Let's Celebrate #WomensEqualityDay with Celina Stewart of the League of Women Voters of the US!

Today is Women's Equality Day and marks the 105th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. This important day celebrates the achievements of women's rights activists (including my great-grandmother who marched for women's suffrage in upstate New York in the early 1900's) and reminds us of the struggles that women continue to face. Some of these struggles include the lack of equal pay for equal work; gender stereotypes, unconscious bias, and lack of mentorship opportunities in the workplace; a higher risk of sexual harassment in the workplace; under-representation in leadership positions; gender bias in hiring and promotions; and the impact of the motherhood penalty.

According to the National Women's History Alliance, "At the behest of Representative Bella Abzug (D-NY), in 1971, the United States Congress designated August 26th as "Women's Equality Day." The date was selected to commemorate the 1920 certification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. This was the culmination of a massive, peaceful civil rights movement by women that had its formal beginnings in 1848 at the world's first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York. The observance of Women's Equality Day not only commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, but also calls attention to women's continuing efforts toward full equality."

Founded soon after the passage of the 19th Amendment, the League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan grassroots volunteer organization that operates at the national, state, and local level, was born in 1920 when "fearless women fought for and finally attained the right to vote. Originally designed to help 20 million women carry out their new responsibilities as voters and to nurture civic leaders, the League helps voters - both women and men - become informed and engaged citizens."

Earlier this summer on July 19th in Los Angeles, I had the incredible honor to meet Celina Stewart, the Chief Executive Officer of the League of Women Voters of the United States, based in Washington, DC. In February, on behalf of my local League of Women Voters, I had issued an invitation to Celina to visit Southern California and speak to my local League - and she accepted my invitation! During her Southern California visit, also referred to as a "listening tour," she met members of 10 local Leagues and was the featured guest speaker at events held in San Diego, Manhattan Beach, and the San Fernando Valley. Some may argue that the League of Women Voters is no longer nonpartisan, but as Celina explained, "Our positions have remained unchanged over the decades, they were not ever political. People attack the League because we make a difference, but the League is the watchdog of democracy."

A legal expert, voting rights champion, and lifelong democracy defender, Celina Stewart serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the League of Women Voters of the United States. In this role since August of 2024, she oversees the operations of the inspiring 105-year-old voting rights organization; and she and her team work to foster alignment across the national office and the 750-plus State and local Leagues.

Celina earned her JD Degree from Western Michigan University Law School and her BA Degree in Sociology from Spelman College. Prior to joining the League, she was acting Chief Operating Officer and Director of Philanthropy at an electoral reform nonprofit – and also served as a litigation consultant for law firms and legislators.

In 2018, Celina first joined the League as "Director of Advocacy and Litigation." In that role, she developed and implemented League political strategies and policy positions regarding voting rights, election reform, redistricting, and campaign finance issues. She also directed litigation opportunities for the national, State, and local Leagues in federal courts while serving as the lead lobbyist and liaison with Congress and the Administration.

In 2019, she was quoted in the Spelman Messenger, "Once everyday people are engaged and feel motivated to participate, our democracy is strengthened."

She was promoted to "Senior Director" in April 2019 and to "Chief Counsel" in July 2020; and in those roles, she built stronger relationships with legal partners resulting in increased visibility for the League of Women Voters on Capitol Hill.

Dianna Wynn, the President of the national League, describes Celina as, "A born leader and proven problem-solver. Celina's dedication to the League combined with her strategic vision and leadership are invaluable as the League continues to empower voters and defend democracy."

Here's a quote from Celina's appointment ceremony in August 2024, "We are living in a truly unprecedented and historic time. Every day, there's a new attack, and women are being called to save our country. And that call is urgent. We don't have time for fear or hesitation. All we have time to do is whatever it takes to ensure that the work we are doing today leaves enough breadcrumbs for the next generation of Leagues to carry the organization – and the brand – beyond 2120."

And here's a quote from a blog post Celina wrote as our country celebrated Independence Day last month, "Our movement draws inspiration from the suffragists who founded the League over a century ago. They understood that democracy is – NOT – self-sustaining – it must be actively defended by each generation – because threats emerge in EVERY generation. The suffragists did not win the right to vote by asking nicely. They organized – protested – and demonstrated."

I recalled an important article written by Dianna Wynn (President of the national League) in January about the organization's name where she wrote, "To me, now more than ever, it's clear that 'WOMEN' is an essential part of our name — and always will be...Organizations like the League of Women Voters empower women and fight to protect our freedoms so that we can become more fully represented in our democracy...In these trying times when some seek to take power AWAY from women, it's important to emphasize – including in our name – that women have fought for and deserve a voice at the ballot box and in our government. To drop 'WOMEN' from our name does a disservice to those who came before us. We carry out their legacy as we advance democracy and voting rights into our second century. It also does a disservice to the women of today who are fighting for equality in every aspect of their lives, from political representation to equal pay to reproductive freedom." 

So, when I asked Celina her thoughts about the name of the organization and how to attract more male allies, she responded, "We want the League to be open and reflective of everyone. Our power is as individuals and also together."

During Celina's July 19th event, she said, "We are our ancestors' wildest dreams." I, for one, agree with that statement, because I have accomplished things in my life that my great-grandmother, who marched for women's suffrage leading up to 1920, could only dream about. But, of course, we still have a long, long way to go!

Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell, the 10th President of Spelman College, wrote in 2019, "Our Spelmanites are ambitious for themselves and even more ambitious for each other and their communities, the mark of real leaders. Join me in celebrating the women of Spelman who have devoted their lives to public service and the welfare of their communities, their country, and the world."

Celina is truly the embodiment of this quote, and I thank her for inspiring me everyday since I first heard her speak at her August 2024 appointment ceremony - but especially today on Women's Equality Day!

Image Credits: LWV-Beach Cities (Debbie Laskey and Celina Stewart photo taken July 17, 2025) and LWVUS.

Read mentioned posts from the LWVUS Blog:

LWVUS President Dianna Wynn: Why We Will Remain the League of WOMEN Voters (January 2025)

https://www.lwv.org/blog/why-we-will-remain-league-women-voters

LWVUS CEO Celina Stewart: Democracy Needs Defenders, Not Cheerleaders (July 2025)

https://www.lwv.org/blog/independence-day-democracy-needs-defenders-not-cheerleaders

CNN: Why Work Is (Still) Not Working for Women (March 2025)

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/07/world/womens-equality-at-work-globally-as-equals-intl-cmd

Read previous #WomensEqualityDay posts on my blog:

Celebrate #WomensEqualityDay with Erika Andersen (August 2024)

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2024/08/lets-celebrate-womensequalityday-with.html

Gender Bias and #WomensEqualityDay with Amy Diehl (August 2023)

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2023/08/gender-bias-and-womens-equality-day.html

Celebrate #WomensEqualityDay with Kim Elsesser (August 2022)

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2022/08/lets-celebrate-womens-equality-day.html

Work Remains for More Women in Top Leadership Roles with Susan Colantuono (August 2021)

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2021/08/as-we-celebrate-1920-work-remains-to.html

Let's Celebrate RBG Day!

