Conference Presentation, Panel
Lessons in Leadership: Women Breaking Barriers and Battling Bias
- Global gender equality in the workplace is not expected to be achieved by 2186, with the process likely concluding post-mortem relative to the speaker's current age due to its protracted nature.
- Organizations ignoring changing demographics and HR's limited scope risk missing the business rationale for diversity despite shifts in the workforce and client base.
- Muse Capital plans to invest in businesses led by both women and men, anticipating that female-led companies will shift perceptions and that the fund will perform well based on the premise that great leaders in great companies drive success.
- The speaker predicts that hiring women from the outset will dramatically increase the odds of finding perfect candidates, eventually making gender diversity the norm and allowing quotas to be removed once diversity is embedded in corporate culture.
- Norway's 2006 40% quota for female directors resulted in female board members being more likely to hold degrees than their male counterparts, contradicting prior opponent predictions.
- Three conditions are required for women to secure leadership without quotas: men in power must change internal biases, effective agents of change must advocate for other women, and more women must be involved in the venture landscape.
- The 30% Club's target-setting approach is expected to drive change by prompting investors to vote against chairs and nominating committees that fail to show diversity improvements, with 30% viewed as a minimum threshold rather than an end goal.
- Asset owners and managers in the UK, Australia, Canada, and the US are expected to scrutinize companies regarding unmet diversity targets and succession planning.
- Diverse executive teams are predicted to rapidly escalate workplace changes and significantly increase company value, while investment funds led by diverse managers in Europe are hoped to grow, though the UK currently lags behind the US.
- Muse Capital aims to lead by example in the UK investment landscape and remains open to connecting with women founders for advice, while expecting that increased women in startup funding decisions will dramatically alter the landscape.
- A commitment exists to contributing to a seismic shift in executive management diversity, with the belief that practical decisions based on efficacy rather than emotional or political factors will yield dramatic strides.
- Plans include launching a women-led wellbeing community hub in Somerset, creating a body of work called "The Power of Seven" using archetypes for group-based change, and working with ActionAid on a global plan for women in disaster areas.
- A global environmental campaign focusing on the quality of life for women, children, and girls is being developed alongside the expectation that groups of seven women collaborating can generate social action in corporations and other sectors.
- UN research indicates the future of the world depends on achieving balance for 11-year-old girls globally, with the expectation that addressing this balance will fundamentally transform the world.
- Jackie Cooper expects a future where young women face no harassment or discrimination, viewing the absence of such experiences as a barometer for fundamental change, and believes telling girls they can enter traditionally male spaces will encourage participation.
- Businesses are expected to only shift when they implement measurable KPIs and hard practical measurements, with the right culture enabling women to achieve their goals if they feel capable of success.
- Female representation in leadership is predicted to make other women feel they can access executive committees, while the expectation exists that women are leaving the corporate world due to misaligned values rather than a desire to have children.
- A cultural shift toward circular management and leadership is deemed necessary to stop the abuse of power found in linear hierarchies, contingent on top leaders supporting change through language and initiative backing.
- Technology is expected to provide women with the freedom to start businesses, work remotely, raise children, and continue as advisors.
- The 30% Club and similar initiatives aim to agitate for change, with the hope that the Me Too movement continues to grow as part of a broader cultural shift, and that a global plan addressing the balance for 11-year-old girls will result in a world characterized by peace, harmony, safety, and abundance.