Thursday, November 28, 2013

Does Doing All the Right Things Really Get Women Ahead?

Does Doing All the Right Things Really Get Women Ahead?

Catalyst's longitudinal project, The Promise of Future Leadership: A Research Program on Highly Talented Employees in the Pipeline, develops timely reports on the retention and advancement of high potential women and men. The project surveys graduates of leading business schools in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia, with the intent of assessing their career values, goals, and expectations, the developmental opportunities afforded them, and their strategies for managing work and family life.
The fourth report ( Nancy M Carter & Christine Silva)The Myth of the Ideal Worker: Does Doing All the Right Things Really Get Women Ahead?, tackles persistent myths about the gender gap. Career advancement strategies used by women and men were compared to determine if using the same strategies ultimately leads to the same career outcomes.
Common wisdom about advancing in the workplace is straightforward: let your boss know you are ready for that challenging assignment. Make your career ambitions and willingness to put in the requisite time and effort clear. Do not just build a relationship with your boss; make sure to build one with your boss’ boss as well.
Sounds like good advice. But according to Catalyst’s latest report, The Myth of the Ideal Worker:  Does Doing All the Right Things Really Get Women Ahead?, men benefit from these strategies far more than women.
In fact, this report, which studied high potentials in the executive pipeline, reveals that while “doing all the right things” to get ahead works well for men, being proactive did not provide as great an advantage for women.
Regardless of chosen career strategy, the study shows that men outpace women in rate of advancement and compensation growth—starting with a $4,600 gap in their first post-MBA jobs which widens to $31,258 mid-career.
The same strategies do not work equally well for men and women. Women must adopt strategies different from their male colleagues’ to advance their careers. When women were proactive in making their achievements known, they advanced further, increased their compensation growth, and were more satisfied with their careers. They also advanced further when they proactively networked with influential others. Making their achievements known did not impact men’s careers. Rather, gaining access to influential others also helped men advance, and indicating a willingness to work long hours and conducting external scans for other opportunities helped men increase their salaries.
Catalyst suggests that corporate leaders ask: To what extent are employees in our organizations advanced and compensated based on strategic career tactics versus skills and performance? How are people being coached to get ahead? Are assumptions being made that what worked for men in the past will work for women? And when women and men apply the same career strategies, are they being reacted to and evaluated differently?
Deepali Bagati, , Senior Advisor, Catalyst.is engaged in developing knowledge products on women's status in India. Previously, as a Catalyst employee, she was responsible for overseeing research on workplace challenges for women of color and developing solutions for building more effective and inclusive work environments. Here she answers a few pertinent questions.
 Diplomacy, tact ,efficiency and effective PR? How much do these factors help women?
All of the above help women (and men), but our study shows that regardless of the career strategy adopted, women lagged men in advancement. That is, even when women do all the same things as men, their careers continue to lag. The larger message here is for leaders and individuals to recognize that the gender gap does not exist solely because of choices women are making. The study reveals it is not about what women do or do not do. It is about barriers, challenges, and unconscious biases in the workplace. And it is in the best interest of organizations to develop talent – regardless of gender.

