No. CCXXI; June 15, 2018

I. SWITZERLAND ADOPTS QUOTA FOR WOMEN BOARD DIRECTORS
II. ADVICE FROM WOMEN CEOs AT THE 2018 GLOBAL SUMMIT OF      WOMEN
III. MALE CEOs DISCUSS ENGAGING MIDDLE MANAGEMENT IN GENDER DIVERSITY
IV.WORKPLACE SEXUAL HARASSMENT FROM CHEERLEADERS TO SCIENTISTS

I.  SWITZERLAND ADOPTS QUOTA FOR WOMEN BOARD DIRECTORS

By a one vote margin in its Parliament earlier this week, Switzerland became the 25^th country to pass a legislative quota for women on boards.  The decision, which passed 95-94 in the Swiss House of Representatives, affects about 250 large publicly-listed companies in the country.

The law asks companies to set a target of 30% women’s representation on their Boards of Directors and 20% of the Management Board to be female, over the next five and ten years respectively.   According to the 2018 Schilling Report on Gender Diversity, the percentage of women directors of the top 100 Swiss companies stood at 19% at the end of 2017, which places Switzerland behind the regional average of 21.4%. In addition, women’s presence in senior executive roles comes to a mere 7%.

Failure to reach the targets, however, does not come with strict sanctions.  If a company does not reach the quota, it must explain why it has not complied, but does not suffer any penalties. Swiss Minister of Justice Simonetta Sommaruga, who cast the one vote margin to the law’s passage, remarked that the mere mention of the word “quota” represents a major leap forward. (swissinfo.ch, “Parliament Approves Gender Quotas for Big Business”, 6/14/18)

To see a listing of all countries with quotas for women on boards, whether on publicly-listed or state-owned companies, complied by the Corporate Women Directors International, click here.  

II. ADVICE FROM WOMEN CEOs AT THE 2018 GLOBAL SUMMIT OF WOMEN

The 2018 Global Summit of Women in Sydney, Australia, which brought together over 1,200 women leaders in business and government from 65 countries, featured a Women CEO Forum focused on “Defining the Workplace of the Future.  Moderated by Summit President Irene Natividad, the Forum’s panelists spanned countries and industries: Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz, CEO & Managing Director of Mirvac Group, an Australian real estate investment group; Ines Juste, CEO of the Spanish pharmaceutical company Grupo Juste; Colleen Neville, CEO of New Zealand investment company Te Arawa Group Holdings Ltd.; and Maggie Henriquez, President & CEO of Krug Champagne.

While acknowledging that the jobs of the future will be fundamentally different given the rise of technology that will impact what and how we do work, all these corporate leaders were surprisingly unanimous in their emphasis on the continuing need for ‘soft’ skills that must remain in order to be effective.

Lloyd-Hurwitz emphasized the importance of empathy, courage and moral conviction as qualities needed in the workplace now and in the future.  This need for positive personal qualities was echoed by Ines Juste of Grupo Juste, who said that it is not enough to have employees with great technical skills, “it is important to have employees who share in your values.”

Regarding advice they would give to women entering the workforce, Henriquez of Krug strongly urged to “never negotiate your values and live in gratitude because in gratitude you flow and when you flow, things happen.”  Neville from New Zealand stressed that you must “look after your reputation and keep your integrity.”  (Watch Session Highlights Below)

III. MALE CEOs DISCUSS ENGAGING MIDDLE MANAGEMENT IN GENDER DIVERSITY  

In addition to the women CEOs at the 2018 Global Summit of Women in Sydney, the Summit also featured male CEOs committed to a gender diverse and inclusive workforce.  In a plenary session moderated by Angela Mackay, Global Publisher of FT Live and Managing Director of Financial Times Asia Pacific & Hong Kong SAR, four male CEOs shared how their companies approach diversity and how they engage middle management to ensure gender diversity throughout the organization.

Brian Hartzer, Managing Director and CEO of Australia’s banking giant Westpac, shared that the company sets gender diversity goals and targets for management at all levels.  He was particularly pleased that the company reached its target of 50% of women in leadership positions this year, announced at Westpac’s 200 year anniversary.  Tim Reed, CEO of MYOB Inc., an international IT company, said that even before setting goals, they began with unconscious bias training and making sure that they focus on inclusiveness before pushing the dial to change the environment for women.

Zia Zaman, CEO of Lumen Lab for MetLife, said it is necessary for diversity to combine both belonging and uniqueness. “In order to bring your full self to work,” he said, “you need to be your unique self while also feeling like you belong.”   Johnpaul Dimech, Regional Chairman, Asia Pacific, for Sodexo, said that when they consider someone for a promotion to a middle management position, they look beyond the skills to the question of what is the team dynamic going to look like and do they have the ability to be inclusive.  “We are talking about people,” he said, “and when we can connect hearts and minds with real stories, it makes a massive difference.”  (Watch Session Highlights Below)

If you want to know “What It Means to be Included As a Man at the Global Summit of Women,” click here to read

III.WORKPLACE SEXUAL HARASSMENT FROM CHEERLEADERS TO SCIENTISTS

Recent news reports of sexual harassment of professional sports teams’ cheerleaders and a recent study by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences recording harassment of women researchers and scientists show that sexual misconduct crosses all areas of employment.

Buoyed by the #MeToo movement which continues to enable women to speak out about workplace inequities, several lawsuits have been levied against professional football teams in the U.S. alleging harassment and unfair pay which they claim was part of a culture meant to humiliate and intimidate them.

In one example, a cheerleader was paid $15,000 one year, while the team’s mascot (a man) was paid $65,000.  Well-known feminist attorney Gloria Allred is defending a group of five cheerleaders in what she says is “the latest chapter in women fighting back and saying ‘no more.’” “It’s women refusing to suffer in silence about economic inequities on fairness in the workplace,” she said. “They’re not going to allow fear to be used as a weapon to silence them.” (ABC News, “Ex-Houston Texans Cheerleaders Suing NFL team; Coach Describe Culture of ‘Harassment, Bullying’” 6/14/18)

Joining cheerleaders in speaking out, women in the sciences are coming forward with similar stories taking place in lecture halls and laboratories throughout the scientific and academic world.  The new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine compiled data from surveys representing over 10,000 students and faculty members.  A key finding is that between 20% and 50% of female students in science, engineering and medicine and more than 50% of faculty said that they had experienced harassment.  Of the three fields, medical students were the most likely to be harassed by faculty or staff.

The study notes that science’s strict hierarchies and “star culture” make institutions less likely to hold perpetrators accountable. It says targets of harassment rarely formally report their experience, often because they (correctly) perceive that they might experience retaliation.

The report concludes that the solution will require a “systemwide change to the culture and climate in higher education.”  Expulsion from the National Academy of Sciences was also recommended by some women in the field for perpetrators.  (Washington Post, “Half of Women in Science Experience Harassment, Sweeping New Study Finds,” 6/13/18)

To see more from the Summit, please visit www.globewomen.org/globalsummit.

SAVE THE DATE!

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

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