{"id":3993,"date":"2015-08-06T11:01:56","date_gmt":"2015-08-06T15:01:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globewomen.org\/globalsummit\/?p=3993"},"modified":"2025-07-29T09:55:41","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T13:55:41","slug":"globewomen-enewsletter-31-mar-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globewomen.org\/globalsummit\/globewomen-enewsletter-31-mar-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"GlobeWomen eNewsletter 31 Mar 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

Special Edition: Global Summit of Women 2015<\/h2>\n

THIS ISSUE’S FEATURES:<\/em>
\n I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0WOMEN\u00a0IN TECHNOLOGY AND UNCONSCIOUS BIAS<\/em>
\n II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0DEBATING THE QUOTA FOR WOMEN DIRECTORS<\/em>
\n III.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0WOMEN CEOs AND LEADING CHANGE<\/em>
\n IV.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0CREATIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION<\/em><\/p>\n

I. WOMEN\u00a0IN TECHNOLOGY AND UNCONSCIOUS BIAS<\/h3>\n

The U.S. business community has been riveted by the <\/span>sex discrimination case filed by venture capital junior partner Ellen Pao<\/em><\/strong>, who lost her case in the courtroom, but who \u2018won\u2019 in the court of public opinion.\u00a0 She is the new \u2018Anita Hill\u201d who opened wide how women are treated in the technology industry based in Silicon Valley, in the same way that Anita Hill\u2019s testimony against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas defined what \u2018sexual harassment\u2019 meant.<\/span><\/p>\n

The slights and sharp elbows Ellen Pao suffered were not \u2018illegal\u2019 in the eyes of the law, but in the aggregate, they created a hostile environment that many women understood all too well \u2013 the non-inclusion in important meetings and outings with clients, the sexist remarks, the conflicting evaluations which defined her as both too timid and too aggressive, the lack of transparency on how promotions were made in Kleiner Perkins, a venture capital company in which she worked.\u00a0\u00a0 Unprecedented media coverage in the U.S. showed the importance of the case, and all declared that Silicon Valley personnel practices will never be the same after this case.\u00a0 (Source:\u00a0 \u201cA Woman Disrupts How Silicon Valley Does Business,\u201d <\/em>New York Times, March 29, 2015)<\/p>\n

Now, new discrimination suits have been filed by women at Twitter and Facebook.\u00a0 Both these companies at the time of their IPO launches were ‘shamed’ by the media into appointing women directors when they were asked why there were no women on their boards when the majority of social media users are women?\u00a0 They were articulating the ‘business case’ argument for women directors<\/em><\/strong>, which will be discussed at the 2015 Global Summit of Women, May 14-16th in Sao Paulo, Brazil<\/em><\/strong> in different sessions.\u00a0 In addition, a special session on Unconscious Bias<\/em><\/strong> will be led by industry experts.\u00a0 What comprises such biases, and most important, how does one deal with them in the workplace?\u00a0 (For more information on the Summit, log onto www.globewomen.org\/globalsummit<\/a>)<\/p>\n

II. DEBATING THE QUOTA FOR WOMEN DIRECTORS<\/h3>\n

Germany became the 12th<\/sup> country to pass a quota law that now requires 33% of board seats must be held by women in the Supervisory Boards of all their listed companies.\u00a0 When combined with quotas required in some countries for government-owned companies , there are now 22 countries that have passed quota laws, most in Europe, but also in India, the UAE and Malaysia. \u00a0\u00a0There are more in the pipeline in Austria, Switzerland, Brazil and in the European Union as a whole. \u00a0(2015 CWDI Report:\u00a0 Women on the Boards of the Fortune Global 200, 2004-2014).<\/em><\/p>\n

While quotas have been successful in adding a significant number of women to corporate boards in France, Italy, the Netherlands and other countries within a relatively short period of time, it remains a controversial initiative, lauded by some for the swift changes they provide in accessing board appointments, hated by others who see a ‘quota’ as a stigma.\u00a0 At the 2015 Global Summit of Women, women directors will debate the pros and cons of government mandates.\u00a0 Participating in this special session on “Creative Strategies for Women-on-Boards Initiatives<\/em><\/strong>” are Muriel Penicaud<\/em><\/strong>, Chair and CEO of Business France, who serves on the board of SNCF (transport company) and\u00a0previously served on the board of\u00a0Orange SA (a telecom company); Isabel Tocino,<\/em><\/strong> Board Director of Banco Santander in Spain, Ence (wood production company) and Enegas corporations, and former Minister of Environmental Affairs; Bola Adesola<\/em><\/strong>, the CEO of Standard Chartered Bank of Nigeria; and Ana Paula Pessoa<\/em><\/strong>, Founding Partner of Brunswick Group Brazil, who is also a board director of Newscorp in New York, Neemu Internet, and Black Key Investments.<\/p>\n

\"quota\" From left to right, M. Penicaud, I. Tocino, B. Adesola, Ana P. Pessoa<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

III. WOMEN\u00a0CEOs and LEADING CHANGE<\/h3>\n

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Women in charge of major corporations remain few and far between.\u00a0 In the U.S., only 26 women serve as CEOs, or 5% of Fortune<\/em> 500 companies. (For a complete listing, go to www.globewomen.com).\u00a0 In the European continent, there are only two, and in the U.K. only five women leading FTSE 100 companies.\u00a0 The pipeline to the top is also filled by few women \u2013 only 17% of senior executives in the U.S. are women, and many are not in income-generating P&L positions that are the normal routes to becoming a CEO.<\/p>\n

When a woman is in charge, what is her role in building that pipeline to make it more robust?\u00a0 Is it her responsibility just because she’s a woman?\u00a0 Do women CEOs bring a change in leadership style, in mission emphasis, in the work culture, in general?\u00a0 The global economy is still in the midst of an economic crisis and other outside forces can change a company’s direction.\u00a0 How do women CEOs deal with those outside factors that can impact on their overall strategy?<\/p>\n

A CEO Forum at the 2015 Global Summit of Women will bring together seven women who lead major companies in different industries and countries to discuss these very issues.\u00a0 Each of them brings a remarkable story of her own ascension to leadership roles.\u00a0 The Forum, led by Summit President Irene Natividad, includes:<\/p>\n