Why is today special? It's the birthdate of former Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and in her memory, let's celebrate her accomplishments and her passion for gender equality advocacy.

According to Kim Elsesser in Forbes, "How did Ruth Bader Ginsburg become such a feminist rock star? Ginsburg learned about gender discrimination firsthand at school and in the workplace. At Harvard Law School, Ginsburg and other female students were questioned by the dean as to why they felt they were entitled to take the spot of an aspiring male lawyer. Ginsburg realized that women could never achieve equality with men if outdated stereotypes were holding them back. Prior to her tenure on the Supreme Court, she challenged law after law where women and men were provided different rights due to gender stereotypes."

I've assembled five of my favorite RBG quotes below:

Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.

Reading is the key that opens doors to many good things in life. Reading shaped my dreams, and more reading helped me make my dreams come true.

Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn't be that women are the exception.

We are at last beginning to relegate to the history books the idea of the token woman.

When I'm sometimes asked when will there be enough [women on the Supreme Court] and I say, 'When there are nine,' people are shocked. But there'd been nine men, and nobody's ever raised a question about that.

A few words about RBG:

No other justice in history has become a popular icon in the way RBG did. She modeled for all of us how to spend a life working to make society and individual lives better.  ~Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of the University of California at Berkeley School of Law

Lastly, here are three books that capture the spirit of RBG and deserve to be added to your to-be-read list:

I DISSENT - RUTH BADER GINSBURG MAKES HER MARK

Written by Debbie Levy and illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley, this book memorably chronicles the life of RBG. Its illustrations capture the imagination and bring RBG to life for young minds. It's a must-read for young girls.

RBG’S BRAVE AND BRILLIANT WOMEN – 33 JEWISH WOMEN TO INSPIRE EVERYONE

While written by journalist Nadine Epstein, the list of women included in this book was chosen by former Justice of the Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg during the final year of her life. The women featured include Deborah, the first woman judge in the bible; Emma Lazarus, a poet whose words adorn the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty; Golda Meir, the first and only female prime minister of Israel; Anne Frank, whose diary during World War II became famous; and many more.

SISTERS IN LAW – HOW SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR AND RUTH BADER GINSBURG WENT TO THE SUPREME COURT AND CHANGED THE WORLD

Written by lawyer and cultural historian Linda Hirshman, this book is a story of law, women, and most of all, friendship. Here's the description in a nutshell, "The relationship between Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg – Republican and Democrat, Christian and Jew, western rancher's daughter and Brooklyn girl – transcends political party, religion, region, and culture. Strengthened by each other's presence, these groundbreaking judges, the first and second women to serve on the highest court in the land, have transformed the Constitution and America itself, making it a more equal place for all women."

How will you celebrate RBG's legacy today? Chime in and share.

Image Credit: Teepublic.

Let's Celebrate International Day of Women Judges

How many women judges can you name? Sandra Day O'Conner, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor. Ketanji Brown Jackson. How many more women judges can you name - and not just Supreme Court Justices?

According to the United Nations, "While equality in the judiciary has been historically uneven, steps are being taken to remedy this as evidenced by the declaration by the United Nations General Assembly of 10 March as the International Day of Women Judges. 

The representation of women in the judiciary is significant for many reasons. In addition to ensuring that the legal system is developed with all of society in mind, it also inspires the next generation of female judges and motivates them to achieve their goals.

Women in the criminal justice system can act as agents of change and contribute to greater accountability. Women judges bring different perspectives and experiences, strengthening judicial systems. Women in leadership roles help disrupt networks of collusion, striking a blow against corruption.

Women's representation in law enforcement and judicial institutions has been linked to more effective, victim-centered responses to crime.

By investing in women's advancement and women justice leaders, we can help ensure that justice is better served and that women and all members of our societies are met with fairness and equality before the law, for the benefit of all.

Only through the active participation of women, on equal terms with men, at all levels of decision-making, we'll be able to achieve sustainable development, peace, and democracy.

Despite women's increased engagement in public life, they remain significantly under-represented in decision-making positions. In fact, a relatively small number of women have been, or are part of, the judiciary, particularly at senior judicial leadership positions.

Women's representation in the judiciary is key to ensuring that courts represent their citizens, address their concerns and hand down sound judgments. By their mere presence, women judges enhance the legitimacy of courts, sending a powerful signal that they are open and accessible to those who seek recourse to justice.

By marking the day, we reaffirm our commitment to develop and implement appropriate and effective national strategies and plans for the advancement of women in judicial justice systems and institutions at the leadership, managerial, and other levels."

Did you know?

Annette Abbott Adams became the first female justice in California in 1942 when she was appointed presiding justice of the Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, by then-Governor Culbert Olson. She was also the first woman to serve on the California Supreme Court bench as a pro tempore judge.

Did you know?

Forty percent of judges were women in 2017, which is 35 percent more than in 2008.

Did you know?

In 1946, Eleanor Roosevelt penned an "open letter to the women of the world," urging their increased involvement in national and international affairs.

So, today, on International Day of Women Judges, learn more about women judges and promote equality in the justice system.

SHARE THIS: To achieve justice, we need more women in justice. ~United Nations #InternationalDayofWomenJudges #equalityforwomen #DebbieLaskeysBlog

Image Credit: Pinterest.

Read about three female judicial officers who shattered the glass ceiling at every level of the California judicial branch:

https://newsroom.courts.ca.gov/news/womens-history-month-celebrating-first-female-judicial-officers-california

Read about four women who made history in the legal field and helped advance women's rights in California:

https://newsroom.courts.ca.gov/news/womens-history-month-recognizing-suffragettes-california

Let's Celebrate #WomensEqualityDay with Erika Andersen!

Today is Women's Equality Day and marks the 104th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. This important day celebrates the achievements of women's rights activists (including my great-grandmother who marched for women's suffrage in New York in the early 1900's) and reminds us of the struggles that women still face including equal pay for equal work and top leadership roles - which is especially apropos due to the current American Presidential race.

According to the National Women's History Alliance, "At the behest of Representative Bella Abzug (D-NY), in 1971, the United States Congress designated August 26th as "Women's Equality Day." The date was selected to commemorate the 1920 certification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. This was the culmination of a massive, peaceful civil rights movement by women that had its formal beginnings in 1848 at the world's first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York. The observance of Women's Equality Day not only commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, but also calls attention to women's continuing efforts toward full equality."

