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by Rachel Short 29.JUN.2015

Talent Management

WOMEN AT THE TOP – THE DOWNTON EFFECT

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The economic case for promoting women is strong,but it’s being overtaken by broader societal shifts,argues Rachel Short. Here she explains, with a littlehelp from Downton Abbey, why it pays to keep an eyeon the past, present and future to really understandthe levers of change.

After writing a broadly upbeat YQ article in 2010 predicting an upturn in demand for female corporate leadership, a YQ

dedicated in 2015 to diversity and difference prompted me to reevaluate my previously bullish mindset. Results on the ground

can feel at best incremental and at worst elusive, but there has been progress. In the UK, there has been a noticeable shift of

attitude towards gender diversity in the boardroom. The tippingpoint of 30% female representation is increasingly seen as a

‘needtohave’, rather than a ‘nicetohave’ strategic goal that has focused attention on the gender balance at different stages

within corporate executive pipelines. The war for talent has an added kick now that diversity is in the mix.

Interestingly, the business case for change – i.e. demonstrable economic benefits that cooccur with gender diverse leadership

(causality remains tricky to prove conclusively) – is being overtaken by broader societal norms that are contextualising and

shaping corporate strategy. Becoming more aware of these ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors should help all wouldbe change agents to

reframe the agenda for gender parity and accelerate the pace of change.

It took some time to decide on an appropriate illustration for a diverse YQ readership. But love it as iconic storytelling or loathe

it as soft nationalism, three types of pressure for change are brought to life in Britain’s favourite Sunday night TVviewing,

Downton Abbey.

The key plot mechanism revolves around the sociohistorical period effects of wholesale adjustment following WWI, including

universal suffrage. A secondary plot device revolves around the mismatches in social expectation between one generation and

another. These cohort effects are often observed in a pithy putdown by the Dowager Countess on the habits of the younger

generation within the Crawley household. Finally, more subtle plot shifts occur through the evolution of individual characters as

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‘Period effects’ – broad patterns of behavioural change acrosssociety

they acquire life experience. Each episode prompts us to reflect on these lifecycle effects: for instance, Lady Mary’s shifting

criteria for selecting her second husband.

Each of these three timederived sources of differences in attitudes and behaviours – period, cohort and lifecycle – have a

distinct bearing on the career progression of women in companies.

Women’s economic and political participation is on

the up. Although women fare differently from one

part of the world, from one country and from one district to another, the global trend is emergent but clear. The Nordic

economies have led the field in showing how it is possible for both parents to combine work and family – enabling high female

employment, more equitable distribution of labour at work and at home, and better worklife balance for both sexes. In some

cases, this has revived flagging fertility rates, helping to allay longer term concerns about an aging population. The macro

economic implications of women’s increasing participation are shaping the backdrop for global and local organisational strategy

and success.

Women’s lives are no longer defined by their fertility. Globally, birth rates are dropping and increasing numbers of women are

combining caregiving with breadwinning. In the UK, the gap in employment rates for women with and without children has

narrowed 66.5% of mothers vs 67.3% of women without children are in paid employment. 44% of mothers with dependent

children under the age of 18 are in fulltime employment. And domestic arrangements are diversifying, with dual career

couples on the up. In the US, 57.5% of married parents describe themselves as dualcareer. UK employment rates are higher for

mothers living with a partner than for single mothers (71.8% vs 55.4%), but an increasing proportion of mothers are their

family’s main breadwinner. 40% of all US households with children under the age of 18 have mothers who are either the sole or

primary source of family income. These female breadwinners are made up of two very different groups: 5.1 million (37%) are

married mothers, who earn a higher income than their husbands, and 8.6 million (63%) are single mothers. Organisations

have been slow to respond to this social shift, with too many still operating under an increasingly outdated assumption that

careeroriented working mothers are the exception rather than the norm.

Education is preparing women for a knowledge economy. In several countries, women now make up more than 50% of

university graduates entering the workforce. In Europe, 40% of young women complete tertiary education compared with 32%

of men . In the US, 60% of bachelor degree holders are female. In the UK, the majority of graduates with 1st and 2:1 degree

classifications are female. The biggest shift has occurred in the Arab States, East Asia and the Pacific where parity has now been

achieved in the numbers of men and women in higher education. Yet gender imbalances emerge as students engage with the

political structures within academia. In virtually all countries, men still outstrip women in research posts, accounting for 56% of

all PhD graduates and 71% of researchers. Women are spending more. The oftcited figure of 85% of consumer purchasing

decisions being controlled or influenced by women is difficult to verify, as both genders tend to rate themselves equally highly

in terms of their personal control of the family purse/wallet. Still, women represent a bigger emerging market than China and

India combined. Globally, they control about $20 trillion in annual consumer spending and that figure could climb as high as

$28 trillion in the next five years. Women are equally influential in B2B market dynamics, boosting the client experience and

revenue generation. The involvement of women in business development has been shown to lead to more exploration and

insight into client needs, deeper collaboration, and both optimisation and maximisation of client solutions. Relatively few

organisations appear to have cottoned on to the benefits of putting more women into direct marketfacing roles.

