To achieve true competitive innovation, STEM workplaces must drive industry-wide culture change. Catalyst gathered women leaders representing the engineering, tech, and trades sectors to discuss their workplace experiences in the 2024 Catalyst Honours conference session “Rising Innovators: Women Leading the Charge in STEM, Tech, and Trades.”

Psychological safety is a key to success 

Born and raised in Ukraine and later emigrating to Canada, Valariya Yesypenko, VP, Global Data Governance, Manulife, spoke about her experience in tech: “You sit there and think, ‘Okay, I’ve been graciously invited to be a part of this boys’ club. How do I not say the wrong thing? How do I appear to be like them? How do I appear understood?’ And on top of that I have [an] accent, I make mistakes in my grammar. What does that result in? I just sit there and smile politely and feel like I’m absolutely useless. That productivity, that creativity and innovation is stifled.  

“Now, imagine yourself on a team that has representations from all cultural backgrounds, from different genders, from LGBTQ, from visible minorities…. Everybody’s different and nobody’s different. Psychological safety is achieved. Everybody can speak up and share ideas…the companies thrive, productivity is achieved. It’s a brilliant and beautiful scenario that I think everybody should embrace and support.” 

Organizations that invest in creating psychologically safe spaces and commit to supporting their employees through their actions and values can boost employee satisfaction and retention. 

Representation and role models matter 

Delaney Krieger, RSE Interior Systems Mechanic & Career Support Specialist, Build a Dream, turned to construction when she realized how expensive college would be, coupled with how unmotivated she was to continue with schooling after high school.  

But her first full-time trade job got off to a rough start. She said, “When I started, I was actually the first woman hired by my company to work [with] the tools. I remember showing up to a job site with all of my PPE (personal protective equipment), which didn’t fit me properly. I was kind of walking around playing dress-up in my father’s clothes, it felt like… boxy t-shirts and… very uncomfortable. I automatically didn’t feel like I belonged there.  

“And the guys I was working with, they’d never worked with a woman before and that baffled me. They’ve been in the industry for 40, 45 years, some of them, and they’ve never worked with a woman. They didn’t know how to navigate that. […] There were a lot of barriers that if I would have just had a female role model that I could look up to, I definitely would have struggled a lot less,” Krieger said. 

To shift gender representation in trades, organizations must use intersectional, equitable hiring practices that reduce bias; create sponsorship and mentorship programs, and look for  ways to de-bias the systems. Kreiger now works with Build a Dream, an organization that helps connect young women with careers in skilled trades and other roles where women are traditionally underrepresented. 

Inclusive leaders drive culture change 

Lina Qamar, an engineer who began her career with only one other woman in her department, now helps develop talent at Linamar. Over time, she has seen a steady increase of women in engineering. 

Qamar credited the camaraderie of other women with keeping her in engineering. She also emphasized the tone from the top at her organization. “Our leadership were all definitely our allies,” Qamar said. “There was very low tolerance towards… I will say ‘nonsense’ to summarize it. Low tolerance towards sexist behavior, low tolerance towards bullying, low tolerance towards all of that. And I think that’s so important from leadership: not necessarily immediately dismissing someone who acts in a sexist way or says perhaps a racist remark, but a focus on educating, a focus on saying, ‘This is not us. This is not our culture. Going forward, we behave in this way.’ “ 

She continued, “Not once did I feel that my personhood, my existence as who I am, was an issue. My contribution was what mattered. My work as a team player was what mattered…Lina being she/her was not a factor. So, I think that was huge.” 

Qamar’s experience is backed up by research. Catalyst found that employees in women-led frontline teams are less likely to experience hostile, sexist behavior. 

Empower your frontline teams to challenge gender stereotypes with MARC for the Front Line training. 

The post How to break barriers for women in STEM, tech, and trades appeared first on Catalyst.

Today, Resch is the inaugural President of the Women’s National Basketball Association Toronto franchise, which will begin playing in the 2026 season. Previously, she was a senior leader at the Toronto Raptors men’s basketball team for 11 seasons, programmed basketball for 104 locations of Life Time Fitness, and began her career in International Basketball Operations at the NBA League Office.

“If you can see it, you can be it,” said Vanessa Lewerentz, moderator of the afternoon keynote panel at Catalyst Honours on 7 October 2024 in Toronto. Chief Inclusion Officer for BMO Financial Group, Lewerentz interviewed Teresa Resch and Sarah Nurse, two trailblazing women working for equal opportunities and reshaping Canadian athletics in the session “Leveling the Playing Field: Canadian Women’s Sports and the Pursuit of Equity.”

