Category: Articles

Author: Simona Scarpaleggia

Board Member, EDGE Strategy

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Flexible working used to be an issue that caused business leaders and managers a considerable amount of angst. And while the pandemic has necessitated the need for both employee and employer to be more flexible in their thoughts and processes, the issue is far from resolved.

Some leaders are undoubtedly still resistant to change; some also want to go back to the way it was.

Some leaders are undoubtedly still resistant to change; some also want to go back to the way it was. A recent report from Deloitte[1] (Women @ Work 2022 – a Global Outlook), for example, shows that only a third (33%) of women say that their organizations have flexible working policies, and more than nine out of ten (94%) feared that making a formal request for flexible working would seriously impact their future chances of promotion.

And yet over the past two years, many employees have become used to a hybrid model, and how it supports a better work/life balance. They have similarly become accustomed to the significant savings in cost and working hours from not having to commute. It is understandable, therefore, that they are reluctant to give up their newly won freedoms which leaves their leaders in something of a quandary.

But rather than a threat to the workplace of the future, why should leaders of businesses and organizations see flexible and hybrid working as an opportunity?

Three categories of hybrid workers

Firstly, they need to recognize that those in favour of hybrid working tend to fall into one of three categories: primary care givers – those responsible for children or elderly relatives for example; heavy commuters – those with a long, expensive and often stressful daily journey into work; and the more sensitive – those who may struggle with either mental or physical health, and who benefit from quiet and their own ‘space’.

What all three category types have in common is that they all comprise a resource with enormous talent and potential. Put another way, they all constitute a risk that their talents will be lost if their employees fail to be more flexible in their working practices and/or return to the ‘five-days in the office every week’ model pre-pandemic.

Future leaders will have to be more caring and inclusive in their actions. They will need to be clear in shaping and communicating their expectations of others.

At a time when talent is a scant resource, looking after these people is a new imperative, and that will require some leaders to adapt their approach in the future. Future leaders will have to be more caring and inclusive in their actions. They will need to be clear in shaping and communicating their expectations of others. And they will need to adapt their own style of leadership, to lead by example, to inspire the people around them, as a leader they can trust.

Of course, many of the best leaders already demonstrate these traits, but certainly not all. A general lack of trust in society does not help and contributes to an increasing lack of trust in the workplace. Creating an environment of trust and inclusivity, therefore, where individuals feel genuinely free to make suggestions and propose ideas and solutions for better ways of working will be essential, but none of those ideas will be forthcoming without that basic level of trust being in place.

The vital importance of inclusivity

This concept of inclusivity is particularly important; hybrid working means individuals being ‘absent’ from the workplace, at least physically, and there is a natural tendency for leaders to ‘forget’ employees who are ‘out of sight; out of mind’.

The report from Deloitte suggests that almost 60% of women who work in hybrid environments feel they have been excluded from important meetings, and almost half say they do not have exposure to their leaders, a critical enabler of sponsorship and career progression. Only a quarter of those women surveyed for the report say their employer has set clear expectations of how and where they should work, which is particularly stressful for those who need some certainty in order to plan childcare, for example.

It needn’t be so. Inclusive, supportive organizations are proven to gain a competitive advantage. Leaders, in particular, have a crucial role in this. Being inclusive in a hybrid workplace context requires leaders not only to be able to read signals and observe behaviours but also to act upon them; it requires them to enhance their listening skills and improve how they communicate, and ultimately it requires them to become a source of clarity in setting goals and expectations as well as a source of inspiration for the employees.

Leaders who foster genuinely inclusive cultures, and who support the health and wellbeing of their employees, deliver much greater employee satisfaction, and employees tend to stay with those organizations for longer. They also tend to report a much more positive experience of hybrid working.

Shaping the future workspace

Hybrid working at its best can be a tool to unleash the true potential of an organization. It means not only adapting the days and hours that we work, but also the workplace itself.

Many leaders are currently debating whether the space they had prior to the pandemic is still needed now, when actually the conversation should be about how to make the space that you do have more conducive to work. It will likely mean that the physical space in the future may be near enough the same size, but likely to be fitted out and utilized in a very different way by the people who work there.

Leaders who see the concept of hybrid working only in the context of ‘efficiency’ are fundamentally missing the point. The debate should never be focused mainly on the efficiency of the workforce, but rather consider its ‘effectiveness’. Systems and technologies can help improve efficiency over time, whereas it will still be people – regardless of where they work – who will secure the effectiveness of the decisions and of the implementation plans.

The winners in the future will be those organizations who embrace this idea first, who ensure the proper policies and processes are in place that encourage new ways of working.

The winners in the future will be those organizations who embrace this idea first, who ensure the proper policies and processes are in place that encourage new ways of working, and in doing so attract and retain the talent we all so desperately need to succeed in the future.

[1] Women @ Work 2022 – a Global Outlook

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Author: Aniela Unguresan

Founder, EDGE Certified Foundation

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There is a simple truth that we should admire and respect individuals not necessarily because of the positions they occupy, but instead, for what they do and the legacy they leave behind.

… women need to break out of the moulds that they find themselves forced into; they need to cease conforming to accepted and acceptable models of behaviour.

