Conference Presentation, Panel, Keynote
Lessons in Leadership: Women Breaking Barriers and Battling Bias
Milken InstituteYomi Abiola, Richard Ditizio, Asli Bayram, Jackie Cooper, Lynne Franks, Assia Grazioli-Venier, Brenda Trenowden
- Global gender equality in the workplace is projected to occur no earlier than 2186, a timeline implying that current speakers will not witness the resolution as they would be 206 years old; this protracted fight suggests that women-only spaces may create cloistered environments that limit change.
- Diverse executive teams and boards are expected to drive significantly increased company value, reduce risk, and create more efficient operations, with financial services specifically noted as a lower first-choice option for young women compared to men, negatively impacting engagement and recruitment.
- A structural shift from linear hierarchical management to circular leadership styles is deemed necessary to stop power abuse, with change requiring top-level initiation by CEOs and chairpersons, the creation of safe spaces for women, and the embedding of diversity into culture to eventually allow quotas to be removed as seen in Norway's 2006 model.
- To achieve executive positions without quotas, three conditions must be met: men in power must overcome internal biases, women in existing positions must advocate for others, and more women must participate in the venture landscape, where their involvement is expected to dramatically alter startup funding decisions.
- Strategic targets, such as the 30% Club's minimum of 30% representation on boards and executive teams, will be enforced through measurable KPIs, shareholder agitation on succession planning, and voting against nomination committees that fail to demonstrate diversity.
- Fundamental cultural transformation is predicted to begin by educating young children on tolerance, ensuring 11-year-old girls are educated and protected from early marriage, and leveraging groups of seven women as research-backed units for maximum change.
- Specific initiatives include establishing a women-led well-being hub in Somerset, creating a "Power of Seven" body of work based on archetypes, and collaborating with ActionAid on a global humanitarian sector plan to address leadership imbalances.
- Despite challenges such as women facing difficulty attracting capital or being asked to alter their identities on resumes, there is an optimistic outlook that the next decade will expand conversations on diverse executive empowerment and add actual seats at the table.