No. CCXXV; February 28, 2019
THIS ISSUE’S HIGHLIGHTS:
I.               CEOs & DELEGATIONS PREPARING FOR THE 2019 GLOBAL
SUMMIT OF WOMEN
II.               PUBLIC’S VIEWS OF MALE/FEMALE CEOs & THE COMPANIES
THEY LEAD
III.             BUSINESS CASE FOR INVESTING IN FRONTLINE WOMEN IN
RETAIL
IV.             WOMEN INVENTORS WITH PATENTS STILL A MINORITY
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1. CEOs & DELEGATIONS PREPARING FOR THE 2019 GLOBAL SUMMIT OF WOMEN

Forty CEOs, women and men, headline the 2019 Global Summit of Women in Basel, Switzerland on July 4-6, 2019.   Women running stock exchanges, tech-based enterprises, advertising firms, financial services, ports and logistics companies as well as top luxury brands are featured presenters at the 29-year-old premier business/economic forum hosted by Switzerland for the first time.   Prabha Parameswaran, President of Colgate Europe, Ali Faramawy, President of Microsoft Middle East, Marisa Drew, Credit Suisse Managing Director, Ulrich Spiesshofer, CEO of ABB, one of Europe’s largest technology companies, exemplify the range of diverse leadership at this Summit.

Planning to hear and to learn from these business leaders at this forum are large, equally diverse delegations of women achievers from Spain, China, Kazakhstan, Tunisia, Vietnam, France, South Korea, Mexico, Cameroon and Germany. They are just a few of the 60+ countries bringing women in business, who will be among the 1,000+ participants at the 2019 Summit in Basel. Under the theme of “Women: Re-Defining Success”, the 2019 Summit Program will explore the ways in which access to equitable pay, leadership roles, and the ability to have ‘success’ at home and at work comprise women’s sense of well-being as economic stakeholders.

Summit President Irene Natividad recently attended a meeting in Paris earlier this month of the French delegation to the Summit, which will be led by the Minister of Labor, Muriel Penicaud. Vietnam’s robust delegation of entrepreneurs organized by Vietnam’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry will be led once again by its Vice President. A Swiss Host Committee comprised of some of the country’s leading women also plan on a sizable Swiss participation. “It is inspiring to see the passion of the women coming to this annual forum, whether they have attended often over the Summit’s 29-year history or if they are there for the first time,” says Natividad.   “The Summit is not just a three-day event. It has also become a global ‘family’ and a movement to accelerate women’s economic opportunities worldwide.”

To see a sampling of women joining the 2019 Global Summit of Women, please visit www.globewomen.org/globalsummit. The Summit website also includes information on registration, hotel accommodations, and travel to Basel. Potential participants are encouraged to reserve their space in the Summit as soon as possible while seats are still available.

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2. PUBLIC’S VIEWS OF MALE/FEMALE CEOs & THE COMPANIES THEY LEAD

What does the public really think of women in corporate leadership roles? At the recent Global Summit of Women’s Colloquium on Global Diversity: Creating a Level Playing Field for Women in New York on February 21-22, this question was answered by Kim Parker, Director of Social Trends Research for the Pew Research Center, who shared the key findings from Pew’s “Women in Leadership 2018” study. Respondents of both genders indicated that there are still too few women in corporate leadership positions, but no surprise to anyone, women felt far more strongly about this leadership gap than men.

The public also perceive benefits in women’s leadership. For example, 49% of respondents overwhelmingly see women in top executive positions as being better at being “compassionate and empathetic” compared to only 4%, who disagreed. The public also view women CEOs as being better at “creating a safe and respectful workplace” (43% to 5%); valuing people from different backgrounds (35% to 3%); working out compromises (42% to 11%); and being honest and ethical (30% to 3%).