For Resch, this was true. She discussed a college experience at a national tournament when she became aware of a career path in sports organizations. “It was the first time I ever saw a job in sports that wasn’t a coach or a player and it really opened my eyes to the opportunity to work in sports,” she said. Unlike [Sarah] Nurse, Resch knew she wasn’t going to be a professional athlete but before that experience she didn’t know the options.

Equity in women’s sports is improving and diversity is good for business, Resch explained. “People in sports are looking for any sort of competitive advantage. And what became very, very clear is when you have women and people with diverse mindsets impacting your decision-making, that elevated your performance.”

Creating safe spaces and increasing visibility

To achieve gender diversity and gender equality in sports, you need to create workplaces that support them, according to Sarah Nurse, a record-breaking ice hockey Olympic Gold and Silver medalist who plays for the Canadian Women’s National Team and the Professional Women’s Hockey League Toronto Franchise. A champion of change, she was integral in developing a single, viable professional women’s ice hockey league in North America.

Nurse spoke about “creating spaces in sports where women actually feel comfortable and safe. Because I know for myself for so long growing up, I didn’t feel welcome in a lot of sporting events and even talking about sports because I always got really talked down to. And I know what I’m talking about when I talk about hockey, but a lot of men don’t think so.”

She doesn’t want girls and female athletes today to experience that. “If they want a career in sports, if they want to be athletes, they should be respected and they should feel lifted up.” Nurse spoke about both creating safe spaces and accessibility, which she described as “being able to actually watch the product.” So even if women’s sports programs exist but aren’t broadcast or visible via marketing, public relations, and advertising, they are at a disadvantage.

“There’s a stat that basically says in women’s sports in totality, you have to invest three times as much to just be even with men’s since women’s sports are about 100 years behind,” Resch said. “Three times just to get even, not even progress.”

Investment, participation, impact

“I think for women’s sports professionally, specifically commercially in Canada, in order to succeed, we need two things: We need investment and participation. And that’s across the entire funnel,” Resch said. She then asked the audience, “Where are you spending your time and energy? Are you going to games? Are you buying tickets? Are you buying league passes? WNBA league passes are $30.”

“I’m a firm believer that no impact is small, and even just showing up, buying a league pass, buying a jersey, talking about it on social media, that makes an impact, and that’s huge, especially with startups, with things that are just getting off of the ground,” Nurse said.

Speaking about the sports industry, which was created around men’s sports, Nurse said, “If I had my way, I would rebuild the whole system.” She discussed how women’s sports could benefit from different media, storytelling, marketing, and ticket sales methods. “If we lean into that, I think women’s sports are going to be even more successful than we already are.”

“There’s still a long way to go, but it’s been great to see the trajectory change, even just during my tenure,” Resch said.

Looking out into the audience, Nurse uplifted attendees: “So, just know the work that you’re doing impacts the greater society and that ultimately uplifts us and makes these things possible.”

Want to know about next year’s Catalyst Honours? Sign up now and we’ll email you when registration goes live!

The post Taking strides toward equity in Canadian women’s sports appeared first on Catalyst.

Today, however, as Director, Culture, Inclusion & Leadership, Pembina Pipeline Corporation, Debb reports that “I’m exactly where I need to be personally and professionally and even, I would say, spiritually.”

Debb’s commitment to social justice has always driven her career, but her path was never linear. “The anchor and beacon for all of [my work] is wanting to make social change … in particular going into settings where we really feel and believe that the change is needed most,” Debb says. This commitment to changing society for the better carried her from consulting to pursuing an academic career in social work and back again, and finally to her EDI role at Pembina.

“I took a chance on them and they took a chance on me,” she says of her move from consulting to Pembina. She and the company are equally committed to making change, and her role has allowed her to create a more inclusive culture in ways that are deeply meaningful to her.

When Debb was growing up, there was a lack of visibility for LGBTQ+ people, and her memory of this void fuels her commitment. “I knew that when I started at Pembina, I was going to be open about who I am … I hope that it creates some level of representation and visibility for people here that are part of the LGBTQ+ community.” She now regularly returns to Sarnia to visit Pembina’s site and celebrate Pride with employees there, explaining, “For me, representation … is essential to how I do my work; it’s absolutely built into my DNA.”

Debb’s efforts are also inspired by her 15-year-old son. “I knew that when my son came into the world … part of my work would be wanting to shift male norms … I kept thinking, ‘If we can make change in this area, if we can engage men in pursuit of gender inclusion and gender equity for everyone … real change is possible.’”

