Building bridges to narrow the gender gap: Understanding, valuing diversity

In recent decades, the emphasis on gender issues in the workplace has been front and center in the minds of both women and men. In some cases, this comes up in the boardrooms of very large, successful companies.

Debate, discussion and research have focused on the “gap” between men and women in the workplace in a variety of categories, be it comparable work for comparable pay, equal opportunity for promotions, equitable accoutrements that accompany advancement (such as title, authority or visibility in the organization) or endorsements for c-suite consideration.

Progress has been made in recent years, but there is still work to be done. Even though the 2013 McKinsey report, Women Matter, showed companies with women in executive leadership significantly outperform those with no women at the top, there is still a gap in the number of women who occupy top leadership positions. The McKinsey data further revealed that companies with women who occupy top positions have a 47% higher return on equity and show a 55% greater average in earnings. So, why is the gap still present and, more importantly, what can women and men do to help create a climate where both genders thrive?

Marsha D. Link

Some thoughts about the etiology of the gap

Ophthalmic Women Leaders, now in its 11th year of existence, has redefined its vision to embrace a broader concept that has relevance not only to gender issues, but speaks to the broader issue of diversity. OWL’s current vision is to promote and develop diverse leadership to advance ophthalmic innovation and patient care.

At the core of this vision is the belief that in diversity there is strength, whether the diversity lies in gender, ethnicity or other categories of “difference” that represent attributes and characteristics outside of what we perceive as our own, or the historically established norms of society.

In order to value diversity, one must examine his or her own unconscious biases about differences and reflect on how those biases affect behaviors toward others whom we perceive as different. As Malcom Gladwell has pointed out in his book, Outliers, indeed it matters “from whence we came,” including the context in which we live our lives. Within our individual environments, our attitudes and opinions shape the way we see ourselves, and each other, and forms our opinions and stereotypes, including what we believe about the similarities or differences between women and men.

For women and men, our individual contexts have shaped what we believe about the capabilities, wants and potential of both women and men. We cannot underestimate how these beliefs have influenced what we attribute to women and what we attribute to men in the workplace, as well as to those who represent other categories of diversity.

Our attitudes and beliefs about women and men, colored by our own contextual experience, impact the workplace. In a recent online issue of McKinsey Quarterly (Sept. 19, 2014), an article titled “Realizing the power of talented women,” described eBay’s CEO, John Donahoe’s decision to create an environment at eBay where women could thrive. He made this commitment after seeing his wife navigate a most challenging career experience because she was a woman and reacted with the conclusion: “She has a tougher row to hoe than me.” This prompted him to launch WIN (Women’s Initiative Network) at eBay.

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This internal group is dedicated to developing women’s leadership skills at all levels and helping them thrive. His goal is to provide a more supportive and inclusive environment at eBay for women. And his most salient comment was: “This is personal.” Indeed, how we treat one another is personal, and efforts to understand and appreciate our differences, whether in gender or other categories, are necessary if we are to leverage the unique characteristics and talents of a diverse workforce.

In our current society, we can learn much from the millennials, who have grown up in a society where the differences between women and men, and the assumptions about their capabilities and potential, are more egalitarian than in former decades. I am frequently struck by the comments of the 30-something professionals who assert that they do not see gender issues as significant in the workplace compared with those of us who come from an older generation. And yet, we still see the gap that exists between women and men in today’s environment.

One possible explanation may be that many of the persons who are in power positions in today’s organizations are those in the “winter” of their careers, with a large percent being males. The contexts in which these gentlemen developed their attitudes and opinions about women are far different from today’s ideas prevalent with the millennial generation.

I am reminded of a recent conversation with a male colleague during which we were discussing the lack of women leaders in a particular organization in the ophthalmic space. My colleague made the comment that he felt one reason why there was a paucity of women in leadership roles in this particular organization was due to the fact that the male CEO’s ideas about women was, in part, influenced by the role his wife demonstrated over the years. Her choice to follow a more “traditional” woman’s path was not necessarily supporting perceptions that women could, or wanted to, reach executive level positons. Therefore, this CEO’s personal experience was far different from the one experienced by John Donahoe of eBay, mentioned previously. So, what can we to do to build bridges that will narrow the gender gap in the workplace?

Constructive strategies to move the needle on gender and diversity issues

Fundamentally, we must be willing to approach the gender gaps that are still present and give diversity a chance. For some, this may require a shift in one’s belief system. Part of this shift may a include a commitment to respecting each individual, regardless of the function or role of the person in the organization, and altering one’s beliefs about differences. This may require the willingness to be open to new possibilities and avoid the kind of rigid thinking that makes us inflexible.

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Additionally, we must strive to be creative in developing new models of how and where we work and be willing to experiment with these models, being open to nontraditional ways for people to contribute and add value to the workplace. We already know of many organizations that have a virtual workforce. No longer do we need to tell a woman, or man, that she/he cannot “work from home,” assuming that persons who opt to be parents will not be productive workers from remote locations while attending to family responsibilities.

We need to adopt a “can-do” attitude in helping people integrate their work/life values so they can experience the richness of professional and personal lives that are successful and satisfying. When this occurs for both women and men, we will no longer have to witness the sadness of a male in his 60s who has built a successful professional career, but has sacrificed his personal and/or family life and is distraught because he has missed out on important personal or family experiences; nor will we need to listen to a woman who is disgruntled and unsatisfied because she could not find the path to successfully navigate a professional life and raise a family.

Once we acknowledge and appreciate the fact that both women and men make choices and that not all choices reflect our personal concepts of what we believe is “right” for the workplace, we will be in a place where we are more ready to listen and learn from each other to solve the gaps that still exist.

Progress is likely when women and men come together with constructive intentions to discuss, debate and design different ways of addressing the gender gaps that still exist. Let’s think about the possible venues where this can take place. Is it in your workplace? Is it in your professional society? Perhaps it is with your spouse or significant other as you decide what is best for you.

Wherever the venue, let’s begin the dialogue.

Marsha D. Link, PhD, is President of Ophthalmic Women Leaders and founder and principal of Link Consulting in Irvine, Calif.