Women’s online activity is shaping market dynamics and demand. Technology has opened up and democratised the global

marketplace. Instant online reactions to brands, products and services are shifting the balance of power from corporations to

individuals. As early as 2000, women overtook men in internet usage. They now account for 58% of all total online spending. In

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‘Cohort effects’ – attitudinal differences between one generationand the next

2013, 74% of women used social networking sites compared with 62% of men. 78% of women in the US go online for product

information before making a purchase. Women are significantly more likely to share their likes and interests via Facebook than

men. Digitalisation is increasingly seen as a source of competitive advantage for many of our clients. Yet the interplay between

gender and a digitalised market strategy is relatively underresearched. We see CIOs really valuing their scarce functional

female talent. CMOs and Strategy Directors are slightly behind the curve in comparison.

So what do these ‘period effects’ mean for efforts to diversify organisational leadership? ‘Reflecting the communities in which

we operate’ is a stock phrase in Annual Reports. But a clearer understanding of the gravitational pull of women on market

dynamics may be a stronger force for pulling more women through the middle of the executive pipeline. Farsighted marketing

and sales teams should be leaning in alongside their HR colleagues to provide a gender lens on what is needed here and now.

Even the most conservative elements at Downton Abbey have responded to the rise of women’s purchasing power. After a

persistent lobbying campaign by his daughters, the Earl of Grantham has reluctantly purchased and installed a wireless set in

the library.

Progress in health provision, increased life

expectancy and deferred retirement mean

organisations may now employ up to five discrete generations concurrently. Much has been written already about generational

differences. Adding a gender lens can sharpen organisational responses to their resourcing challenges.

The WWII Generation (born up to 1946). Not all but some WWIIers have opted to work beyond a contractually

anticipated retirement date. Agerelated stereotypes abound, but cognitive research shows that age does not necessarily entail

inability to learn. Indeed, WWIIers’ combination of corporate memory, emotional maturity, and desire to pass on their insights

mean they are often a source of wisdom. Socially active and prominent female WWIIers are inspiring role models for their

capacity to remain relevant in a rapidly changing world – the writers Maya Angelou and Diana Athill, for example, or the

political economist Elinor Ostrom, or fashion icon Vivienne Westwood. These trailblazers radiate authenticity and comfort in

their own skin, providing a direct point of reference for millennial women. But arguably, it is the WWII malepowerbrokers

who are having the most influence on corporate attitudes towards gender diversification (see lifecycle effects below).

The Baby Boomer Generation (born between 1946 and 1965). Likely to occupy most senior management positions,

Baby Boomers’ attitudes towards gender diversity are mixed and dependent on personal experiences that are close to home.

Very senior female Baby Boomer leaders have tended to succeed professionally by outperforming their male peers throughout

their careers, without necessarily redefining ‘the rules of the game’. Women like US Fed chair, Janet Yellen, and IMF chief,

Christine Lagarde, have both worked hard to ensure that their personal success in breaking through the glass ceiling is used to

good effect in encouraging other women. But, iconic as they are, the narrative attached to these Baby Boomer superwomen

reinforces commonly held beliefs that existing corporate systems and structures are fundamentally meritocratic, rather than

demonstrating that only superwomen actually make it to the top. Challenges to the myth of meritocracy are particularly

unwelcome to the majority of powerbroking Baby Boomers, who feel that the current system works, so why change it. This is

perhaps the least engaged and best placed generation to deliver more gender diversity within organisations.

Generation X (born between 1966 and 1980). Populating several layers of management, Gen Xers are usually familiar

with the practical challenges of managing multiskilled, intergenerational, often geographically dispersed and virtual teams.