Debb’s goal for her work at Pembina? To create a space where “whoever you are, wherever you are, you belong here.”

To hear from Debb and other gender equity and DEI champions, attend Catalyst Honours on 7 October, 2024.

Why Debb is an HR/DEI Champion:

• Inclusion Networks: Debb initiated and developed five Inclusion Networks at Pembina—Pride Pembina, Women’s Inclusion Network, Multicultural Resource Network, Indigenous Inclusion Network, and Men’s Mental Health Inclusion Network. These groups foster community and belonging by addressing EDI topics for employees from marginalized groups and allies.
• Conversations for Change (C4C): Debb leads this company-wide platform where storytelling and personal experiences of employees are centered in discussions on EDI topics. By nurturing relationships and facilitating ongoing connections among panelists, Debb promotes empathy, compassion, and allyship.
• Field-based EDI Support: Debb directs Pembina’s Culture, Inclusion, and Leadership strategy, focusing on operational and field sites to enhance women’s representation and inclusion. Key to this strategy is the “EDI Operations” role, dedicated to fostering engagement and retention strategies for women in rural and remote field locations.

The post Debb Hurlock: Fostering belonging in the energy sector appeared first on Catalyst.

It wasn’t her intention to pursue a career in diversity, equity, and inclusion—Shaina studied media and history and worked in advertising. Her career took the turn because “in the same way that I felt like I wanted to be a part of a community at the very beginning, I was really driven to help others feel like they have that. Because during the pandemic, I think a lot of people felt very alienated, felt very alone. And so, I wanted people to feel like they had a place and a space. […] It’s branched into different things and into a few different areas to the extent that I guess I’m kind of known now at Google as someone that you can go to as it pertains to D&I and initiatives that involve community and support.”

This ability to take care of others can be traced back to her experience as a young girl caring for her four younger sisters after her parents separated. “I think seeing my mum go through a lot of stuff has taught me that I can do hard things and that I think has helped me a lot and helped me help others,” she reflects.

An experience in a yoga class helped shape Shaina’s commitment to inclusivity. She wanted to experience the benefits of yoga but found that her physical limitations precluded her from full participation. She then embarked on a yoga teacher training course to learn how to teach people with various limitations.

Another physical pursuit—dragon boating—helped her better understand teamwork and community. Growing up in South London, Shaina had never heard of this activity. Now she describes her first team sport as providing “an element of being one among the community and having responsibility in support of—and taking the responsibility for—the community within the boat […], which I had to learn,” she says. “I think I learned a little bit more around consideration for how others do things because we don’t all do things the same way.”

Now, as the head of BGN Canada, Shaina leads a team of 14 across three pillars: External Communities (partnering with Black ERGs, supporting Black-owned businesses, fundraising); Internal Communities (organizing events for Black+ Googlers and allies); and Professional Development (mentorship and career growth programs).

With a collaborative spirit and unwavering commitment to DEI, she has fostered a more inclusive environment through expanded programming, strategic external partnerships, and increased member engagement. Shaina’s dynamic leadership extends beyond Google to the tech industry at large, where she has consistently spearheaded impactful DEI initiatives.

Shaina is a catalyst for positive change, inspiring the tech industry to break down barriers and create equitable workplaces where everyone can thrive.

To hear from Shaina and other gender equity and DEI champions, attend Catalyst Honours on 7 October, 2024.

Why Shaina is a Next Generation Champion:

• Contribution to DEI at Google: In addition to her work with BGN, Shaina has held roles as Platforms Canada DEI Lead, Americas DEI Contributor, Americas Canada DEI Community Representative, and Black@ALCS Canada Lead. Her contributions amplify DEI efforts across Google, shaping inclusive practices and community engagement strategies.
• Black Renaissance Event: Shaina orchestrated the impactful Black Renaissance panel and networking event, a collaboration among leading Toronto tech companies, in July 2023. This event, which brought together more than 100 Black tech professionals for career-focused discussions, underscored Shaina’s leadership as Google’s key representative on the organizing committee.

The post Shaina Riley: Building inclusive communities at Google appeared first on Catalyst.

On September 18, 2024, during Hispanic Heritage Month, Catalyst gathered a panel of experts for a webinar “Let’s Hit the Accelerator for Latine Women in the Workplace.” Here are some highlights from the engaging discuss about effective strategies to not only attract Latina talent but also to create inclusive environments that support their long-term success and advancement.