 Yes, “women do ask" but they don’t get what they want viz-a-viz men....Is it because they are seen more as home-makers than intelligent career-oriented women?
Catalyst research has found that gender stereotypes are widely prevalent in the workplaces across the world. In India, women play a significant role as a home-maker, mother, daughter-in-law, daughter, wife etc. Men bring their gender stereotypes into the workplace, and their unconscious biases and stereotypes about women’s ability, ambition, and leadership influence their thinking and interactions—as leaders, managers, peers, and colleagues. That creates a challenging workplace for women, and organizations do not benefit from all talent.     
 Career strategy without efficiency and skill is certainly not a way to forge ahead...then why are women discriminated against?
In an ideal workplace, meritocracy will ensure the best candidate advances—regardless of gender and other dimensions of diversity. However, numbers tells us a different story. In India, women comprise 3% to 6% of senior management, whereas 23% women are employed by organisations. Catalyst research tells us that women experience certain barriers to advancement that are not experienced by men (lack of access to informal networks, lack of role models, and gender based stereotypes). Our recent research on Mentoring Insufficient for Advancement further confirms that men have mentors who act as sponsors and advocates for them—thereby helping with career advancement.
What changes can women make in their career strategy?
It is in the best interest of organizations to develop talent – regardless of gender. The business case for gender diversity is pretty clear. There are strategies that women can adopt, but the larger message for leaders and individuals is to recognize that the gender gap does not exist solely  because of choices women are making.
The study reveals it is not about what women do or don’t do. According to Catalyst research on sponsorship, high performers (women and men) can adopt the following:
•    Be reliable, collegial, perform above expectations
•    Become a ‘known entity’
•     Ask for and act on feedback
•     Craft an elevator speech and be ready to use it
•     Cultivate multiple sponsors, if possible specifically for women, cultivating relationships with influential others in the company and getting yourself and your work known/visible (so influential others will notice you) are important strategies.
How different /same are problems faced by women in the West?
According to Catalyst research on Leadership Gender Gap in India Inc., the following advancement barriers are faced by women relatively more than men, across regions and industries:·        
* Lack of key relationships
* Lack of role models.
* In India, we have additional challenges due to the cultural stereotypes regarding women’s roles and abilities. 
According to Ms. Ilene H. Lang, President & CEO, Catalyst.   “Just as individuals need to manage their careers effectively or risk lagging behind their peers, organizations must learn how to attract, develop, and retain high-potential women—or risk losing out to their competitors.”
• Women seem to be paid for proven performance—women who changed jobs two or more times post-MBA earned $53,472 less than women who rose through the ranks at their first job.

• In contrast, men seem to be paid for potential—men who had moved on from their first post-MBA job earned $13,743 more than those who stayed with their first employer.

• Across all career profiles, men were more likely to reach senior executive/CEO positions than women; in the most proactive category, 21 per cent of men advanced to leadership compared with 11 per cent of women.
The report effectively explodes persistent gender gap myths that continue to hold women back:
• Women DO “ask,” but asking does not close the gender pay or position gap. After their first post-MBA jobs, there were no gender differences in whether or not high potentials negotiated for greater compensation (63% of women vs. 54% of men) or for a higher position when beginning their current job (19% of women vs. 17% of men). Even though these women negotiate for more when they change jobs, our research shows that women’s compensation growth was faster when they remained with the same employer, where they had proven performance, than when they started with a new employer, who paid based on potential.

• Women are not seeking out slower career tracks. According to the study findings, women are less satisfied than men with their career growth. If women were intentionally seeking slower tracks, we would expect them to be as satisfied as men despite their slower advancement.
“This study busts the myth that ‘Women don't ask.’ In fact, they do! But it doesn't get them very far. Men, by contrast, don't have to ask. What's wrong with this picture?” said  Lang,
According to the report, which studied commonly used career strategies, the strategies adopted by high-potential women had little bearing on the rate at which they advanced to leadership. Conversely, men who applied the most proactive career strategies advanced further than other men.
Catalyst's longitudinal project, The Promise of Future Leadership: A Research Program on Highly Talented Employees in the Pipeline, develops timely reports on the retention and advancement of high potential women and men. The project surveys graduates of leading business schools in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia, with the intent of assessing their career values, goals, and expectations, the developmental opportunities afforded them, and their strategies for managing work and family life. The reports highlight the differences in women's and men's career experiences and satisfaction; some feature perspectives from global leaders and other experts.
The fourth report, The Myth of the Ideal Worker: Does Doing All the Right Things Really Get Women Ahead?, tackles persistent myths about the gender gap. Career advancement strategies used by women and men were compared to determine if using the same strategies ultimately leads to the same career outcomes. Findings revealed that:
* Men benefited more from adopting proactive strategies.
* When women did all the things they have been told will help them get ahead—using the same tactics as men—they still advanced less than their male counterparts and had slower pay growth.
The report includes a series of questions for the reader to reflect upon about why disparities in career advancement may exist and persist. The goal is to help identify opportunities for effecting change in your career and organization. 


Founded in 1962, Catalyst is the leading nonprofit membership organization expanding opportunities for women and business. With offices in the United States, Canada, Europe, and India, and more than 500 preeminent corporations as members, Catalyst is the trusted resource for research, information, and advice about

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