But how does the public view companies, which have suffered through sexual misconduct allegations of CEOs (CBS, Uber, Miramax, Guess, Wynn, just to name a few), after such allegations become public?   Serena Does, Senior Researcher at the UCLA Anderson School of Management outlined at this New York Colloquium how company actions following a sexual harassment allegation can make or break a company’s reputation

Her research found that a single sexual harassment allegation can dramatically reduce public perception of the entire company’s gender equity, including how fair men and women are generally treated in terms of hiring and promotion. It can also lead to women being less likely to want to work for the company. Unlike financial misconduct which the public saw as a “bad apple” scenario, the public perceived a company facing a sexual harassment allegation as having a “culture” problem

When company leadership tried to minimize a harassment claim, the study showed the public’s perception of the company worsened.   But when company took proactive and positive steps to be responsive to the allegation, the company’s image improved to a degree greater than even if there was no sexual harassment allegation.

(To see the presentations from the Colloquium on Global Diversity, photos, and other topics discussed at the event, go to www.globewomen.org/globaldiversity.)

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3. BUSINESS CASE FOR INVESTING IN FRONTLINE WOMEN IN RETAIL

While attention in recent years has been given to increasing women in C-suites and Boards, much less efforts have been given to increasing gender equity at lower levels of management, particularly in the retail and service industries. Even though women comprise half of the retail workforce, they are over represented in frontline positions and consistently underrepresented in higher-paying managerial roles.

A new study, “Advancing Frontline Women: Realizing the Full Potential of the Retail Workforce,” conducted by FSG and sponsored by Walmart, now provides an overview of the business case for investing in women at the lower levels. By advancing women in the ‘frontlines’ into management roles, companies are able to improve retention rates, reduce the cost of turnover, improve customer loyalty, and strengthen retailers’ performance.  

What steps then can companies to help break down barriers these women workers face in moving up the career ladder? The best practices identified are the very same steps that can be utilized to increase women’s access to leadership roles at any level. First, there must be a commitment at the highest levels of the company as well as in middle management to foster an inclusive culture that enables women to advance. There must be company policies that advance gender equity overall, and career development initiatives that help develop women’s managerial skills.

Companies that have been successful in bringing frontline women up the ranks also employ specific metrics around gender equity, regularly track employee data by gender, and provide training to employees to raise awareness of and to reduce gender bias. (Harvard Business Review, “12 Ways to Help Women in Retail Advance into Management,” Fay Hanleybrown, Elizabeth Hawkins, Sandra Medrano, February 27, 2019)

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4. WOMEN INVENTORS WITH PATENTS STILL A MINORITY

Although 21% of new patents were issued to teams including at least one woman, only 4% of patents were issued to women-only inventors, according to a report by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office — “Progress and Potential: A Profile of Women Inventors on U.S. Patents.” The report, which covered a 40-year period of new patent issuance, concludes that the “small minority” of patented women inventors indicates an “underutilization” of women’s innovative potential.

The result is surprising given greater female participation in science and engineering occupations. For example, women now comprise about 48% of biological and life scientists, though they make up only about 25% of inventors on biotechnology patents and 23% of inventors on pharmaceutical patents.

The fact that women are increasingly likely to patent on large, gender-mixed inventor teams, though, highlights the growing importance of understanding the relationship between gender and innovative collaboration. (USPTO Press Release, “U.S. Patent and Trademark Office releases new report on trends and characteristics of U.S. women inventors,” February 11, 2019)

The 2019 Global Summit of Women, taking place in the pharmaceutical and biotech hub of Basel, Switzerland on July 4-6, 2019, will showcase several women innovators in the sciences from companies including IBM, Biogen, and Actelion, among others. Sessions on “Engaging the Next Generation in Jobs for the Future” and “Using Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain for Business Growth” aim to provide information and skills-building to encourage more women inventors and innovators. To see the full Summit program, click here.

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SAVE THE DATE!

2019 GLOBAL SUMMIT OF WOMEN
BASEL, SWITZERLAND
JULY 4-6, 2O19

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