Today, to celebrate this important day, I have invited Erika Andersen to return to my blog. I've had the incredible pleasure of knowing Erika Andersen for many years, and she first appeared in a Q&A on my blog back in 2011. She is the founding partner of Proteus, where she and her colleagues support leaders at all levels to get ready and stay ready to meet the future. Erika advises senior executives and also shares her insights through her books, speaking engagements, and social media. In addition to her latest book, Change from the Inside Out, she is the author of four previous best-selling books: Be Bad First, Leading So People Will Follow, Being Strategic, and Growing Great Employees. Erika is also a popular leadership blogger at Forbes.com, and the creator and host of the Proteus Leader Show podcast.

QUESTION: Today, I celebrate my great-grandmother, who was a suffragist who marched for women's rights in New York in the years leading up to the passage of the 19th Amendment. What does this day mean to you, and what do you hope girls and young women learn about August 26th?

ERIKA ANDERSEN: I'm right there with you – both my grandmothers were suffragists, as well, and they demonstrated for women's rights as young women. In fact, I'd like to share a photo of me as a young teenager trying on my grandma Lote's "March Uniform."

My mom and dad were also feminists, and my brothers and sister and I were all raised to believe that we could build good full lives for ourselves that included whatever kind of work and family we wanted. That's what Women's Equality Day means to me: an affirmation that we will continue to move toward a world where girls and women, no matter their circumstances, their ethnicity or religion, have the freedom to pursue and attain the professional and personal goals they desire.

I hope that girls and young women today learn about the history of the fight for women's rights, so they understand how we got where we are today, don't take what we have now for granted, and commit to keep moving forward. For instance, I recently had a conversation with my oldest granddaughters, who are 11 and almost 14, where I shared with them the fact that only 50 years ago, unmarried women couldn't get credit cards in their own names. They were, I'm happy to report, shocked, and it led to a marvelous conversation about the inequalities that still exist and how to change them.

SHARE THIS: What does #WomensEqualityDay mean to me? An affirmation that we will continue to move toward a world where girls and women, no matter their circumstances, their ethnicity or religion, have the freedom to pursue and attain the professional and personal goals they desire. ~@ErikaAndersen #DebbieLaskeysBlog

QUESTION: Marilyn Loden coined the term "glass ceiling" when speaking on a panel at the 1978 Women's Exposition in New York City. According to the Washington Post, "When her turn came to speak, she thought about how she had been tasked at her company to explore why more women weren't entering management positions. She had gathered enough data that she felt confident that the problem extended beyond what her colleagues were wearing or saying. Loden explained, 'It seemed to me there was an invisible barrier to advancement that people didn't recognize, a glass ceiling.'" While it's been more than 40 years, the problem persists. Many well-known women have used the term including Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Aretha Franklin, and Oprah Winfrey. How do you think women can shatter the "glass ceiling" - perhaps, some ideas that would be applicable in any industry?

ERIKA ANDERSEN: So much good and thoughtful content has been written about this. Before I weigh in, I want to highlight a recent book on this topic, written by a friend and client of mine, Bonnie Hammer, one of the most celebrated executives in media for the past 40 years. It's called "15 Lies Women Are Told at Work...and the Truth We Need to Succeed." Bonnie systematically dismantles the key limiting and untrue things women are told about how they need to behave, to help us break that glass ceiling. It's refreshingly blunt and funny – and so true. I recommend it highly.

Her book aligns with my own premise that a lot of what holds us back as women at work is our own self-doubt, second-guessing, and concern about "the rules." A friend of mine, a skilled coach, used to say that the most effective approach to work was to be "confident but not cocky." And I believe this applies especially to women. Women who believe in themselves, their capabilities, and their ideas without being cocky (i.e., dismissive of others, unrealistically positive without having the facts, etc.) tend, in my experience to have the most success in corporate environments.

At the same time, it must be said that even the most confident, least cocky women will have a hard time succeeding in environments where the deck is stacked against them: where those in power refuse to open their ranks and share authority and responsibility with their female colleagues. So, it's also important for women who do have power, and powerful men who are their allies, to work to make sure their organizations are as fair and open as possible in their policies and culture. 

QUESTION: According to an article published by the BBC entitled, "Why We Use Women's Professional Titles Less Than Men's," "Across many fields, women who have earned formal titles report that others neglect or dismiss these titles, or even condemn women's claims to them." To see proof, we can look to the American First Lady to see how many people dismiss Dr. Jill Biden's title. So, how can we get gender parity when it comes to professional titles?

(Read the full article here: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210216-why-do-professional-titles-actually-matter)

ERIKA ANDERSEN: This is a great article, Debbie – thanks for sharing it. I’ve noticed this "untitling" or "uncredentialing" of women for many years. Another version of it is using women's first names in situations where a man with an equal level of power or achievement would be called by his last name. (I noticed it recently when the two teachers of one of my grandkids were referred to as "Mr. Hutton and Joan.") 

I think we can move the ball on this one by consistently requesting, as women, that we be accorded our proper titles. And if people tell us that we're being "too sensitive," or that "they're just trying to make things less formal and more friendly" (two common defensive responses), we can keep the temperature from escalating while continuing to make our request by saying something like, "From your point of view, this isn't very important. However, it is meaningful to me, so I'd like you to refer to me as X.  Thank you." 

QUESTION: During my career, I've had more male bosses than female bosses, and without a doubt, the men were more supportive. The women were less likely to recognize my accomplishments in group settings and sometimes took ownership of my successes. Were these women leaders what has been referred to as QUEEN BEE LEADERS? And what would you have done in these situations?

(Here's a good post about this topic: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-41165076)

ERIKA ANDERSEN: Because I’ve worked with so many women executives over the years, I've observed most every level of supportiveness: from women bosses who were the kind of "queen bee" described in the article, to women who were extraordinarily supportive of other women's success, who actively mentored and coached their younger colleagues and formed strong bonds with their peers.

In situations where I was coaching women who had less supportive women bosses, I encouraged them to get very clear about the specifics of how they wanted their boss to treat them differently, and to ask for it respectfully. I always suggested that they not make gender an aspect of their request – in other words, that they not include any version of "we as women should support each other," but simply ask to be supported as an employee and a colleague. It seemed to me, if their boss had a psychological issue about supporting other women, that leaning into that aspect of the relationship was only likely to backfire!

QUESTION: Earlier this year, you wrote an inspiring post for Forbes entitled, "My Personal Heroines on International Women's Day." Can you please share a brief recap?