There are, for example, a number of women who, over the years, both through hard work and longevity, have sustained visible positions of power and prestige to become role models that many admire and aspire to be. But we need more women like them, and for this to happen women need to break out of the moulds that they find themselves forced into; they need to cease conforming to accepted and acceptable models of behaviour where power and authority elude them and where their own opinions are held back in favour of the status quo.

In truth, they need to no longer be the perfect woman in a man’s world.

Change is perfectly possible, but it often puts women wishing to advance themselves in positions where they are vilified. Rather, it needs to be possible for them to be able to display and demonstrate power and authority with the confidence that they will remain appreciated and respected as effective leaders.

Indeed, a more balanced distribution of power and authority at home, in society and in workplaces still remains elusive.

Falling behind

Major European banks are a perfect example of where change is both possible and necessary, and yet they are falling behind on their promises to promote more women into senior roles.

According to Bloomberg, in the last two years not a single female chief executive officer has been appointed by one of Europe’s top 30 banks. This is despite almost half of the CEOs in that group being replaced in the same time frame. Put simply, while the banks all had the opportunity to replace the most senior executive with a woman, none did so, even though they had many serving on their boards. (European Banks Promising More Diversity Appoint Only Male CEOs).

Of course, having more women on boards is to be welcomed but that needs to trickle down at the executive level and through the entire talent pipeline for the power and authority to be redistributed more evenly inside organizations.

Of course, having more women on boards is to be welcomed but that needs to trickle down at the executive level and through the entire talent pipeline for the power and authority to be redistributed more evenly inside organizations.

Fundamentally, society needs more inspirational women who don’t conform to what men think is their role. It needs freethinkers who are willing and able to offer strong opinions while holding and exercising power without guilt. And this requires a change in our collective mindset.

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EDGE Certified companies are serious about putting gender and intersectional equity at the heart of their business strategy. We sat down with Mieke Van de Capelle, Chief HR Officer at Firmenich, to ask about today’s hot topics in HR, such as valuing Human Capital, workplace virtualization, employee engagement and tangible business results.

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The future of work: How are HR departments dealing with the huge digitalization/virtualization of workplaces that’s taking place because of the pandemic? Is this an opportunity to rebalance the talent pipeline by upskilling and reskilling and repositioning female talents to meet the new workplace’s requirements?

Mieke: The Covid pandemic has been a test for companies and has shown the importance of social capital. Companies that have successfully created shared values and models to work together, like Firmenich, came out as winners. We secured business continuity while transforming how and where we work.

Digitalization and virtualization have been quite disruptive, however, we did not consider this a threat. It gave us the opportunity to focus on impact and performance, and determine which types of work require an in-office presence versus the ones that are more suited for virtual work. It helped us enable employees to make smarter choices to be more productive and efficient, and further build a company-wide culture of accountability and responsibility.

During Covid we continued investing in our people, and provided hundreds of hours of leadership training. We increased our virtual offering, to ensure digital literacy for all and address specific uncertainties through virtual wellness sessions.

Developing a range of new digital skills will help us foster an inclusive work environment. There is significant pressure on recruitment and retention, and highly-skilled talents are sought-after, which requires us to think out of the box, upskill talent and provide them with the digital skills that people need in tomorrow’s world of work.

A positive aspect of our new hybrid work models is that it also brings benefits to the society at large. We believe digitalization can help create a level playing field. Workplace virtualization can be empowering and an opportunity to be intentional around positioning female talents in direct individual conversations on how to balance work and personal needs – the very same goes for men by the way. Virtual also means there is less ‘standing tall’ in the meeting room, or ‘imposing oneself’, etc. and this may turn a hurdle (working form home) into a springboard (career progression).

However, we also see great risk and must pay attention to retain women who still carry the majority of the double burden to manage work and family life. The largest share of the burden continues to fall on their shoulders, regardless of their level of education and income. So despite workplace virtualization levelling the playing field, we should not take the progress that has been made for granted. We must continue to fight gender-based stereotypes especially in a virtual workplace.

How does Firmenich align their internal pursuit of gender balance, diversity & inclusion with their investment activities? Which are the factors that could contribute to a large-scale adoption of gender balance, D&I in the workplace and on Boards as key ESG scoring & reporting indicators?

Mieke: Across all our investments, whether new sites or R&D, we follow industry-leading responsible policies, including Code of Ethics, Anti-Corruption, Global Environmental Policy, Occupational Health & Safety, Diversity & Belonging, and Supplier Expectations.

In line with our ESG ambitions, we developed a responsible investment strategy that we also apply to our own Firmenich pension fund in Switzerland. This fund has over CHF 1 billion in assets under its management. The approach will ensure that our ESG criteria are reflected in our responsible investment strategy. For example, we exclude tobacco, fracking, gambling, etc. from our investment portfolio.

We believe that investing in gender equality creates positive impact, delivering positive long-term financial performance combined with sustainability.

There is still work to be done in this space. We want to raise the bar on effective diversity and inclusion beyond Boards & C-suite female representation, and extend reporting indicators beyond these two levels. We will add fresh scrutiny to our pipeline across Senior Managers and Directors, focus on legislative framework on diversity representation across organizational levels, mandate pay and development equity reporting, and public disclosure.

