Women don’t lack ambition – organisations keep misreading them
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Organisations routinely misjudge women’s commitment and ambition, then overlook them for the development and promotions that lead to senior roles, according to a former regional HR director, who argued that gender equity will only advance when it is measured, tied to pay and treated as core business strategy.
Where organisations go wrong
Avril Henry AM, who was part of the Westpac team that introduced the first corporate paid maternity leave scheme at a publicly listed company in Australia, and has served in senior HR roles at Merrill Lynch and Clayton Utz, as well as in senior strategic advisory roles for the Royal Australian Navy and Australian Army, told HR Leader that a common error on the part of organisations is the assumption that women with children are less committed than people without them.
"At a subconscious level", said Henry – whose memoir, Not All Diamonds Are Worn, was recently released – this is then used to decide against sending women on leadership programs or seriously considering them for senior jobs. She points out that some of the fastest-growing businesses in Australia are run by educated, skilled women under 40 who have decided to take career progression into their own hands rather than wait for organisations to do it for them.
A second myth is that women are not as ambitious as men. In Henry’s view, women are as ambitious as men, but have been socialised to "wait their turn", whereas men more readily speak up when they want a promotion or new job. Women are not offered the same development opportunities as men and are again reluctant to ask, she said.
Leaders also wrongly assume women do not want leadership positions. Because of socialisation and unconscious bias, Henry argued, women do not put their hands up; they wait to be noticed and work hard to demonstrate their value without talking about themselves or their achievements.
She also warns that women often leave without warning. "Unlike men who will often tell you why they are leaving, women will simply leave after finding another job," she said, and recommends HR coach senior leaders to hold open conversations with female employees about their expectations for career, development and remuneration.
Measure it, and tie it to pay
Drawing on her accounting background, Henry said "What gets measured, gets done!" HR should put KPIs in place to ensure women are considered for development programs, promotions and pay rises, including bonuses.
At Merrill Lynch, she said, a portion of senior managers' variable compensation, such as bonuses and commission, was tied to the number of women being given the same opportunities, pay rises, and bonuses as men at the same level. "It was not surprising how quickly gender equity became a practical outcome," Henry said.
In Defence, she insisted that every group of five officers in group coaching include at least one, and preferably two, female officers. Over a five-year period, she said, this made a significant difference to the progression of female officers, who were receiving the same leadership coaching as their male peers.
Strategy, not slogan
Henry argued that equity and inclusion become a strategy only when embedded in overall business strategy across attraction, recruitment, development and retention. It should be "simply how we do business", she said, rather than an add-on where boxes are ticked once a year for compliance reporting.
That requires HR to be an equal participant in the annual business strategy session. "Without people, there is no business," she said. HR can hold leaders accountable by recommending and setting KPIs for how many women and men are considered in recruitment, promotions, pay raises, bonuses and career development. It should also insist that external recruiters include women on all shortlists. When women are missing, HR must ask: "Where are the women on this list?"
Why challengers are labelled "difficult"
Women who question the status quo are often seen as "difficult" or "too much", Henry said, and she believes this reveals a culture in which dissent is treated as disruption rather than an opportunity to hear new ideas or find better, quicker or less costly alternatives. The people most listened to, she argued, are those who agree with leaders, who generally do not want to be challenged or to explain their decisions.
She added that people are often most comfortable with those who look, sound and behave like them, which is why diversity is frequently seen as challenging. To build an innovative, open and inclusive culture, she said, leaders should listen to all points of view, ask open questions and listen to the answers, encourage debate, treat mistakes as learning opportunities and respect all employees. "When this happens people feel heard, and valued," she said.
Persistent barriers
Henry’s interviews found that the 10 most common barriers to women's advancement were the same across four generations and countries as varied as the USA, France, Australia, South Africa and China. She attributes them largely to the socialisation of women to be "nice girls" and wait their turn, along with several myths about women.
The barriers she listed include myths that women are not as ambitious and competitive as men, less committed at work once they have children, and that they get too emotional, and most don't like conflict
Other hurdles included: women lacking self-confidence and self-belief, thinking they are not good or experienced enough for senior roles, and doubting their abilities and suffer from "the imposter syndrome"
Priorities for HR leaders
In Henry’s opinion, these barriers are hard to shift because most senior leaders remain controlling, resistant to change even while professing to be change agents, and see smart, educated women as taking their jobs. She described many leaders as members of the "PMS brigade": pale, male and stale.
Her central recommendation is to include women in every leadership program and every succession plan. Targets must carry measurable KPIs, she said, with consequences if they are missed.
Each business unit and support unit leader should commit to targets that directly affect their variable compensation. Where an organisation has no variable compensation, leaders should explain shortfalls in writing as part of monthly management and financial reporting, and these shortfalls should feed into performance reviews for them to have real impact. Targets should be set for the next 12 months, two to three years, and five years to cover short, medium and long-term planning.
"What gets measured (and affects the individual hip pocket) gets done,” Henry concluded.
RELATED TERMS
According to the Australian Human Rights Commission, discrimination occurs when one individual or group of people is regarded less favourably than another because of their origins or certain personality traits. When a regulation or policy is unfairly applied to everyone yet disadvantages some persons due to a shared personal trait, that is also discrimination.
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