(Here’s the link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2024/03/04/my-personal-heroines-on-international-womens-daywho-are-yours/)

ERIKA ANDERSEN: Thank you! The core point of that post was an encouragement for readers to reflect on the "heroines" in their own life and family, and I offered the examples of my paternal great-grandmother, my two grandmothers (the suffragists I mentioned above) and my mom, a powerful and committed feminist.

I love the idea of honoring those who came before us in this personal way. I think most of us have wonderful women in our lives – relatives, teachers, friends – to whom we can give thanks and to whom we can look for inspiration.

QUESTION: And lastly, you penned one of my fave quotes: "Great leaders don't do it alone...they get help." Can you please share a few examples as to how.

ERIKA ANDERSEN: Let's connect this back to the theme of Women's Equality Day. I’ve noticed that when women leaders are in their power – that is, when they're feeling confident and not cocky, and are relying on some of the things that research shows women tend to be better at than men – they automatically include more voices in decision-making, and they are much more likely than men to acknowledge when they don't have experience in a particular domain and to invite the input of others who do have that experience.

In other words, I've found (and again, research confirms this) that women have a more collaborative approach to leadership – which is the definition of "getting help." And the research also shows that this kind of approach increases productivity and feels more fair to those involved. In other words, you go, girl.

As always, my sincere gratitude to Erika for sharing her insights about issues that impact us all. For a special treat, check out Erika's next appearance on my blog on November 4th, when she participates in my #HolidayLeadershipSeries.

Image Credits: Debbie Laskey and Erika Andersen.

Link to book referenced in second question's response:

15 Lies Women Are Told at Work...and the Truth We Need to Succeed by Bonnie Hammer:

https://www.amazon.com/Lies-Women-Are-Told-Work/dp/1797176420

Link to "Research" referenced in final question's response:

https://www.apa.org/topics/women-girls/female-leaders-make-work-better#:~:text=Decades%20of%20studies%20show%20women,organizational%20dedication%2C%20and%20improve%20fairness

Read previous posts on #WomensEqualityDay here on my blog:

Gender Bias and Women's Equality Day (with Amy Diehl) (August 2023)

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2023/08/gender-bias-and-womens-equality-day.html

Let’s Celebrate Women’s Equality Day! (with Kim Elsesser) (August 2022)

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2022/08/lets-celebrate-womens-equality-day.html

As We Celebrate 1920, Work Remains to See More Women in Top Leadership Roles (with Susan Colantuono) (August 2021)

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2021/08/as-we-celebrate-1920-work-remains-to.html

Quotes from Inspiring Women During 2020 (December 2020)

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2020/12/2020-was-year-of-women.html

Connect with Erika at these links:

Website: https://erikaandersen.com

Website: https://www.proteus-international.com

Books: https://erikaandersen.com/books

Check out Erika’s previous appearances here on my blog:

FALL BACK TO READING SERIES – Featuring Erika Andersen (October 2023)

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2023/10/fall-back-to-reading-series-featuring_01710409622.html

How Magic and Happiness Impact Leadership (April 2023)

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2023/04/how-magic-and-happiness-impact.html

Tips to Become “Change-Capable (May 2022)

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2022/05/tips-to-become-change-capable.html

Three Leadership Secrets: Build Consensus, Be Open to Challengers, and Delegate (May 2021)

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2021/05/3-leadership-secrets-build-consensus-be.html

Review of: Leading So People Will Follow by Erika Andersen (October 2019)

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2019/10/fall-back-to-reading-with-12-thought.html

Leadership + Strategy = Amazing Employee Experience (November 2018)

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2018/11/leadership-strategy-amazing-employee.html

Review of: Be Bad First by Erika Andersen (October 2018)

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2018/10/fall-reading-recap-leadership-branding.html

Are You the Type of Manager or Leader YOU Would Follow? (January 2014)

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2014/01/are-you-type-of-manager-or-leader-you.html

Want to be Nicknamed Strategy Guru? (July 2011)

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2011/07/want-to-be-nicknamed-strategy-guru.html 

Men’s Role in Gender Equity and Celebrating RBG's Birthday!

 

Why is today special? Today is the birthdate of former Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In her memory, we celebrate her accomplishments and her passion for gender equality advocacy.

According to Kim Elsesser in Forbes, “How did Ruth Bader Ginsburg become such a feminist rock star? Ginsburg learned about gender discrimination firsthand at school and in the workplace. At Harvard Law School, Ginsburg and other female students were questioned by the dean as to why they felt they were entitled to take the spot of an aspiring male lawyer. Ginsburg realized that women could never achieve equality with men if outdated stereotypes were holding them back. Prior to her tenure on the Supreme Court, she challenged law after law where women and men were provided different rights due to gender stereotypes.”

Today is also Equal Pay Day, an annual observance that symbolizes the ongoing issue of pay disparity and the wage gap between men and women. The date itself symbolizes how far into the year women must work to earn as much as men during the previous year.

As a member of the Twitterverse for more than 13 years, I always enjoy meeting new people and learning from them. To quote Matthew Kobach (@mkobach), "Twitter is a key that unlocks thousands of doors, some of which you never even knew existed." Recently, I connected with David Smith from Baltimore, Maryland, and invited him to appear here on my Blog in a Q&A discussion about men’s role in promoting gender equality in the workplace, diversity, and leadership. Highlights of our conversation follow a brief introduction.

David Smith, PhD, is co-author of the book, Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace and an Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. A former Navy pilot, Dr. Smith led diverse organizations of women and men culminating in command of a squadron in combat and flew more than 3,000 hours over 30 years including combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a sociologist, he focuses his research in gender, work, and family issues including allyship, inclusive mentorship, gender bias in performance evaluations, and dual career families. He is the co-author of Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women and numerous journal articles and book chapters that focus on gender and the workplace.

QUESTION: You wrote a book entitled, Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in The Workplace. Can you please share some key highlights or take-aways you hope readers have?

DAVID SMITH: Our goal for Good Guys is to engage men in doing gender equity work WITH women and develop the skills they need to help create sustainable workplace change. Framing allyship as gender collaboration and partnership helps avoid potential perceptions by men that women need rescuing or that men can do this work without women. Men are an important piece of the gender equity puzzle because they are still the majority in positions of power and influence.

The benefits of men engaging in gender equity work is often overlooked and can be instrumental to their involvement. Men who engage as allies in doing gender equity work have more diverse networks, access to different information, and have better interpersonal skills—more empathy, EQ, humility, and better communication skills that make them better leaders—and better partners and parents! Recent research showed that men who participated in allyship programming (training, education, communities of allies) were more likely to observe and recognize biased behavior and take proactive ally actions as reported by women.

My co-author, Brad Johnson, and I operationalize allyship into three areas of action that are also helpful in understanding where someone is on their allyship journey.