How can the HR function gain empowerment from being EDGE certified, how is the team supported by access to the toolbox/dashboard and can accelerate equity?

Mieke: Firstly, there is a clear connection between employee engagement and tangible business results. We know that more diverse teams are more innovative, engaged, and creative in their work.

Secondly, as a business-to-business company, we work with the world’s leading brands, and certification is an essential component to be shortlisted on our customer’s supplier roster.

Thirdly, EDGE certification gives us credibility with financial stakeholders. Investors are increasingly disregarding bond issuers that do not meet exceeding ESG criteria. Our certification is an important component in our value proposition for the investment community.

Lastly, EDGE certification has allowed us to underpin our local and global D&B strategies with robust data sets. The HR community at divisional and local levels, as well as Leadership teams, elicit EDGE country results to support local D&B strategies, and ensure the latter are aligned with the company’s global strategy.

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Every year on the 8th of March, the world celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. This is a unique moment to be proud of what has been achieved so far and inspire bold action to continue accelerating progress towards workplace equity and inclusion.

 And there is no better way to inspire such bold action than to put the spotlight on the organizations who are doing it. We asked IKEA Switzerland, International Flavors & Fragrances, L’Oréal, Capgemini, Pictet, Dow Switzerland, and the European Central Bank two questions. Read their stories.

IKEA Switzerland

Together we need to join forces around equality and inclusion, it is the human right and it is essential to leverage on the full human potential and by that sustainable development. It is more important than ever to reflect the diversity of society and strive for a 50/50 women and men in all levels and functions.

Why is now the time to act on gender equality in the workplace?

“Together we need to join forces around equality and inclusion, it is the human right and it is essential to leverage on the full human potential and by that sustainable development. It is more important than ever to reflect the diversity of society and strive for a 50/50 women and men in all levels and functions.”

As a leader who has taken concrete steps towards gender equality, how does EDGE Certification support your organization in its journey?

“In 2015, IKEA was the first and only company in the world that reached the highest level of this certification and since then IKEA has been recertified with EDGE Lead every second year. We are very proud of this. The EDGE certification, as one of different actions IKEA took, has contributed in our journey towards gender equality. More specifically, the fact that an external and objective evaluation takes place every second year, gives the result a greater degree of reliability and credibility.”

Jessica Anderen, Country Retail Manager and CSO for IKEA Switzerland

International Flavors & Fragrances

Why is now the time to act on gender equality in the workplace?

“Gender Equality is not just the right thing to do for a better society, it is a business imperative. Change does not just happen, we must take intentional proactive actions to accelerate our journey to gender parity.”

As a leader who has taken concrete steps towards gender equality, how did EDGE Certification support your organization in its journey?

“The EDGE Methodology & Certification sets a high bar and challenged IFF to reach the standards that we’d aspired to achieve on our journey to equality. Their roadmap provided us with concrete steps on how to drive changes in our workplace that helped to close gaps on gender parity in a shorter amount of time.”

Andreas Fibig, Chairman & CEO International Flavors & Fragrances

L’Oréal

Why is now the time to act on gender equality in the workplace?

“Working for Gender equality requires action every day: immediate and long-term. We are more convinced than ever that fostering a welcoming and supportive workplace for people of all genders adds value, boosts performance and powers innovation. At L’Oréal, we have been strongly and proactively committed to Diversity & Inclusion, more broadly, and, specifically, to gender equity for more than 15 years. These commitments are central to our business approach and Sense of Purpose.”

As a leader who has taken concrete steps towards gender equality, how does EDGE Certification support your organization in its journey?

“We know that our commitment to gender equality needs tangible measurements, in order to monitor our progress and identify where we can continue to improve. In this regard, EDGE plays a valuable role with an in-depth assessment of our gender inclusivity, which is essential to determine how to go even further.”

Jean-Paul Agon, L’Oreal Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Capgemini

Why is now the time to act on gender equality in the workplace?

“As a diverse team of 270,000 people spread across 50 countries, we understand the power of inclusion, and our commitment to building this future has never been stronger.  We know the pandemic has had an enhanced impact on women, and we have renewed our efforts to challenge existing ways of working, biases and stereotypes. As a result, the past year has shown a strong improvement in our gender balance; we are proud to say it has progressed like never before. But it is only the beginning of the journey : it’s time to act now.”

Aiman Ezzat – CEO Capgemini

As a leader who has taken concrete steps towards gender equality, how does EDGE Certification support your organization in its journey?

“Currently, Capgemini is EDGE certified in eight countries: Brazil, Canada, France, India, Morocco, Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United States. The process provided by EDGE allowed us to create a benchmark against our competitors and really examine where  we had successes and opportunities to improve. The recommendations provided by EDGE helped us elevate conversations and create better strategies that get to the root cause of how to grow gender balance across levels. In the US, we transitioned from a broad approach to a strategic focus on actions that would accelerate impact.”

Janet P. Pope – North America CSR Director Capgemini

Pictet

Why is now the time to act on gender equality in the workplace?