Concentrate on Culture

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” says Eddie Coronado, Founder Upskill HR, when discussing how to recruit Latine talent. “It really starts with culture…If your company does not have a values or mission statement that aligns with their identity, you’re less likely to attract that type of people into your organization. And so it’s really important before you even try to come up with any recruitment strategies that you align internally, that your organization is building an inclusive environment from the top down.”

Employ recruitment strategies.

“While culture does eat strategy for breakfast..I think strategy is very important and I think the culture builds off of that,” says Janet Sandoval Director, Global Corporate Social Responsibility Avery Dennison. “We try to present a pool of screened and qualified candidates to be considered to interview and out of those candidates, we have at least 50% female. And for North America, that’s at least one candidate that identifies Hispanic or Latinx and one candidate that identifies as Black / African American.”

Another way to increase a company’s talent pipeline is “partnering with organizations that have big pools of Latine talent,” Coronado says.

Build inclusion into the fabric of your organization.

Having strategies, programs, and policies like anti-bias training are important but “make sure they’re not just lip service,” cautions Ana Jaramillo, DEI Engagement Specialist Moneris. “It’s making sure that you have middle management buy in. It’s making sure that there are not silos or pockets of the organization that are not being authentic to those values and to those strategies of inclusion,” she says. Jaramillo points to Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and sponsorships and mentorships as being valuable resources and strategies to foster inclusion.

Recognize and address barriers

“We’re taught to not toot your own horn,” Sandoval says about a cultural barrier to success that some Latine women face. Jaramillo shared a saying that she says many Latine women hear throughout their lives: “’Calladita te miras mas bonita,’ which means like ‘If you’re quiet, you’re prettier,’” and says “how much that permeates the way that you continue to behave even within the corporate context.”

She suggests that a way to address this reticence to self-advocate is to ask managers to step in. “Sometimes you need an open offer. Sometimes you need leadership to tap your shoulder,” she says.

Another barrier to success is a lack of opportunities, Jaramillo says, referring to access to educational and networking opportunities and to role models. “How many of us are the first in many ways?” she asks. That’s where mentorship and sponsorship can make a difference. However, our panelists cautioned leaders to recognize the differences in these roles and to set both parties up for success by educating them about expectations and best practices.

Sandoval brought up the point that “Latine women have a lot of disproportionate caregiving responsibilities, and so what policies and practices do you have in place to help people navigate that? Do you have any programs for returnship?”

Invest in Talent.

To prevent the high cost of replacing Latine women talent, Sandoval advises to “continuously invest in their growth … imagine if it is the glass cliff, these are senior level positions that you’re then having to replace because maybe you didn’t give that person a raise, maybe you didn’t provide that person executive coaching or additional support or maybe they got so tired of being the only and fighting for having a voice in in those C- suite meetings that they decided to become a consultant or an entrepreneur.”

Take Action

Latine women face numerous barriers to workplace success, but organizations can take steps to attract and retain Latine talent.

• Have a clear and inclusive mission statement to attract potential candidates.
• Understand unconscious bias and its impact and address internal, interpersonal, and organizational biases.
• Employ recruitment strategies like partnering with select organizations and prescreening applicants for interviews to include candidates from historically marginalized communities.
• Build a supportive company culture that values diverse perspectives and experiences
  through resources like ERGs.
• Recognize and address barriers to success by encouraging leaders to guide Latine women forward.
• Invest in talent by providing support throughout employees’ careers such as executive training, mentorship, and sponsorship.
• Avoid tokenism by ensuring that all levels of leadership have a presence at programs and events.

To learn more about proven DEI training programs and strategies, click here.

The post Strategies to support Latine women in the workplace appeared first on Catalyst.

Pamela had a paper route as a child, and later she handled money working as a cashier and making bank deposits for a community center. After graduating from university and beginning her financial services career as a bank teller, “I talked to my managers and leader about opportunities and what I needed to do to get there. I took courses, worked extra hours — worked any hours they wanted — because I knew that if I worked hard and told people what I wanted to do I would get there someday, and I did.”

That’s not to say that there weren’t hiccups. For example, there was the time that she applied for a position and the hiring manager said that she didn’t get the job because it was between her and a man, and the man had a family to take care of. “It was very eye-opening very early in my career,” Pamela says. Another manager told her that she couldn’t have a career and a family “and I said to him, ‘You do both: You have a family and a career.’”