[1] The first is interpersonal allyship and this can be understood as how someone individually holds themselves accountable for how they show up in the workplace. This includes the kind of relationships they have with coworkers to include being collegial, supportive, collaborative, and supporting equity and fairness initiatives. This is the easy part of allyship because you only have to focus on holding yourself accountable for developing your awareness and relationships.

[2] The harder part of allyship where men feel like they are really putting some skin in the game is public allyship—publicly disrupting status quo, biased behaviors and language, and public advocacy and sponsorship. Public allyship requires men to not only hold themselves accountable, but also people on their team, and their leaders.

[3] Finally, as men develop awareness and understanding of how biases operate in everyday practices to create systemic inequities, such as, the gender wage gap or a lack of representation of women in senior leadership positions, they also have an obligation to change those practices to make them more equitable so everyone can thrive.

SHARE THIS: Men are an important piece of the gender equity puzzle because they are still the majority in positions of power and influence. ~@davidgsmithphd #DebbieLaskeysBlog

QUESTION: Susan Colantuono (@SusanColantuono on Twitter) wrote, "If women aren’t proportionately represented throughout your organization, you aren’t facing a women’s issue, you’re facing a talent development issue with business implications." What do you think about that statement?

DAVID SMITH: The outcomes for businesses and teams that have a more diverse and balanced workforce are unquestionable: better places to work, more successful, make better decisions, more innovative, more creative, and more profitable. The business case for gender equity couldn’t be stronger. A lack of representation is a clear indicator that an organization is not achieving its potential. Many organizations recognize the value and importance of creating a sustainable pipeline of talent, but few have also solved for how to retain and advance women as leaders and managers equitably. This will require change to their internal talent development processes. The status quo is not working.

QUESTION: When I was in graduate school in the mid-1990's, one of my tenured professors said to the class, "Women don't belong in grad school. They belong at home in the kitchen" How would you have responded if you’d been in my shoes?

DAVID SMITH: First, I’m sorry you experienced this and unfortunately it was all too common. I still hear these biased and sexist comments today. All too often, when these comments are made, it falls on women to respond despite men being in the room (and many of them recognizing the sexism). Even more challenging, as in your situation in grad school, is the power dynamic involved and the potential negative impact of saying anything.

So, if I were in your shoes as a female grad student, I hope I would have used a Socratic question. For example, “Why do you feel that way”? This can be an effective way of addressing sexism and forcing perpetrators to justify and explain their comments. Often this forces them to see the error in their ways or at least have them think about the impact it had on others. This technique also feels less confrontational and can alleviate some of the concern about backlash.

Having said that, what needed to happen was for an ally and especially a man in this case, to step up and disrupt this sexism. Research shows that men who disrupt are not penalized in the same way as women and in some cases can benefit from being seen as an ally or gender advocate. There are many techniques for disrupting depending on many of the situational and relational factors involved, but unfortunately bystander paralysis keeps most people from doing or saying anything. It is crucial that allies disrupt the status quo of sexism and highlight what many people in the space were thinking or feeling. Actively disrupting can help validate others who were offended and give them the self-confidence to disrupt in the future. Systemic and cultural change demands that all of us disrupt status quo workplace behaviors.

SHARE THIS: Men who disrupt are not penalized in the same way as women and can benefit from being seen as a gender advocate. ~@davidgsmithphd #DebbieLaskeysBlog

QUESTION: Two quotes serve as an introduction to my question. According to Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook: "If you're offered a seat on a rocket ship, don't ask what seat." And according to Shirley Chisholm: “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring in a folding chair.” Despite recent successes, how can women earn more top leadership positions at the C-Suite table?

DAVID SMITH: There are a lot of systemic practices involved but let’s focus on one that I think is key—sponsorship. It is well-documented that women don’t receive the same amount and type of sponsorship that men receive. One of the programmatic interventions that has proliferated in companies is formal sponsorship programs. Formal programs are helpful in creating intentionality, visibility, and accountability in organizations. Of course, the goal is to eventually transition to making sponsorship equitable for everyone and a part of the organizational culture. But until that day, formal programs help to focus attention on the wealth of talented women at all leadership levels.

While having more women in senior leadership positions is the goal, it’s helpful to simultaneously focus on where we can have the most impact—at the first rung of the managerial/leadership ladder. The McKinsey Women in the Workplace annual studies continue to find that the most significant change in gender balance occurs when we reach the first level of leadership. This varies by industry but is consistently the career point where we find a dramatic decrease in women. If we’re going to create real and sustainable equity in the C-Suite, we need to make sure we are sponsoring and providing stretch opportunities for women into the first managerial/leadership level.

SHARE THIS: If we’re going to create equity in the C-Suite, we need to provide stretch opportunities for women in the first managerial/leadership level. ~@davidgsmithphd #DebbieLaskeysBlog

QUESTION: Amy Diehl (@AmyDiehl on Twitter), a gender equality advocate who we both admire, recently appeared on my blog in a Q&A about leadership, gender bias, and gender equality. When asked which Ruth Bader Ginsburg quote was her favorite, she responded, “This RBG quote is a reminder that women should not be the exception on boards, teams, and leadership: ‘Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn't be that women are the exception.’” Which RBG quote inspires you, and why?

DAVID SMITH: Here’s my favorite RBG quote:
“If you have a caring life partner, you help the other person when that person needs it. I had a life partner who thought my work was as important as his, and I think that made all the difference for me.”

We can’t achieve full gender equity at work until men show up as allies at home. Until men do their fair share of the domestic responsibilities, caregiving, homeschooling, emotional/cognitive labor associated with this unpaid labor, and be fully supportive of their partner’s career, we will continue to endure the painstakingly slow progress that leads to estimates of 200+ years to close the gender wage gap.

The family norm in the US has long been dual-earner or dual-career families, even more so when children are present. As women flocked to the workplace over the past 60+ years, they continued do double duty at home. Yes, men have slightly increased the amount of unpaid work during the same period, but the gap still remains with women doing 1.5 to 3 times what men do at home. Most male executives of Fortune 500 companies have a stay-at-home partner. There has been little pressure for leaders and organizations to change workplace culture or how/when/where we work to create an equitable workplace for men and women. Although the pandemic has certainly refocused this conversation. But where will it go?

The good news is that most fathers (nearly 70%) want to have an egalitarian relationship at home and be equally involved in raising and caring for their children. Yet, half of these fathers are “conflicted” because they are not able to combine work and family equitably because of workplace norms, policies, managerial support, and stigma. If we can change workplaces to acknowledge that we all have caregiving responsibilities, families (yes, even single people provide caregiving), and personal/emotional needs to be able to perform at our best, this may be the next step toward a much brighter future and one that I aspire to.

My thanks to David for sharing his equality, diversity, inclusion, and leadership insights and for appearing here on my Blog.

