Inforum To Look At Potential Of Women At Work in GR, Detroit
DETROIT -- Fresh from The Wall Street Journal's 2012 Women in the Economy Task Force Conference, Joanna Barsh, a director at McKinsey & Co., will give a first-hand look at McKinsey's groundbreaking new study, "Unlocking the Full Potential of Women at Work." Barsh co-authored the report and will present its key findings and compare data from the national study to Michigan at events in Detroit and Grand Rapids sponsored by Inforum which was influential in recruiting Michigan companies for the research.
"Unlocking the Full Potential of Women at Work" is an ambitious investigation of 60 leading companies that explores talent pipelines and gender diversity practices in depth. The report reveals corporate America's business case for gender diversity and identifies five practices that are consistently tied to success at hiring, retaining and promoting women.
"Our ongoing research points to new findings of tremendous opportunity, Barsh said. "Twelve of the companies in our sample rose to the top based on four metrics of success: percentage of women at entry level, their odds of advancement compared to men, the mix of women in line vs. staff roles, and the percentage of women at the top. These top 12 outperform by a wide margin as women are 30 percent of their C-suite versus 19 percent on average. We repeatedly heard from their CEOs a clear understanding that this is all about a competitive talent advantage."
"For 50 years, Inforum has been championing the cause of helping women lead and succeed in business," said Terry Barclay , president and CEO of Inforum and Inforum Center for Leadership. "In an impressive manner, McKinsey's research makes the business case for gender diversity – not just as a matter of fairness, but as a business imperative for companies. We're thrilled to have played a role in recruiting several companies headquartered in Michigan to participate in the study and to bring Joanna Barsh to Michigan."
The McKinsey study shows clearly that leading companies make gender diversity a priority because they see the prize: a talent advantage that's hard to replicate. But few companies are winning that prize. The top circles of leadership remain male bastions, with just 14 percent of women on Fortune 500 Executive Committees and few women CEOs. Corporate leaders are working hard to change this, but progress remains elusive.
Some findings included:
* The leadership pipeline has leaks and blockages: Women are entering in large numbers (more than 325,000 women have entry-level positions at the 60 companies), but the companies' aggregate pipeline suffers leaks and blockages.
* Changing the game for middle managers is crucial: Finding ways to help the women in the middle stay in the game and advance -- particularly through child-raising years -- would reshape the pipeline at these companies and go a long way toward bringing more talent to the top.
* Good models exist: Several participating companies demonstrate that success is within reach. They are more diverse than their peers, and they got there in different ways.
* Management commitment matters: Through more than 160 interviews with senior business and HR executives, McKinsey identified an integrated approach to addressing the barriers that hold women back: Be visibly committed to gender diversity; make all senior leaders accountable for creating opportunities for talented women; make diversity an explicit focus of talent management; and give diversity staffs real clout.
The Grand Rapids event will be held Wednesday, June 13 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. in the Pantlind Ballroom of the Amway Grand Plaza, 187 Monroe Ave. N.W., Grand Rapids. Tickets are $50 for Inforum members; $70 for non-members.
The Detroit event will held Thursday, June 14 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Detroit Athletic Club, 241 Madison Ave., Detroit. Tickets are $50 for Inforum members; $70 for non-members, or $700 for a table of 10.
More at www.inforum.org.