The core purpose of Pictet is to build responsible partnerships – with the companies in which we invest and with our clients, colleagues and communities. It is part of our duty as a responsible employer to lead in building an equitable world devoid of biases and discrimination. While it takes time to catch up on years of imbalance, with the global realization of how widespread and common gender discrimination still is, there is currently a formidable momentum for change. There has never been a more urgent moment than now to proactively and consciously support women in their career development.

As a leader who has taken concrete steps towards gender equality, how did EDGE Certification support your organization in its journey?

The EDGE framework provides a valuable guide to prioritizing our actions towards gender equality. We have found the certification process to be a constructive support to our efforts on this journey, bringing credibility to our initiatives, transparency of our commitment to employees, and an unbiased measure of our progress.

Rémy Best, Managing Partner, Pictet Group

Dow Switzerland

I think we need to first acknowledge that positive, productive action has been underway for many years now. A tremendous amount of work remains, but the will is there and both our own internal commitments and external societal expectations are coming together to force positive change. Having said that, the global pandemic has had a devastating effect on female participation in the workforce. Employers the world over are losing the critically valuable contributions of their female workforce, and we’re losing it to the other critical role women predominantly occupy: That of mother and of household and family caregiver. Now is the time to act because the professional workforce thrives on the contributions and diverse perspectives of women. We perform at our best when women have a seat at the table.

Why is now the time to act on gender equality in the workplace?

 “I think we need to first acknowledge that positive, productive action has been underway for many years now. A tremendous amount of work remains, but the will is there and both our own internal commitments and external societal expectations are coming together to force positive change. Having said that, the global pandemic has had a devastating effect on female participation in the workforce. Employers the world over are losing the critically valuable contributions of their female workforce, and we’re losing it to the other critical role women predominantly occupy: That of mother and of household and family caregiver. Now is the time to act because the professional workforce thrives on the contributions and diverse perspectives of women. We perform at our best when women have a seat at the table.”

As a leader who has taken concrete steps towards gender equality, how does EDGE Certification support your organization in its journey?

“We benefit from EDGE certification in countless ways. It is, first and foremost, a gold standard and we are very proud of the affiliation. To me, the most meaningful internal and external benefit we gain is the freedom of transparency. By laying bare our philosophies, programs and metrics, we acknowledge both the progress we have made and the work that remains. It’s a very public commitment to gender diversity in our global workforce, making that EDGE affiliation both a badge of honor and a very visible reminder that we have committed to a standard of gender diversity representation that far exceeds where we stand today. EDGE challenges us to improve, and that is a healthy challenge we gladly and proudly accept.”

Neil Carr, President, Dow Europe, Middle East, Africa and India

The European Central Bank​

Why is now the time to act on gender equality in the workplace?

“The pandemic has the worrying potential to dial back the hard-fought progress on gender equality. We must not let this happen! Diversity and inclusion in the workplace are key to making the world economy more equal and better prepared for crises such as the present one.”

As a leader who has taken concrete steps towards gender equality, how did EDGE Certification support your organization in its journey?

“The EDGE Certification has provided us with an incredibly rich picture of our organisation and a roadmap for how we can continue to improve on gender equality. While our journey is far from over, I am very proud of the progress we have made and our new certification recognises this.”

Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank

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We asked Frédéric Clément, Global Head of Human Resources of AXA IM to share his Expert Point of View on AXA IM’s evolution on gender balance, diversity, and inclusion, and which role those elements have in their broader sustainable agenda. Read more on how the EDGE certification journey contributed to bringing more credibility to the change inside the organization.

How did the business case for gender balance DE&I evolve over the last 18 months?

Global awareness of gender balance and DE&I issues has clearly accelerated in recent years. This is due in particular to the arrival of generation Z in the workplace, bringing strong and uncompromising expectations on employers to align with the social developments and advances of our time and to address the inequalities inherited from the past. This generation is the first one to have spent their whole lives in a digital age and, as a result, they are the most global in their thinking and interaction.

With this evolution, we are entering an age of employee’s expectations and actions that is changing our assumptions about power within organizations. Employees are increasingly voicing their thoughts or quitting laggard companies.

At AXA IM, we’ve understood that creating a truly inclusive and equitable workplace is fundamental to a company’s financial performance. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are increasingly getting integrated into AXA IM’s sustainability agenda and are no longer seen only as a talent strategy. We foster a workplace where no one is defined by a single characteristic and everyone can bring their whole selves and be an active ally.

Achieving EDGE Move certification, four years after achieving the first level of certification, recognizes AXA IM’s commitment and progress towards a more inclusive and equitable workplace.

While we’re convinced of the relevance of our approach, we’re also aware that we won’t have all the answers, there is still a long way to go, and that is why we continue to listen to our lived experiences and educate ourselves.

We have a long-standing commitment to inclusion and diversity, and we are determined to act to reduce these inequalities, both in our role as an employer, as a business, and as a responsible investors.

EDGE Certification brings visibility and credibility to the change happening inside the organization. At the same time, it creates the premises for diverse talent to thrive at work. Tell us some stories about how your employees benefit from the EDGE certification journey of your organization.

We’ve been working a lot to implement actions to continue supporting our goal of tackling both the under-representation of women in the workforce and higher levels of gender imbalance in senior and investment roles.