Image Credit: Ashkan Forouzani via Unsplash.

Connect with David at these links:
Website: www.workplaceallies.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/davidgsmithphd
Twitter: @davidgsmithphd

Read some of David's inspiring posts in Harvard Business Review:

Research: Men Are Worse Allies Than They Think
https://hbr.org/2022/10/research-men-are-worse-allies-than-they-think

Stop Protecting “Good Guys”
https://hbr.org/2022/08/stop-protecting-good-guys

How Men Can Confront Other Men About Sexist Behavior
https://hbr.org/2020/10/how-men-can-confront-other-men-about-sexist-behavior

Men, Stop Calling Yourselves Allies. Act Like One.
https://hbr.org/2022/08/men-stop-calling-yourselves-allies-act-like-one

Read Kim Elsesser’s (@kimelsesser on Twitter) full article in Forbes (referenced in this post’s introduction):
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2020/09/19/ruth-bader-ginsburg-was-a-feminist-rock-star-heres-why/

Take Flight and Lead!

On this date in history, or HERstory to be more precise, October 23, in the year 1910, Blanche Stuart Scott became American's first woman pilot to make a public flight - in an era when women still could not vote! As the hashtag says, "SheDidThat." This happened 18 years before Amelia Earhart's flight across the Atlantic. After Scott's flying days were over, she became a consultant to the U.S. Air Force Museum, served as a screenwriter for RKO and other movie studios, and was a popular radio personality. A decade after her death in 1980, she was honored by the U.S. Postal Service with an air mail stamp commemorating her aviation achievements.

To quote Matthew Kobach (@mkobach), "Twitter is a key that unlocks thousands of doors, some of which you never even knew existed." As a member of the Twitterverse for 13 years, I always enjoy meeting new people and learning from them. I recently connected with Joni M. Fisher from Florida, and invited her to appear here on my Blog in a Q&A discussion about leadership and women's equality. Highlights of our conversation follow a brief introduction.

Author and journalist Joni M. Fisher is an instrument-rated private pilot who believes flying is the most fun a person can have with their clothes on. She was a staff writer for a Fortune 500 bank and taught at a police academy before devoting herself to writing suspenseful crime novels and reporting for General Aviation News. Her fingerprints are on file with the FBI, and her fourth book in the Compass Crimes series will be published in 2023.

QUESTION: You explained your inspiration about writing about strong women in a post "The Story Behind the Strong Heroine." Can you provide highlights for those who have yet to read the full post?

(Read the full post here: https://jonimfisher.com/the-story-behind-the-strong-heroine/)

JONI M. FISHER: I write suspenseful crime stories featuring role models for women because we need more of them. The difference between the heroines in the books I grew up reading and the heroines I longed for is the difference between the traditional Cinderella story and the 1998 movie Ever After, played by Drew Barrymore. Both portray a young orphan being victimized by greedy relatives, but in the movie version, the heroine rescues herself and the prince.

Women have been culturally groomed to be passive, polite little victims and to settle for less. I grew up questioning authority, rebelling against injustice, and fighting to find my own path instead of trying to fulfill the expectations of others. One of my favorite questions is What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

That bold approach to life appeals to me. We don’t get a do-over, and this life is not a practice run. Memento mori. Remember your death. Make the most of this journey because it will end.

My novels feature women whose lives get overturned by a crime. Their stories show how they fight for justice. Characters overlap from book to book, connecting their stories. The crimes involve murder, kidnapping, the felony murder rule, and embezzlement.

QUESTION: You are a passionate advocate for women in leadership roles, so on a related topic, what is your favorite RBG (Ruth Bader Ginsburg) quote, or in the alternative, other inspiring quotes?
JONI M. FISHER: I don’t have a favorite RBG quote.

But I do have one from the first woman on the Supreme Court, Sandra Day O'Connor:
"You have a job to do, and it doesn't mean succumbing to somebody's emotional pitch made out on the sidewalk."

As a pilot, I am inspired by Amelia Earhart’s quote on leadership:
“Never interrupt someone doing what you said couldn't be done.”

When Amelia and other women pilots wanted to enter a cross-country race, the men refused to allow them. In 1929 Amelia Earhart and her friends created their own cross-country race, which men labeled the “Powder Puff Derby.”

This year, I volunteered to work on the continuation of that race. Now it’s called the Air Race Classic. The oldest racer is in her 90s, and the youngest is seventeen. It’s a 2,500-mile route flown over four days in daylight only. The aircraft are handicapped, so the efficiency of flying is a bigger factor than the speed of the plane.

The racers and the host committees at each route stop rely on sponsors to fund them. It was my job on the start committee to attract media to cover the race. Though my duties put me in a leadership position, I treated it as a position of service. It was a joy to use my journalism experience to promote the racers and the sponsors. After the race, I documented how to identify and notify local media so other committees could repeat our success. In this way, leadership serves to empower others. Like they say in medicine, “Watch one, do one, teach one.”

QUESTION: If you could have dinner with any three people from history or the current era, who would you choose, and why?
JONI M. FISHER: The three people I’d love to dine with are Michelangelo, my grandmother, and Mother Theresa. I believe these three dinner guests would generate lively and wonderful discussions for an evening of a lifetime.
(1) Michelangelo was a thinker, dreamer, and such a creative soul that he saw connections between things others didn’t. He envisioned man in flight long before it became commonplace. He was an artist of vision and beauty.
(2) My grandmother was a loving woman with a history that needs to be told. Her parents were from different tribes (Chickasaw and Blackfeet). They were taken from their tribes to be raised “civilized” by white families. They were not allowed to speak their native languages and were forced to accept the religion of their adopted families. They found each other and fell in love. My great grandfather’s real name was Pierce-Arrow, but it was changed to Pierce. Despite their childhood trauma, my great-grandparents were patient, kind, and generous people who raised their daughter to be the same.
(3) I’d love to meet Mother Theresa because her selflessness inspires me. She was famous for her devotion to helping the poor.

QUESTION: One of my favorite leadership quotes is from human resources expert and Army veteran Ed Wood (@cewood08 on Twitter): "Build such a strong team that no one can tell who the boss is." What does this quote mean to you?
JONI M. FISHER: In my first job out of college, I worked as a staff writer for a Fortune 500 bank in New Orleans. Bev Fortenberry taught me teamwork. The whole team assumed responsibility for the results. We all failed or succeeded together, whether we launched company-wide training on new software or ran the annual stockholder’s meeting.

In preparing for one stockholder’s meeting, we were tasked with writing the CEO’s presentation to the stockholders. This was the year the bank would expand nationwide, but we weren’t even leading in our state. Because it involved writing, everyone turned to me for inspiration, but it was a team effort. Bev told us to make it so memorable and inspirational that people would remember it for years. Oh, and it must be no longer than three minutes. No pressure. Stockholder’s meetings are generally dull events featuring slide after slide of numbers and pie charts.