Both of Pamela’s parents worked outside the home. “I was not neglected because my mom worked,” she says. “That was the one thing that I really wanted to make sure that my kids saw … Don’t let the world tell you what you can and can’t do. If you want it, you can do it. Sometimes it takes a support system around you, but you can do it.”
Pamela stands out in the financial services industry, where only 18% of C-suite positions are held by women.¹ She spearheaded vital initiatives including impactful programs supporting women investors and leaders, all while emphasizing the importance of paving the way for future women CEOs and fostering diversity in senior leadership across the financial services sector.

Pamela emphasizes the importance of inclusive hiring. She actively collaborates with her teams and talent directors to strategize on inclusive approaches to recruitment, including reviewing the language used in job descriptions and making accommodations as needed. This approach aims to attract diverse talent and reflect the demographics of MD’s client base.

Recognizing the underrepresentation of women in investment management, Pamela aimed to inspire more women to become portfolio managers at MD’s Private Investment Counsel. She sponsored a talent initiative, personally engaging with potential women candidates to encourage their career growth. Thanks to this effort, over the past 30 months 34% of new hires have been women and 25% of leadership roles in MDPIC have been filled by women.

“I feel an obligation to make sure other women don’t experience what I did,” Pamela says.

To hear from Pamela and other gender equity and DEI champions, attend Catalyst Honours on 7 October, 2024.

Why she’s a gender equity champion:

• Project Diana: Pamela initiated Project Diana to address the unique financial needs of female physicians, creating a program that enhances their financial confidence. By surveying 500 women physicians and using their feedback, Pamela developed a values-based financial planning experience tailored to women. This initiative aligns with the Scotiabank Women Initiative, extending its impact to all Scotiabank women clients.
• Women in Leadership: Pamela designed the Women in Leadership program to foster career advancement for women at MD, offering mentorship, leadership training, and strategic work rotations. Since its launch in 2018, the program increased women’s representation in targeted leadership roles from 37% to 40% within 18 months, with significant promotions and career advancements among participants. Today, women make up half of MD’s executive leadership team and 58% of all employees.

Endnotes

1. Danielecki, P., Hazuria, S., Rogish, A., Shemluck, N. (2023). Advancing women leaders in the financial services industry, 2023 update: A global assessment. Deloitte Insights.

The post Pamela Allen: Breaking Barriers in Finance appeared first on Catalyst.

Toronto, September 17, 2024 — Sarah Nurse, Toronto Sceptres star forward and two-time Olympian, and Teresa Resch, President of the WNBA Toronto, will keynote a fireside chat at the 2024 Catalyst Honours Conference & Dinner on 7 October. They will discuss the unique challenges, gender disparities, and systemic barriers in athletics that have impeded equity in women’s sports. Catalyst Honours is hosted by Catalyst, the global nonprofit promoting gender equity and workplace inclusion, in Toronto and online for a global audience.

Nurse is a professional hockey player for the Canadian Women’s National Team and the Professional Women’s Hockey League Toronto Franchise, the Toronto Sceptres. She won Olympic Gold and Silver and is a three-time International Ice Hockey Federation World Champion. Off the ice, Nurse is an entrepreneur and advocate. As one of the only women of colour in a male-dominated sport, she is a leading voice on diversity and inclusion in hockey.

Resch is the inaugural President of the WNBA Toronto franchise, which will begin play in the 2026 season. She has been a leader in basketball development at the global scale for nearly 20 years. For 11 seasons she was a senior leader at the Toronto Raptors, bringing basketball to the forefront of Canadian sport.

Additional just-announced sessions and speakers for the conference include:

• Demystifying AI Bias: Empowering Canadian Workplaces With Equitable AI, featuring a conversation with leading CEOs moderated by David Morgenstern, CEO, Accenture Canada.
• Rising Innovators: Women Leading the Charge in STEM, Tech, and Trades, focusing on stories and real-life examples of the positive impacts of recruiting and developing women in male-dominated fields, especially in frontline industries, moderated by Linda Hasenfratz, CEO, Linamar.
• A Call to Action: Indigenous Reconciliation and Inclusion in the Workplace, examining the current landscape of Indigenous representation in the Canadian workforce and exploring strategies for meaningful reconciliation and inclusion in the workplace.

Catalyst will also recognize nine Canadian corporate leaders who have been named Catalyst Honours Champions for 2024. Each individual has made an immense impact accelerating progress for women by championing workplace inclusion.

Launched in Canada in 2010, Catalyst Honours recognizes exceptional role models for inclusive leadership practices. Each year, individuals are nominated by colleagues and leaders within their organizations. Final decisions are made by a selection team of Catalyst experts.

