Panel, Conference Presentation
Leaning In or Pushed Out: Where Are the Senior Women in Business?
Milken InstituteRichard Ditizio, Margery Kraus, Sallie Krawcheck, Lauren Leichtman, Liz Claman, Marjorie Kraus, Michelle Kidley, Jeff, Manjuka Nariwala
- Core Problem Identified: Despite women comprising over 50% of college graduates, their representation flattens in middle management, with senior leadership roles held by only ~16% women (a 1% increase over the past three years).
- Financial Performance Data: Research from Catalyst indicates companies with diverse management teams achieve Return on Equity (ROE) more than 30% higher, with lower volatility, greater client focus, and a longer-term perspective.
- Market Regression: In the financial sector, which requires risk mitigation, the presence of women in senior roles has regressed over the past 15 years rather than improved.
- Entrepreneurial Growth: Women-owned businesses have grown approximately 57% faster over the last decade compared to male-led startups.
- The "Intellectual Honesty" Bias: Panelists noted that women often hesitate to accept roles due to a lack of prior experience ("I've never done this before"), whereas men frequently accept roles they aren't qualified for; this honesty may disadvantage women in advancement.
- The Double-Bind: Women face a perception dilemma where being assertive is viewed as "aggressive," while being self-effacing results in missed opportunities and responsibilities.
- Bias in Hiring and Promotion: Search firms and boards often fail to select women unless they constitute at least half of the candidate mix; with only one woman on a slate, selection probability drops significantly.
- Cultural Language Shifts: The term "working mother" implies an aberration, whereas "working parent" (a term recently adopted by major publications) suggests gender neutrality in family responsibilities.
- Unpaid Time Costs: Women spend an average of 60 hours per year (15 minutes daily) on hair and makeup, an invisible cost that men do not incur, contributing to productivity gaps.
- Flexibility Paradox: 60% of full-time working mothers desire flexibility, yet existing corporate programs are stigmatized, causing women to be sidelined or "pushed out" when utilizing them.
- Maternity Policy Failures: In one documented case, an attorney accepting a 40% pay cut for part-time work received a poor performance review and was denied partnership track, forcing her to leave the firm.
- Regulatory Opportunity: Panelists suggested regulators could utilize CAMEL ratings (Capital, Asset quality, Management, Earnings, Liquidity) to penalize institutions with homogenous management teams that exhibit higher risk profiles.
- Investor Pressure: Recommendations include using shareholder voting power to demand diversity from boards and divesting from companies with poor gender records, leveraging the "dollar vote."
- Mandatory Male Inclusion: The panel argued that gender diversity initiatives must include men, as excluding them leads to insular discussions and prevents systemic change.
- Spousal Support Critical: Success in high-level finance during child-rearing years (ages 25–50) is heavily dependent on a supportive partner who shares domestic and career responsibilities.
- Feedback Gap: Men are often reluctant to provide critical feedback to women due to a fear of appearing to make them emotional, hindering women's professional development compared to male peers.
- Media Bias: Female leaders face disproportionate scrutiny regarding appearance, attire, and voice accent rather than professional competence.
- Guilt Mitigation: Panelists emphasized that guilt regarding career-family balance is a barrier; integrating children into the business lifecycle (as practiced by some family-owned firms) can transform perceived negatives into skill-building positives.
- Zero-Sum Myth: Panelists argued that adding women to leadership is not a loss of power for men but a diversification of skill sets that improves organizational outcomes, rejecting the notion that leadership must be "masculine."
- Immediacy Deficit: Unlike the urgent crisis response seen in the AIDS epidemic (ACT UP), the lack of immediate consequences for gender inequality allows the status quo to persist despite known business benefits.
- Transparency as a Tool: Government bodies and corporate governance offices can drive change by mandating transparency in senior female representation, which pressures boards to act without immediate legislative quotas.
- Future-Proofing Skills: Leading diverse teams is harder than leading homogenous ones, but the future global economy requires these exact skills to navigate cross-border and cross-cultural challenges.
- Call to Action: Panelists urged women to stop waiting for permission, to "fight for their spot" even if it is uncomfortable, and to adopt a mindset where success is determined by personal drive rather than external validation.