What we came up with was to dress the CEO like General Patton and project an American flag on the wall behind him. It was a stockholder’s address like none other. His speech about taking on the competition as if we were at war electrified the crowd. The company soon afterward dominated the market in the state. Within a few years, our bank merged with Capital One.

Bev mastered the most challenging role of leadership: to lead by example. She gave us room to go big.

Leadership that is selfless brings out the best in others and creates an atmosphere of joy and energy. It takes time and effort, and sensitivity to coach others to do their best. It takes patience and maturity to nurture someone through failures and mistakes. Like parenting, great leadership leads to excellence and grooms people toward independence. If you can celebrate the success of others, you can lead. When others surpass you, outgrow you, or start their own business based on what they have learned with you, then their success is yours, too. When we empower one another, we make our lives more meaningful.

TWEET THIS: Leadership that is selfless brings out the best in others. ~@JoniMFisher #LeadershipTip #DebbieLaskeysBlog

TWEET THIS: When we empower one another, we make our lives more meaningful. ~@JoniMFisher #LeadershipTip #DebbieLaskeysBlog

QUESTION: Another of my favorite leadership quotes is from author and consultant Mark Herbert (@NewParadigmer on Twitter): "Leadership doesn't require you to be the smartest person in the room. It requires you to block and tackle for others." What does this quote mean to you?
JONI M. FISHER: Mike Zidziunas is the director of the largest teen flying club in the world When he and a group of club members flew their Piper Cubs from Lakeland, Florida, to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, it was a huge accomplishment. People weren’t used to seeing teenagers perform such long cross-country flights One of the aircraft developed a problem, which required the engine to be removed and loaded on a truck for repairs. Mike sent the male and female club members to get tools from the airshow administrators. The administrators refused to loan the tools to teenagers because, well, they were teenagers.

Mike marched down to the administration building and invited the good folks there to watch the teens remove the engine and load it on the truck. The students accomplished the task in record time while Mike stood back and explained that the teens regularly repair and build engines. After that, the Lakeland Aero Club members were allowed to check out tools on their own. Mike is the kind of leader who treats students like adults, and they respond by behaving like adults. He blocks and tackles obstacles on behalf of the students so they can get things done.

I believe young people gain arrogance by being told they are wonderful. They gain confidence by accomplishing things, by challenging themselves to achieve higher goals—like flying aircraft--and by doing their best at whatever they do. The Lakeland Aero Club is building aircraft and the next generation of leaders.

TWEET THIS: A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader, a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves. ~Eleanor Roosevelt via @JoniMFisher #DebbieLaskeysBlog

Image Caption: 

Joni M. Fisher shares this Cessna 210 with four other pilots. She earned her private pilot's license on June 1, 1996, and her instrument rating on March 23, 2000. Of all the aircraft she's flown, this is her favorite. It's also featured in her first novel, South of Justice.

My thanks to Joni for sharing her amazing leadership insights and for appearing here on my Blog.

Image Credits: Jason Leung via Unsplash; and Joni M. Fisher.

Connect and follow Joni:
Joni's website: www.JoniMFisher.com
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/jonimfisher
Twitter: @JoniMFisher
Instagram: @authorjonimfisher

A Convo About Gender Bias to Recognize the Supreme Court's New Term

 

Today is a significant day in American jurisprudence. For those of us who follow the Supreme Court and are advocates for gender equality, today, the first Monday in October, is a day to celebrate. The Supreme Court begins its new yearly term today, and a new face joins the Court: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. So, in recognition, I welcome Amy Diehl back to my blog for a Q&A discussion about leadership, gender bias, and gender equality.

Amy Diehl, Ph.D. is Chief Information Officer at Wilson College and a gender bias expert, researcher, and consultant. She’s a sought-after speaker for conferences, workshops, guest lectures, and panels. Her work has been published in academic journals and book chapters as well as in business and popular press, including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Ms. Magazine. She is currently co-authoring a book on gender bias, due on bookstore shelves and online in 2023. Connect and follow on Twitter @amydiehl and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-diehl.

QUESTION: Since we last spoke, there have been momentous changes regarding the US Supreme Court, including the addition of the first African-American woman to the Court and the repeal of Roe vs. Wade. Can you please comment on these two changes?

AMY DIEHL: The addition of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is momentous and historic as she will be the first Black woman to serve on the Court. With her broad and diverse background, she brings a new perspective to the Court, which will be exciting to learn from her thinking and watch her influence the creation of fairer and more just American society. I am also excited about the new ways in which she will serve as a role model and inspiration, especially to Black girls.

That said, the Supreme Court recently sent US society back centuries with the repeal of Roe v. Wade. By allowing states to ban and restrict abortion, the Court is denying more than half of society control of their own bodies and future livelihoods. The goal of repealing Roe has never been to save babies; it has always been to control women.

There are a great number of initiatives that could reduce the need for abortion, such as better sex education, easier access to contraception, and after-birth supports like paid family leave, affordable childcare, etc. But the states that are implementing abortion restrictions have shown little interest in such measures. The underlying goal of the Court’s decision is to force women back into subservient roles in the home and keep them out of public life.

QUESTION: We cannot talk about the Supreme Court without mentioning the colossal loss of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, so what is your favorite RBG quote, and why?

AMY DIEHL: There are so many to pick from! I’ll go with this one: “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn't be that women are the exception.” This quote is a reminder that women should not be the exception on boards, teams, and leadership. We must not think: “Okay, we’ve got Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on the Supreme Court. Our diversity and inclusion work is done.”  

Justice Ginsburg was also asked how many women on the Supreme Court would be enough. Her response: “When there are nine.” She continued, “Nine men was a satisfactory number until 1981.” Women should be the norm - not the exception - in all places where decisions are made.

Read more by RBG: https://www.dw.com/en/us-supreme-court-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-a-champion-of-womens-rights/a-53384408.
 
QUESTION: Due to your extensive research and writing about gender equality, gender bias, and the workplace, I’d like to raise the issue about what has previously been men-only activities, such as, golf outings, after-hour bar hopping, etc. These activities are created by men for men, which result in fewer opportunities for women’s participation, which ultimately impact women’s promotions. What are your thoughts?

AMY DIEHL: Dr. Leanne Dzubinski and I write about this problem of exclusion in our forthcoming book Gender Bias in the Workplace. Women are routinely left out of informal social events, like going to the bar or playing golf. While some women may want to take part in these activities and are not invited, others have no interest, whether invited or not. And when any workplace social events are scheduled after-hours, people with caretaking responsibilities are often left out.