The 2024 Catalyst Honours Conference & Dinner will take place in person at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto and online. This year’s theme, the Catalyst Effect, is a call to action to collectively commit to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Hundreds of professionals from global corporations, professional firms, governments, NGOs, and educational institutions are expected to attend the conference, sponsored by TD Bank Group, and the dinner, chaired by Canada Life.

Manulife is the 2024 Platinum Sponsor. TD Bank Group and Canada Life are Gold Sponsors. Accenture, Linamar, BMO, and Scotiabank are Silver Sponsors. Air Canada, Deloitte, Edward Jones, Element Fleet Management, Johnson and Johnson, and Shell Canada Limited are Bronze Sponsors.

Ticket packages and individual tickets are on sale now for both the Conference and Dinner events.

Contacts

Mariana Vanin
Director, Global Communications
Catalyst
mvanin@catalyst.org

The post Sarah Nurse, Canadian Hockey Star, to Keynote 2024 Catalyst Honours appeared first on Catalyst.

Welcome to Season 1, episode 5 of Breaking with Tradition, Catalyst’s podcast that explores trends and ideas that will impact the future of the global workplace. This episode is called Broadening Gender in Workplace DEI.

Catalyst has been accelerating progress for women for over 60 years, and our future vision is “workplaces that work for women.” To many women, this vision is a rallying cry because the status quo of workplaces is that they don’t work for women. But where do men fit into the equation in this future workplace? And what about trans and gender non-conforming (TGNC) employees?

Join Erin Souza-Rezendes as she sits down with Dani Gomez-Ortega, Senior Manager, Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at McCain Foods, and Mark Greene, a writer, inclusion coach, and host of Remaking Manhood. Together, they tackle the complex subject of gender and how we talk about it in the workplace.

First, we start with the basics: what does “gender equity” mean in today’s world? And how is that reflected in the workplace—or not? Before long, we dive into “Man Box Culture,” how women can be allies to men, and the importance of vulnerability in conversations around gender.

Grab a drink and sit down with our panel to hear their inspiring perspectives on this topic and how we can shift workplace cultures so that nobody is left behind.

Hosts and guest

Erin Souza-Rezendes, VP, Global Communications, Catalyst

LinkedIn | Bio

Dani Gomez-Ortega is a global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion leader with a passion for empowering others to create more inclusive spaces. Dani has championed inclusion across various sectors for 10 years. Currently, Dani works as a global DEI leader at McCain Foods, where she collaborates with teams across the world to drive inclusion.

Most recently, Dani was featured in the book Global Changemakers for a Feminist Future by Dr. Gayle Kimball and has won multiple awards for her work, including a Bill 7 Award. Dani’s work and commitment to inclusion are shaped by her lived experience as a Venezuelan Latinx, immigrant, transgender woman with an invisible disability.
LinkedIn

Mark Greene is an author and activist who speaks, consults, and coaches on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Mark works with organizations and individuals to overcome the challenges created by retrogressive workplace cultures. Mark’s client list includes General Mills, Société Générale, Sephora, AOL, Bank of America, Catalyst, and The Better Man Conference.

Mark is the author of The Little #MeToo Book for Men and Remaking Manhood, and co-author, along with Dr. Saliha Bava, of The Relational Book for Parenting and The Relational Workplace. Mark is co-host of Remaking Manhood, the Healthy Masculinity Podcast, available on all major streaming platforms.

Website | LinkedIn

In this episode

• 1:24 | What does gender equity mean to you? Spoiler alert: it goes beyond equity for women alone.
• 5:04 | The “evolution” of gender norms—or not. And have they been reflected in the workplace?
• 8:56 | Workplaces still aren’t safe for everyone. Where can we look for solutions? What is men’s role?
• 12:30 | Women can be allies to men, too People of all genders have work to do on how we define masculinity and femininity.
• 18:34 | We need gender equity inside and outside the workplace. How can we make work more connected and joyful?
• 20:57 | Closing thoughts (both practical and inspiring). Questions companies can ask to create more gender-inclusive workplaces and personal anecdotes from our panelists about how they show up.