Our Emerging Female Talent program aims to help manage the unique challenges women face as young professionals that could potentially curtail their future access to leadership positions. This is part of our efforts to improve female progression into senior leadership positions and monitor the gender balance of the successors to leadership positions.

In addition, we continue rolling out our program for all hiring managers globally on inclusive recruitment practices. The program looks at the importance of structured, consistent interview techniques and also how to mitigate potential bias in the process. It also underlines the business case for greater diversity and how it can support the performance of the team as well as our ability to innovate.

We also set up working groups to foster an inclusive and diverse work environment within the context of our missions, values, business practices, and objectives that each employee can join on a voluntary basis. These groups are able to develop internal programs and events that suit the needs and interests of their membership and help support our strategy for inclusion and diversity. And it’s not just words: the valuable brainstorming work done by our employees is then used in a concrete way. We’ve started working on a menopause standard for our company. This idea came from one of these working groups held in Q1 2022.

Also, we have set up an inclusive global parent policy with the same minimum parental leave provision for all our employees globally and we offer 1:1 virtual maternity and paternity coaching both for employees and managers to support individuals throughout the different stages of parental transition.

Finally, we conducted our first global inclusion and diversity survey in September 2021 which has allowed us to obtain aggregated data on the feeling of inclusion amongst different demographic groups, including women, people with disabilities, and ethnic minorities. The information collected will provide the insights to reinforce our strategy and continue to make progress in line with our commitments and our EDGE action plan.

These examples of initiatives are just one part of our inclusion and diversity strategy and we will continue to evolve them in the future, always with a clear objective: at AXA IM, we assess people based on their skills and what they bring to the team.

What do you think workplace gender balance, diversity and inclusion mean to the next generation (e.g., of leaders / customers / investors)?

Over the years, the demand for stricter inclusion and diversity policies has grown and is finally starting to have an impact, clients are becoming more demanding in terms of commitments to diversity. At AXA IM, we support and encourage this positive dynamic as much as possible, and we are convinced that the impact of this dynamic will be huge. Tackling inequalities and working towards an inclusive and equitable workplace will soon be an economic necessity for any business, especially as younger generations continue to turn their backs on ‘laggards’ and prioritize those with a virtuous and inclusive approach.

We believe that enabling different ways of thinking and varied experiences in the workplace will be key to our success in the long term. A diverse workforce helps us attract the most talented people because they know they can flourish with us and realize their full potential. Diversity can also help us meet the needs of our clients across different markets – both globally and locally – by engaging with investee companies to hold them to the same high standards of achieving greater diversity. Studies have shown that a well-balanced and gender-diverse Executive Committee leads to higher profitability and value creation, overcomes issues of groupthink, triggers debates and innovation, and leads to stronger diversity of representation across the organization.

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is proud to announce it has progressed to the EDGE Move level – the second of three certification levels – of EDGE Certification. EDGE is the leading assessment and business certification for gender and intersectional equity in the workplace, worldwide. This certification recognizes the IMF’s significant improvements in gender representation across all levels of its workforce and commitment and progress in monitoring, benchmarking, and achieving workplace gender equality. The IMF initially became EDGE certified at the EDGE Assess level in 2017 and secured a recertification at the same level in 2019. Today, almost 40 percent of the IMF’s senior leadership team are women.

“I am most pleased and proud of the progress the Fund has made toward a more equitable workplace,” said IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. “This recognition of our internal commitment to gender equality comes on the heels of the Executive Board’s recent approval of the Fund’s first gender strategy aimed at integrating gender in the IMF’s core activities. The EDGE Move certification could not have been timelier, reinforcing the evidence and IMF’s belief that reducing gender disparities goes hand-in-hand with higher economic growth, greater economic stability and resilience, and lower income inequality. More work still lies ahead.”

The IMF promotes the full participation of women in the workforce globally. This empowers women and makes sound economic sense. The IMF believes it is equally important that women are fully represented in the institution’s own staffing. Since 2019, the share of women at the IMF’s top management has risen from 25 percent to 37 percent in 2022. At the Executive Board, the share of female Executive Directors has improved from 8 percent in 2019 to 17 percent in 2022. The Fund has made big progress in attracting and retaining top female talent and is committed to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion more broadly, beyond gender. The IMF’s efforts in this regard are reported in the biennial Diversity & Inclusion Reports.

“The assessment and independent certification process affirms that IMF is making progress on its workplace gender equity journey. Having reached the second of three levels of EDGE Certification, it is showcasing progress toward a more gender equitable workplace. The EDGE Move certification, along with IMF’s new Gender Strategy, demonstrates a strong and relevant commitment to gender equity and DE&I as a driver of sustainable economic growth and opportunity, not only for the organization itself but also for its 190 member countries,” Aniela Unguresan, Founder of EDGE Certified Foundation said.

About the IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 190 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.

Created in 1945, the IMF is governed by and accountable to the 190 countries that make up its near-global membership.

For further information, visit www.imf.org or follow us on Twitter @IMFNEWS and #IMFGender.