Gender diversity is usually just one facet of their role complexity. Female Gen Xers will not necessarily want to replicate their

Baby Boomer role models’ career strategy of outperforming. Female leaders like Facebook’s COO, Sheryl Sandberg, and the

moving force behind the 30% Club, Helena Morrissey, are aware of the need to encourage other women to engage early on in

lifeplanning and careerbuilding activity so that the numbers of women at each rank create a more collectively inclusive and

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‘Lifecycle effects’ – changes associated with accumulation ofexperience through different lifestages

adaptive environment for women and men. Female Gen Xers want role models (both male and female) who are professionally

empathetic and personally accessible but they want to craft their own narratives rather than copy someone else’s recipe for

success. Organisations that help them to do just that are likely to hold on to (or reattract) experienced midcareer female Gen

Xers.

Millennial aka Generation Y (born between 1981 and 2000). The disproportional representation of female achievers in

higher education is quickly eroded on entry into a tough labour market – gender gaps emerge early on with women taking lower

starting salaries for jobs of lower value. Millennials are traditionally seen as enjoying a variety of challenges: embracing

emerging technologies, and seeking meaningful work. Who they work with is as important as where they work and what they

do. For many Millennial women, diversity is implicit in their concept of work and life, and they feel untouched personally by

any gender bias. Yet recent research has shown that highflying Millennial women are likely to undershoot their aspirations and

feel less satisfied than their male counterparts with their achievements. Employers’ provisions to support blended lifestyles,

such as agile working, shared parental leave, and career breaks are attractive propositions to both male and female Millennials.

So what do these ‘cohort effects’ tell us about enabling more women to get to the top? Well, a ‘onesize fits all’ approach to

change interventions doesn’t reflect reality. Women’s experience differs as much from one generation to another, as it does with

men’s overall. Expecting senior women to shoulder responsibility for accelerating change for other women is unrealistic and

doomed to failure. Intersecting cohort differences with gender allows for more efficient interventions. Organisations will need

to be much savvier in targeting efforts to attract, engage and retain top female talent of each generational cohort. The recent

success of ‘returnships’ is a great example of tapping underutilised Gen X female expertise.

YSC and KPMG’s Cracking the Code research,

commissioned by the 30% Club, revealed how

progression in a corporate structure differs for men and women as they go through different life and career stages. This lays

down some big clues as to what works for women, and how that may vary from what works for men.

One key finding was a clear gender difference in the type of social capital that boosts career progression – particularly in early

lifestages. Women rely on 1:1 relationships purposefully designed to provide advice and support for their development –

typically access to a mentor, sponsor or coach. Men, on the other hand, find their everyday interactions with friends, family and

colleagues beneficial in their careerbuilding. This formal vs informal dichotomy is particularly visible for women starting out in

their careers.

The next differentiating lifestage is starting a family. This decision is a strong career inflection point that affects women’s

careers more directly than men’s. Women are particularly alert to any potential career slowdown around this time. They feel the

need to be promoted to ‘a place of safety’ – where they can take some ‘time out’ from their careers without loss of interest on

their return. Women express both anxiety along with a strong sense of reengagement with their careers on return from

maternity leave. Since 85% of maternity returners return to the same employer, organisations seem to be missing a trick in not

picking up more actively on this opportunity for psychological recontracting.

The next key lifestage is the postchildbearing period. Once liberated from primary responsibility for childcaring, women in

their midtolate forties report a resurgence of focus on achieving any unfulfilled career ambitions. This contrasts with men at

the same postchildrearing lifestage, who often express the need to find more balance and a broader purpose in their lives,

possibly in response to a plateauing of their careers.

Finally, one of the biggest differentiating lifestages that appears most differentiating is for men once they adopt a postcareer

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mindset. Several longserving FTSE100 chairmen have lent their political horsepower to enabling more women at the top in

society generally, as well as within their own organisations. Their personal advocacy is often linked with their lifestage as

fathers of adult daughters, who despite being capable, are experiencing career frustrations. This challenge to their own personal

experience, accompanied by clearsighted impartiality acquired over the course of a lengthy career allows them to push for

legacy change. Unlike the Earl of Grantham, who has struggled to understand that his wife wants personal freedoms that go far

beyond casting off her corsets, these champions for change come directly from the heart of the (still predominantly male)

corporate aristocracy.

So what does this all mean? Well, put simply, we need to adopt diverse approaches to this societal change agenda. Although

there has been much focus on policies and processes to help working women at the early stages of motherhood, there has been

rather less on ‘the midcareer surge’, or the early career navigational issues.

Society will continue to evolve in response to an everchanging global environment. It would be helpful if we became more

conscious of looking forwards, as well as backwards, to sharpen our reference points in spotting change as it happens around us

– and then making sure we address the underlying dynamics to best effect.