Favorite moments

• 1:45 | Dani: When we talk about gender equity, it can’t just be about women. It’s also about men, but also about all the other genders that exist in the world.
• 6:00 | Mark: It’s become evident that if we don’t make space for conversations among men about men, men will continue to fall prey to the single primary purpose of “Man Box Culture,” which is to keep us silent and keep us conforming without ever checking in with each other about where did we learn these ideas about dominant space masculinity?
• 7:54 | Dani: I think people are slowly but surely starting to realize that [gender norms and gender roles] are made up, right? And they’re not necessarily benefiting us in the way that they might have benefited us in some magical time in the past.
• 11:44 | Mark: What we need men to hear and do now is that you cannot remain silent any longer because your own mental health, the mental health of your coworkers, of the people in your life, the well-being and future hope of everyone requires that we push through decades of conditioning we’ve had to remain silent by the bullying men around us.
• 13:20 | Mark: When we start to define male strength as including the full spectrum of human capacities, which we all have, which include things like caregiving, empathy, listening with curiosity… And we invite women at the same time to bring those aspects that are traditionally referred to as masculine, which is strength, leadership, toughness…When everyone is invited to bring their full human capacities, we start to change things.
• 14:39 | Dani: As women, we need to recognize that men have really high rates of mental health challenges. Especially when we talk about suicide rates. And so, it’s up to us to create space for men where they can be vulnerable and ask for help. Unless we create the space, that space is not going to be created.
• 15:55 | Mark: Vulnerability means, ultimately, to reveal. And when we reveal, we tap into an incredible resource because our resiliency, our success in the workplace, our capacity to live richer, fuller lives, is co-created with other people.
• 19:16 | Mark: The question becomes for us as human beings, why can’t we have as rich and meaningful of relationships in the workplace as we have in any other of our communities, in our churches, in our families?
• 20:28 | Dani: In the workplace, some people need to be able to talk about their lives, talk about their family, talk about their same-sex partners. Other people need privacy to succeed. It’s about recognizing individuality and giving everyone the ability to come to work the way that makes them feel happiest, even if that means being private about some things.
• 21:06 | Dani: We need to ask more questions. We first need to ask, “Who’s here?” Who’s in our company? It’s not just women—it’s men and non-binary people, Two-Spirit people, etc. Then we need to ask, how are they feeling? We need to segment that data to make sure we capture how different genders are experiencing the workplace. After that, we need to do research around where the gaps are and see what strategies we can enact to ensure that all genders are feeling included.
• 22:28 | Dani: I try to break with tradition by taking up space, by speaking up, and trying to be as visible as possible as a trans person to ensure that being trans in the workplace is no longer a thing that needs to be highlighted.
• 23.43 | Mark: Each and every one of us must step outside of our comfort zone and show the kind of courage that a lot of folks are publicly displaying right now in a genuinely unsafe world.

Mentioned on the Pod

• Equimundo: The Man Box – A Study on Being a Young Man in the US, UK, and Mexico
• Harvard University Press: Deep Secrets – Boys’ Friendships and the Crisis of Connection
• Penguin Random House: Rebels with a Cause – Reimagining Boys, Ourselves, and Our Culture
• The Cigna Group: TThe Loneliness Epidemic Persists: A Post-Pandemic Look at the State of Loneliness among U.S. Adults

Research you can use

• Masculine Anxiety and Interrupting Sexism at Work
• Interrupting Sexism at Work: What Drives Men to Respond Directly or Do Nothing?
• How Organizations Can Encourage Men to Interrupt Sexism
• Engaging Men: The Journey Toward Equity
• Engaging Men: Barriers and Gender Norms
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• Move Beyond Performative Allyship for Your 2SLGBTQ+ Employees
• 5 Ways to Create a Gender-Inclusive Workplace
• What is Gender? A Guide to Understand Gender Identity (Supporter Only)

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The post Episode 105: Broadening Gender in Workplace DEI appeared first on Catalyst.

After the murder of George Floyd in 2020 led to calls for racial equity at work, organizations eager to demonstrate their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion hired more Black women into leadership positions. After decades of facing barriers to advancement and leadership — a concrete ceiling — it seemed like Black women were finally making progress. But many of them were set up to fail and placed in unstable positions in organizations that were floundering. These experiences are characteristic of the glass cliff, a phenomenon where women and people of color are more likely to be appointed to leadership positions during periods of organizational crisis compared to those of stability and growth.

Leading an organization through a time of crisis is a difficult job for any leader, but Black women face additional burdens navigating (in)visibility, the pressure to perform and intersectional stereotypes,

Black women in leadership roles contend with both hypervisibility and invisibility. As studies show, they are penalized more harshly for failures, and their performance is scrutinized more than others. This is especially true when Black women are the first of their race and/or gender to be in a leadership role. There is an increased pressure to perform because of how it could reflect on other people like them. At the same time, Black women leaders deal with invisibility and must work harder to be seen and taken seriously as a leader because they do not match the prototype of the white male leader. This can make it more difficult for them to gain respect, buy-in, and support from their peers and subordinates.