Author: Simona Scarpaleggia

Board Member, EDGE Strategy

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Encouraging greater equity in the workplace is an ambition that all would agree is a desirable outcome. A more balanced and equitable workforce is proven to contribute to a better performing and more creative business.

Achieving that balance, however, often tends to focus on what steps women can take to advance their careers, when in fact the debate should be focused also on what men could be doing to support their female colleagues. 

Men have traditionally been resistant to change. Externally, they may declare an intention to drive change, but may not be aware of the simple steps they can take to turn an intent into reality. So why is this?

Men have traditionally been resistant to change. Externally, they may declare an intention to drive change, but may not be aware of the simple steps they can take to turn an intent into reality. So why is this?

Firstly, there is a real fear in men that in promoting women, they lose their own status in their company, their department, and even in their family. “Masculinity,” writes Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist, “is hard to win but easy to lose.” I can recall a time at IKEA more than 15 years ago when the CEO declared an intent to promote more women in the business, only to find that the top 200 positions in the group were taken by men – and nearly all were white, 40-year-old men from Sweden!

For three days, these 200 leaders, alongside 50 women identified as having high potential, debated how to remove gender bias and promote more women in the business. We met again later for another three days, after which we formulated our first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) strategy. During these conversations, I well remember one of the men speaking passionately against the idea of positively promoting women saying that now, as a man, he had no career. The CEO was swift in his response: his colleague did have a career, but now there was more competition. The opportunity to be promoted on merit had not disappeared; it was simply that now there was a greater pool of talent to choose from.

Removing the barriers

The belief that men have a greater right to promotion and a career is certainly one barrier that needs to be removed. Another is the belief that men cannot be carers, and that those who do take time out to spend with their children are stigmatized for doing so.

Raising a family is considered ‘women’s work’, and they are discriminated against in the workplace because of it. Men who take parental leave, on the other hand, fear being seen as lazy or otherwise not committed to the business, and so refrain from taking leave to which they are entitled. Many men would actively welcome the opportunity of spending more time with their families and children but are afraid that their absence from the business will disrupt their future career progression, and how they are viewed by their peers. Removing that stigma against men will serve to advance the position of women, because there would be no need to discriminate against them.

Men can also take practical steps in everyday scenarios to support their female colleagues. They can be more proactive in including co-workers in conversations in social settings, finding topics of common interest, and not just talking about football or beer.

Leaders can be more helpful in giving women a voice in meetings, where statistics prove that men speak for longer than women, and women who do speak are often ignored. This is contrary to the now well-publicized comments from Yoshiro Mori, the former president of the Tokyo Olympics committee, who famously said that women should not be on committees because they talk too much! His comments, reported in the Financial Times and elsewhere, were not only sexist but also factually incorrect.

A review conducted by Deborah Tannen, a Professor of Linguistics, of 56 studies of speaking patterns in meetings found only two where women talked more than men. The phenomenon of ‘Manterrupting’, however, is not always intended to offend. Adam Grant wrote in the Washington Post last year that men sometimes see interruptions as a sign of engagement, ‘whereas women take them as a show of disrespect’.

The belief that men have a greater right to promotion and a career is certainly one barrier that needs to be removed.

Changing behaviours

Men can change how they see and react to women who have a point of view that they wish to express, and how they interpret what they say. If a man is assertive, he is seen as having drive and being initiative, and in control. A woman who is assertive is seen as being aggressive, and a threat to a fragile male ego. This was the point made by Tanvi Akhauri in a recent article in Shethepeople. A man who shows assertive traits ‘is hailed as a powerhouse of leadership, a man with a plan, a man who will take his team along’. Assertive women, on the other hand, are ‘loud, rude and bitchy’.

In many companies, the more prosaic tasks are nearly always given to women. At meetings, it is the women who are expected to make the coffee, or take the minutes, re-enforcing a prejudice that they are somehow less important than their male counterparts. Mentoring of new starters or interns is also usually given to women, and although they are of course up to the task, it is still taking them away from their day job and sending out the wrong message that their job does not carry the same weight as a man’s.

Key to the advancement of women in the workplace is measurement, hiring and promoting women where they are under-represented, and understanding the importance of a balanced team. But it is also about freeing men from the impression that women are somehow the enemy to their own career progression. They are not.

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Author: Aniela Unguresan

Founder of EDGE Strategy and Founder of the EDGE Certified Foundation

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Gender and age are two of the most frequently used characteristics to identify individuals because they are universal and trackable, regardless of country or industry.

But just as we talk about understanding the role of gender at work, so we also need to consider the intersection of age and gender, as neither operates in isolation and both are relevant when we talk about collaboration in the workplace.

The author George Orwell once famously remarked: ‘Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.’ The same is true today.

Growing generational spans

Even to the casual observer, careers have grown longer in span. When my parents were of working age, no more than two or three generations were present in the workforce. Now, the EDGE Certification process regularly shows as many as five generations present within a workforce at the same time, a change that brings new complexities along with a new set of dynamics.

However, some things never change. The author George Orwell once famously remarked: “Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.” The same is true today. As in previous times, there’s a recognition that the younger generations are upset with those older than them. In the present day there are two key reasons often stated – the environment and climate change, and deficits in pension systems that will play out when the young retire in decades to come.

