When I moved into the role of CEO in 2023, I made joining CEOs for Gender Equity a priority. We're all facing significant global challenges and need to work together to create positive change. Collaborating with leaders from such a broad range of enterprises has been a real privilege, offering a platform to exchange perspectives and learn from insights shared.
We know that gender equity leads to enhanced decision-making and better outcomes, and companies with the most gender-diverse teams are outperforming others by a substantial 15%, as highlighted in McKinsey's 2020 research.
So how is it possible that we're still grappling with issues like the persistent gender pay gap and a lack of diversity in senior leadership positions?
As a kid, I had a firm belief in equality and fairness. I thought the hard work had already been done and that my opportunities as a woman would be unlimited. I was surprised when I entered the workforce and found that wasn’t always the case. Some barriers to participation and engagement were overt, but most were subtle, like a lack of understanding that men may need access to flexible working arrangements when they have children or caring responsibilities.
As the leader of a small company, creating a team from scratch was a special opportunity. Nevertheless, even with a real commitment to equity, creating a fair, psychologically safe workplace isn’t always easy.
For us, this meant looking at what our strengths are as a team and figuring out what might stop some people from really expressing their opinions. We've always been flexible about where and when we work, but one thing that helped was scheduling meetings between 9:30 AM and 2:30 PM when possible and using outcomes-focused performance metrics.
It's tough to find the right people with the right specialist skills, but some things, like having an equal number of men and women in the team, pay equity, and a genuine commitment to diversity and inclusion, must be non-negotiable. This goes for our leaders too where we work to have equal representation and decision-making input.
Beyond this commitment to fairness, striving for equity has business benefits as well. Our company helps people to learn at work, so having different perspectives from within our team is key to offering the best creative solutions.
The pathway to real gender equity might be rocky, but I'm holding onto my childhood belief in equality, and I’m committed to working with others to champion change and pave the way to a brighter, fairer tomorrow.