Additionally, because of racial and gender stereotypes such as the “strong Black woman” and phrases like “Black girl magic,” two tropes that portray Black women as uncharacteristically strong and resilient, they may be expected to take on impossible tasks without the support and resources they need to succeed. Given the additional barriers that Black women leaders face, many work twice as hard to be successful, sacrificing their mental health and experiencing increased stress and burnout.

What causes the glass cliff?

The causes of the glass cliff are complex and varied, but these are two reasons that stand out: status quo bias and stereotypes about gender and leadership.

Status quo bias. When an organization is in crisis, leaders want to signal a change from the status quo and use the appointment of a “new kind” of leader (e.g. a non-white man) as a symbolic demonstration of that change. In support of this theory, researchers conducted an experiment and found that the glass cliff effect only surfaced when a company was described as historically male-led. When the company was described as historically led by women, the glass cliff disappeared.

Stereotypes about gender and leadership. It’s been well documented that people tend to associate stereotypically masculine traits, such as assertiveness and independence, with leadership more so than stereotypically feminine traits like cooperation and caring — a phenomenon called “think manager-think male.” Interestingly, research also shows a “think crisis-think female” phenomenon where leaders with stereotypically feminine traits are seen as more suitable to lead an organization in crisis. This sets women up to be appointed to glass cliff positions.

How can organizations prevent the glass cliff?

Organizations can mitigate the glass cliff phenomenon and give Black women and employees from other marginalized groups a fair chance to succeed in leadership positions. They must be willing to do three things: make a long-term commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion through succession planning, address barriers and biases in hiring, development and promotion, and create accountability structures within the organization.

Develop inclusive succession planning. Future-thinking companies create a strategy to identify and develop high-potential talent to take on leadership positions when they become vacant. Organizations that do not have a succession plan are most at risk for perpetuating the glass cliff because they must make a quick decision to fill a role with little planning and preparation — a perfect recipe for bias.

Even when companies have succession plans, failure to incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion into the process can perpetuate barriers and inequality that keep women and people of color from advancing into leadership positions. An inclusive succession plan recognizes the need for a diverse and dynamic workforce and actively works to identify and develop high-potential talent from marginalized groups. It seeks to remove barriers to advancement and provide support through leadership development programs and access to sponsors and mentors.

Ultimately, this planning builds an intentionally diverse pipeline of talent to choose from when a leadership position becomes available, helping organizations avoid subjecting Black women to the glass cliff, make consistent progress toward their diversity, equity and inclusion goals, and create smoother transitions between leadership.

Root out bias from hiring, performance appraisals and promotion processes. Evaluation processes such as hiring, performance appraisals and promotion are susceptible to bias that can disadvantage people from marginalized backgrounds. So, it is important to create clear guidelines for how to evaluate others. The more subjectivity there is in the evaluation process, the greater chance there is of bias, so it’s key to base decisions on objective, measurable and job-relevant competencies and criteria.

For hiring, evaluators can use structured interviewing, a human resources tool where candidates are all asked the same competency-based questions and then rated using a rubric to assess their performance on each competency. Bias can also be present during the performance appraisal process. Studies show differences in the amount and quality of performance feedback that employees from marginalized groups receive. Black women in particular receive the least amount of quality feedback compared to other groups.

Equip managers with the skills they need to be objective by hosting training on how to evaluate performance and give high-quality feedback that is clear, actionable and focused on behaviors instead of personality traits. Creating bias-free evaluation processes can help organizations mitigate the glass cliff by shutting down stereotypes and bias.

Measure and track progress. As the saying goes, what gets measured gets managed. Collecting data and tracking progress is also a great way to create accountability and transparency for diversity, equity and inclusion goals, both of which are essential for success.

It’s important to assess the disparity between demographic groups across all facets of the employee life cycle so you can evaluate what is working and what is not. For example, in analyzing performance appraisal and promotion data, it is important to consider whether rates of promotion are similar across demographic groups and whether the quality and amount of feedback is similar. Take it a step further and take an intersectional approach to the data, considering whether there may be disparities across more than one axis of identity.  Measuring and tracking progress can help to proactively identify challenges that could lead to a glass cliff scenario.

The bottom line

Restricting Black women’s advancement opportunities to times of poor organizational performance is not a sustainable business or diversity, equity and inclusion strategy. Organizations play a crucial role in ensuring that Black women have access to the same opportunities for development, advancement and leadership as white men. The glass cliff is not inevitable. We can make it an outdated notion.

The post Black women still face a glass cliff, but fixing workplace systems can change that appeared first on Catalyst.