But despite the differences in generational perspectives, both inhabit the same workplace. This makes it important for organizations to measure and understand where different generations converge and where they diverge in their values, goals and expectations.

Fundamentally, organizations that take time to understand the intergenerational dynamics, can develop a robust plan for passing the baton from one generation to another seamlessly, without losing all the knowledge, wisdom and experience that has been accumulated over the years.

Views of today and tomorrow

Earlier this year, the St. Gallen Symposium alongside the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions published a global study in its ‘Voices of the Leaders of Tomorrow’ series entitled ‘Passing on the Baton’¹. It detailed the results of a survey, run in February 2022, that sought views from 683 leaders of tomorrow and 300 leaders of today on decision-making, priorities, and collaboration across generations. Of the many findings, the gender split was especially remarkable.

Gender split of top and upper management of organizations

© Nuremburg Institute for Market Decisions & St. Gallen Symposium: Voices of the Leaders of Tomorrow 2022

In overview, of the leaders of today occupying the top and upper management of organizations, 30% were female, and 70% were male; this reflects the unbalanced gender composition of top management teams in corporations today. But of the leaders of tomorrow, the demographic was different: 44% were female, 54% were male, and 2% classed themselves as non-binary or preferred not to answer.

This is interesting. Not only does the finding offer commentary on how gender composition at the top of the organization needs to evolve for organizations to remain current, but it also illustrates how definitions of gender have evolved between generations.

Managing generational complexities effectively means, in essence, defining a path for the sharing of knowledge and transitioning of power and decisionmaking from the older to the younger generations.

But therein lies the challenge – the older generation feel that they are at their peak and have little desire to share what they have until they need to.

‘Passing on the Baton’ studied this problem. It sought to find out where the views of leaders of today and leaders of tomorrow converge and diverge; it also wanted to uncover the issues that companies are facing when managing a multi-generational workforce.

There were several noteworthy findings. One that the leaders of today and tomorrow both agreed upon, was the social polarization of our societies which makes it difficult for people with different views to hold constructive conversations. In essence, our views have become more entrenched, and we are less capable of accepting opposing points of view; it’s now much harder to work and collaborate with somebody holding a different opinion. And social media is often behind this.

Worryingly, both generations of leaders believed that the other generation is demanding too much while complaining of unjustified demands placed on them. It’s not unsurprising that the leaders of tomorrow were unhappy about being told to wait to take up senior management roles.

Leaders of tomorrow and today disagree on the willingness
of the younger generation to take real responsibility,
revealing a major gap in perception

What is your opinion on the following items about transfer of decision-making and responsibility?

n = 683 Leaders of Tomorrow; n = 300 Leaders of Today © Nuremburg Institute for Market Decisions & St. Gallen Symposium: Voices of the Leaders of Tomorrow 2022

But beyond this is a pervading and skeptical view held by the leaders of today that the younger generation are unwilling to take on more responsibility – both in business and in politics. In contrast, the leaders of tomorrow responded that they want responsibility but are held back because the leaders of today don’t want to relinquish authority.

Another key finding made by the survey was that the leaders of tomorrow were extremely concerned about pension systems while leaders of today were less worried. Certain European countries serve to illustrate the future pension challenge. Fifteen years ago, the average Austrian would live in retirement for eight years. Now that figure is more like 22 years – a near tripling of the time they are entitled to make use of the pension system.

Value of quota systems

Both groups of leaders agreed that quotas are crucial instruments to ensure participation, whether in terms of politics or in relation to business decision-making.

But in seeking an imposed and non-negotiable quota system, should we be concerned? Have we lost faith that market-based mechanisms and voluntary systems work? Or we are saying that market-based instruments and voluntary systems are needed, but they nevertheless require a prescriptive framework to enable them to function properly?

Technology, and artificial intelligence especially, was another point of contention. The leaders of today worry that technology can no longer be controlled. In contrast, the leaders of tomorrow are more relaxed about the concept. Who is right and who is wrong is a game that will play out between digital immigrants – the leaders of today – who struggle with new technologies, and digital natives – the leaders of tomorrow – who are fully on board and trusting.

Working together

So, how do we enable and empower different views to be expressed, understood, and exchanged? And how can we move from divergent positions to that of collaboration, innovation and problem solving?

The first step is to acknowledge the tendency of older generations to attribute negative traits to those beneath them – a stereotype that some have labelled as the ‘kids-these-days effect’. The same can be said to be true for views held by the young of the older generation.

Next, we need to counter ageism that is very much alive and prevalent in youth-centric western societies. Often leaders of today are accused of having rigid views and personalities, of cognitive impairment, and are said to be digitally ignorant and unwilling to learn. This is not necessarily so.

Age-related complexity exists and it’s all around us – in the workplace, at home, in society, and in decisionmaking bodies. Ageism will persist, and the only thing we can do is manage it proactively. Intergenerational differences and complexities can be both harmful and wonderful. They should, however, be understood and leveraged for the benefit of all.

¹https://symposium.org/voices-of-the-leaders-of-tomorrow-2022/

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Author: Aniela Unguresan

Founder of EDGE Strategy and Founder of the EDGE Certified Foundation

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Workplace gender equality is one of the keys to prosperous societies. It’s also central to sustainable business success, inclusive economic growth, and importantly, the health of the social fabric of an organization as well as a larger community. And yet, time and again, we underestimate its power to unlock hidden value and values.

