WOMEN Unlimited, Inc.

Transcription

1 20th Anniversary Corporate Partner Survey As celebrates twenty years of partnering with corporations in the development of high potential female leaders, we sought to understand organizations strategy for advancing female leaders. We also wanted to understand how women and their managers viewed their development. We are pleased to share the key aspects of our survey. We were not surprised to hear that our corporate partners have strong talent management strategies and view Gender as a Business Asset. The research is clear: More women at the top is good for business. Companies with more women on the Board of Directors outperform those with the least by 53% in return on equity. (Catalyst, 2007) Fortune 500 Companies with the highest percentage of women officers had a 34% higher total return to shareholders than those with few women corporate officers. (Catalyst, 2007) Top-ranked European firms with the highest proportion of women posted operating margins and market capitalization twice as high as other firms. (McKinsey, 2007) Yet... Women account for less than 14.6% of executive officer positions in Fortune 500 companies. (Catalyst, 2014) -1-

2 Our partners shared their practices in Measuring the Impact of Talent Development More than 75% of the HR Leaders we surveyed use these metrics: Retention Advancement or Promotions Employee Engagement (or other measure of employee satisfaction) Only 15% of the respondents use financial results as a metric Importance of Focusing on Women More than half the HR Leaders who responded believe Women face unique challenges in the corporate environment. The representation of women at senior levels of the organization is too low. However, only 25% of the respondents said their company has a specific talent strategy for women. -2-

3 Program Alumnae development programs are designed to create a transformational learning experience. We asked women to share their perspective on the critical areas of growth and development they experienced. Transformational Learning for Women Challenges faced before program currently Navigating the corporate landscape to successfully drive business results. Navigating the corporate landscape to successfully manage career. Communicating effectively with people across the organization % 21.66% 48.99% 29.97% 30.72% 10.98% Being seen as a strong leader in organization % 26.11% Understanding how to shift behavior to be more successful. Challenging themselves to speak up or step forward for opportunities. Thinking strategically about business challenges and opportunities. Cultivating a broad network of colleagues and mentors. Understanding how to establish relationships with key individuals, such as mentors, to support development % 16.91% 48.99% 18.69% 37.39% 27.60% 46.09% 29.38% 37.39% 16.62% -3-

4 Manager s Perspective The manager plays a vital role as they provide support as well as opportunities for growth. The managers shared the challenges they face in developing the high potential women on their staff. Of those Managers faced with the following challenges Helping high potential women take accountability for managing their careers Delivering and receiving feedback with high-potential women Managers identified the following areas as critical areas they could provide guidance and support: Challenges faced before program currently Navigating the corporate landscape to successfully manage career % 29.97% Being seen as a strong leader in organization % 26.11% Challenging themselves to speak up or step forward for opportunities. Cultivating a broad network of colleagues and mentors % 18.69% 46.09% 29.38% 70% said that they were able to leverage the WOMEN Unlimited programs to address these. -4-

5 Strategies for Retaining Women are a Matter of Perspective More than 60% of Managers and Mentors surveyed believe that high-potential women can be retained by: Providing more opportunities to develop leadership skills on the job. Providing development early in their careers. Creating formalized mentoring programs. Having a thoughtful and defined succession planning process. Investing in external development. -5-

6 Resources Whitepaper Women's Mentoring Wisdom: Effective Mentoring Relationships for Mid- Career Women by Dr. Rosina L. Racioppi, WUI President & CEO WUI Blog Compendium unlimited.com/documents/resources/wui_strategies_compendium_ebook_ pdf TedTalk The Missing 33% Susan Colantuono is CEO of Leading Women Catalyst.org -6-