math to do, and a good habit to form. If you don’t see at least 20%, point it out and suggest women who could be included. Learn more about inclusive capitalism from Sallie Krawcheck, chair of Ellevate Network.
Give women the benefit of the doubt. Women rarely get the benefit of the doubt in business situations and that leads to subconscious gender discrimination. Outdated stereotypes continue to be a huge detriment to company performance and often stems from our own internal biases. We need to get over it and stop creating performance obstacles that exist only in our heads and not in reality. I recently wrote about this issue in 5 things women can do to overcome the doubt.
Stay informed. There are a number of resources to keep you informed on gender issues in the workplace. Follow sites like https://www.leanin.org (@leanInOrg); https://5050×2020.org (@5050×2020), https://www.2020wob.com/ (@2020WOB) and Emma Watson’s https://www.heforshe.org (@heforshe) on Facebook, twitter and/or Instagram. Sign up for Caroline Fairchild’s The Broadsheet – a daily email that keeps you up to date on some of the most powerful women in business as well as sharing interesting gender-related stories from around the Internet. (Caroline’s twitter = @cfair1). You should also follow Sallie Krawcheck, chair of Ellevate Network (@EllevateNtwk) on LinkedIn.

If everyone does at least one of the above actions and/or shares this article with their networks, we can collectively make a difference and help prevent women from being left out and gender gapped. Have other ideas for 2016? Please add them to the comments below.

We all know that Millennials are challenging our traditional work environments. But the big question is “why?” Why are Millennials challenging the system rather than assimilating like earlier generations?

I struggled with finding an explanation other than demographics until I read a sentence written by professor Adam Grant in his recent book: Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World.

“The hallmark of originality is rejecting the default and exploring whether a better operation exists.” – Adam Grant.

Millennials are rejecting the default and it’s disconcerting, but necessary and in my view, a very good thing. When it comes to the work environment, Generation X, Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation don’t just represent the default … we are the default. This might be why so many of us take this personally. Why are Millennials so eager and able to reject a default that has been in place for generations?

Two reasons: technology and societal shift.

Technology. Millennials are digital natives. They grew up with technology and view everything through a technological filter. They look at our daily lives and think “there’s got to be an app for that.” It’s ingrained in them to use technology to question, dismantle, and reconfigure processes. They are rejecting the default option in search of a better way.

Societal shift. Generation X and Baby Boomers actually know people who worked 40 hours a week for 40 years at the same company, earned that gold watch and retired at 65 to play golf in Florida. We also know of people who had pensions; who were protected by unions; and for whom a single breadwinner could support a family even while working for a minimum wage. This is the default.

But, Millennials are not part of that default. Retire at 65? Not if they are still paying off their college loans. Pensions, funded 401ks, or a home with equity for retirement? Not likely. Even if we set aside monetary limitations, people are living longer. Retiring at 65 is no longer that appealing or feasible for most. The default no longer works, and this is why Millennials are forcing us to re-examine everything about our work culture.

One example of this came out of our recent SVN Millennials Career report (How Commercial Real Estate Firms can Attract and Retain Millennials) around the topic of flexibility in the workplace. According to our survey, flexibility of hours and location for work was a top five “must have” for Millennials and in fact, more men than women cited it as an important factor when choosing companies. This is quite a switch from 5-10 years ago when flexibility was a “woman” or “parent” issue. To even mention the word back then would set you on the Mommy track.

But, what is driving this new quest for flexibility? Part of it goes back to the technology filters. If technology allows us to work wherever and whenever we want, why can’t we? If culturally no one is racing to retirement and the other default rewards don’t exist, why do we have to stick to a 9-5, 5 days per week schedule? Flexibility does not mean Millennials want to work less. In fact, most want to work more, but they also want to work smarter… and to avoid rush hour. When the default is sitting an extra 30 to 60 minutes in traffic, when you don’t actually have to… why do we?

It’s not about a different work ethic. It’s about a different work style.

That’s an important distinction to make; especially because that different work style benefits more than just Millennials. Opening up the flexibility conversation beyond women and parents is a benefit to all employees, whether it’s the single employee who doesn’t have anyone to help them drop off a car for repairs or wait for a furniture delivery; the Gen X’er dealing with aging parents; or the Baby Boomer who wants to take a brief career pause or sabbatical.

If you look around, the default no longer works for the majority of us, and this is why the Millennials’ rejection of the default is a very good thing.

Please visit our SVNICorp YouTube page to see my recent keynote to learn more about the how Millennials are challenging and changing how and where we live and work.