The EDGE Certified Foundation, however, has formulated a theory of change of the ripple effects of workplace gender equality. We firmly believe that when change happens in the workplace, ripple effects follow and the efforts to build gender equal workplaces spill into the wider business practises of organizations. They filter though to how organizations work with business partners, how they invest, and how they build their supply chains.

Looking beyond the workplace, change can also spill over into the lives of people in general. We have seen how workplace gender equality can cascade down from a business community into the lives of employees.

It has become easier to advocate for workplace gender equality now than it was more than a decade ago when the EDGE Certified Foundation was founded. But this debate is often led by business cases and talks about the benefits for an organization and its business practises. However, the focus should also be on the benefits that gender equal workplaces bring to the lives of women in the workplace.

We believe that the workplace gender equality equation has three main components – the organization, the women working with that organization, and the men in the same workplace. For change to happen workplace gender equality needs to mean something concrete for each of the three components. This means that organizations on a gender equality journey need to have clear answers and be able to detail what are the specific benefits for each involved. In overview, organizations need to highlight and articulate why they are investing in gender equality, what the benefits are, and how workplace experiences, career paths and lives will in general improve.

As Robin Ely, Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, so eloquently wrote in her 2020 article, ‘Getting Serious About Diversity: Enough Already with the Business Case’: “Why should anyone need an economic rationale for affirming the agency and dignity of any group of human beings? We should make the necessary investment because doing so honours our own and others’ humanity and gives our lives meaning.”

There are several tangible benefits for women and men that follow from organizations making prioritized, intentional, and measured efforts towards gender equality. And they revolve around markers such as increased income, improved working conditions, redistribution of care responsibilities, greater sense of self-worth and well-being, and in general, a shift to an equalized bargaining power within their households and within their communities.

Whenever we talk about the spill over effects it is true to say that some are more complex to measure than others. However, they are easy to quantify and the causal links easy to establish.

EDGE Certified organizations commit to provide assistance with childcare. They also make sure that in helping with childcare they make it equally available not just for women but for men as well.

Rising incomes

When organizations close gender pay gaps a number of employees, most often women, see their income increasing. This results in greater financial stability not just in the present, but in the long run as their investment and retirement capital potential increases. Such short-term and long-term financial stability can be directly attributed to closing the gender pay gap precisely because it makes available more disposable income for spending, investment and retirement.

This is a phenomenal positive effect of the pursuit for workplace gender equality.

With women globally earning around 37% less¹ than men in similar roles, the differences between what a woman can buy and invest compared to a man are not only very consequential but also unfair.

Better access to childcare

A second benefit is equally significant – greater access to childcare and a redistribution of care responsibilities.

This is because such responsibilities directly affect a woman’s career trajectory and income; women are less likely to put in long hours and are more likely to take leave to care for children or sick family members. They are also much more likely to take career breaks.

Organizations pursuing gender equity know that supporting a redistribution of care responsibility is key for women’s career prospects and income.

EDGE Certified organizations commit to provide assistance with childcare. They also make sure that in helping with childcare they make it equally available not just for women but for men as well.

So, next time when you apply for a job, ask what the organization is doing to achieve workplace gender equality.

Redefined gender roles

Such organizations also provide for equal, if not very comparable, lengths of paid paternity and maternity leave – a third benefit. But they go further and ensure that fathers are actively encouraged to take the full length of paid paternity leave available to them.

This not only allows women to have smoother career trajectories, but it also allows men to have the same type of ‘stop and go’ careers as women, helping to level the playing field. Plus, from the outset, this sends signals that parental leave is not a gender issue, it is a parental issue.

And this is how beneficial paternity leave can be. Fathers that took leave after birth believe this was directly responsible for their greater involvement in the ongoing care of their child compared to those that didn’t. They also believe that paternity leave led to improvements in the quality of family life².

But let’s not forget that women with children who work are termed ‘working mothers’. Men in the same situation are not, however, called ‘working fathers’. Instead, they are called ‘professional men’. By not allowing fathers to be termed ‘working’ they risk losing their entitlement to take parental leave.

The solution lies in creating support groups for working fathers where senior management discuss the role of the working father; doing this equalizes the concept of working men with that of a working mother.

And so, with more women in positions of power and authority, more men will be in support roles, or working part time, more equally shared care responsibilities, and we will all learn to rip off the straitjacket of traditional gender roles from work and the home.

So, next time when you apply for a job, ask what the organization is doing to achieve workplace gender equality. Your career development prospects, whether you are a man or a woman, will be very different depending on what the answer is. Next time you decide to invest in a company, or buy products and services from a company, ask what they do to ensure women and men thrive in the workplace. The prosperity of our economy and well-being of our society depends on it.

¹Global Gender Gap Report 2021 – World Economic Forum
²Ellison et al., 2009. 56% of British fathers who took Paternity Leave believe this was directly responsible for their greater involvement in the care of their children in the longer term; and 69% said it led to improvements in the quality of family life.

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