The solution is for people to stop doing work during after-hours socializing. Men need to set boundaries to stop themselves from discussing work and making decisions when not all stakeholders are present. An easy way to stop a conversation is to redirect it, “Hey, let’s discuss this on Monday morning and include Jessie and Anastasia.” Equally as important is to ensure drinking and golfing buddies are not given a leg up on promotions. Evaluate people solely on their workplace performance and not on their attendance at social events.

TWEET THIS: Men need to set boundaries to stop themselves from discussing work and making decisions when not all stakeholders are present. ~@amydiehl #genderequality #DebbieLaskeysBlog

 

TWEET THIS: Evaluate people solely on their workplace performance and not on their attendance at social events. ~@amydiehl #genderequality #DebbieLaskeysBlog

QUESTION: On a related topic, former Vice President Mike Pence has said that he won’t be alone with women without his wife present. How should women deal with this type of situation if is ever encountered?

AMY DIEHL: This “Pence” rule originated as the “Billy Graham rule” in the late 1940’s. Graham, the famous evangelist, pledged to not travel, meet, or eat alone with a woman other than his wife Ruth. Behind this rule is a view of women as sexual tempters.

As we discuss in Gender Bias in the Workplace, this ‘glass partition’ is another way women are kept out of the public sphere and away from areas of professional influence. The rule also inhibits cross-gender professional mentoring which is useful for everyone. Women are literally shunned when men, via this rule, refuse to work with them.

Overcoming this can be difficult because women may not always recognize when it is happening. Leaders must take the initiative with expectations that men and women work together and by setting the example themselves. Women who encounter this should raise with their bosses and coworkers and ask to be included. Describing the impact to your job can be helpful: “I am unable to promote business development when I am excluded from travel.”

Here's more about the Bill Graham rule:
https://billygraham.org/story/the-modesto-manifesto-a-declaration-of-biblical-integrity

And here are two posts on this issue:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/03/30/pences-unwillingness-to-be-alone-with-a-woman-is-a-symptom-of-a-bigger-problem/
and
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/434149-harris-slams-pence-for-saying-he-wont-have-meetings-alone-with/

QUESTION: You wrote an article for the Harvard Business Review in March 2022, entitled, “Research: How Bias Against Women Persists in Female-Dominated Workplaces.” In it, you wrote, “Gender equity isn’t just about representation. We need to terminate gender bias at its root by fixing our organizations to make them inclusive, flexible, supportive, and equitable to women.” How can we do this?

AMY DIEHL: One of the most effective ways to create gender equitable and inclusive environments is to replace intra-office competition with collaboration. Make sure you are incentivizing and rewarding cooperation in which colleagues help each other out. Another way is to provide flexible and remote work options for your staff. Don’t measure performance by time in an office chair. Give people the goals and then let them choose the best way to accomplish them. Drs. Amber Stephenson, Leanne Dzubinski and I give many other tips for how to create equitable workplaces in our Harvard Business Review article.

Here's the link: https://hbr.org/2022/03/research-how-bias-against-women-persists-in-female-dominated-workplaces

TWEET THIS: One of the most effective ways to create gender equitable and inclusive environments is to replace intra-office competition with collaboration.  ~@amydiehl #genderequality #DebbieLaskeysBlog

 

TWEET THIS: Give people the goals and then let them choose the best way to accomplish them. ~@amydiehl #genderequality #DebbieLaskeysBlog

QUESTION: You have a new book coming out in 2023 entitled, GENDER BIAS IN THE WORKPLACE: BREAKING DOWN THE SIX BARRIERS HOLDING WOMEN BACK. Can you briefly discuss the six barriers and share how you can break them down?

AMY DIEHL: Dr. Leanne Dzubinski and I are so excited to bring this book to readers. It will help leaders, allies, and individual woman learn how to “break down” gender bias in two ways. First, we break down gender bias by explaining the six barriers and their subcomponents. These barriers are male privilege, disproportionate constraints, insufficient support, devaluation, and hostility which lead to women’s acquiescence. In the book we tell stories of women who have experienced these barriers. Second, we provide strategies that leaders, allies, and women themselves can use to break down and eliminate each aspect of gender bias. We expect the book release in Spring 2023.

For more information and to subscribe for updates about the book, visit https://amy-diehl.com/book.


My gratitude to Amy for appearing here on my blog and sharing her inspiring perspective about leadership, the workplace, and gender equality - and the work that remains to be done to achieve full gender equality!

Image Credit: Jackie Hope via Unsplash.

Check out my first Q&A featuring Amy back in March of 2022:
"Good Leadership Is NOT Defined By Gender"
https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2022/03/good-leadership-is-not-defined-by-gender.html

For more info about the Supreme Court, visit: www.supremecourt.gov.

Tips to Create Gender Equality in Your Workplace

Today, March 8, is an important day on the equality calendar: it is International Women’s Day, a global holiday celebrated annually to commemorate the cultural, political, and socio-economic achievements of women. It also brings attention to the women’s rights movement, focusing attention on gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women. First celebrated in 1909 in New York City as “Women’s Day,” the holiday was celebrated in 1911 by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. International Women’s Day was adopted as a global holiday by the United Nations in 1977.

To recognize and celebrate International Women’s Day, I welcome Michelle Redfern from Australia to my Blog. We met on Twitter, and she has a fascinating background and is an impressive advocate for gender equality. We recently had a discussion about leadership, and highlights follow below Michelle's bio.

Michelle Redfern is the founder of Advancing Women, an enterprise providing research and advisory services on workplace gender quality, inclusion, and belonging. She is co-founder of A Career that Soars! and of CDW (Culturally Diverse Women) as well as the co-host of the Lead to Soar podcast. Along with her experience as a Non-Executive Director with Board and advisory roles in the finance, sport, for purpose and supply chain sectors, Michelle is a proud Ambassador for Honour a Woman, Flexible Working Day, and Girls Uniform Agenda. Michelle has held executive leadership roles at ASX & FTSE listed companies NAB, Telstra and Serco during her 40-year corporate career. She is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, holds an Executive MBA (Distinction), and holds various accreditations in organisational diversity and coaching. Michelle is an in-demand speaker and is a regular contributor to the discussion about equality and inclusion in sport and business workplaces. Connect on her website (https://michelleredfern.com/), on LinkedIn (https://au.linkedin.com/in/michelleredfern), and on Twitter @RedfernMichelle.

QUESTION: You are a passionate advocate for women in business and leadership, so how can women earn more top leadership positions as CEOs, COOs, CFOs, Board Chairs, etc.?
MICHELLE REDFERN: Women need an equal playing field for a start. All of us must examine, and then potentially change our mindsets about the roles that women play in society. To quote Ruth Bader-Ginsberg, “Women belong in all the places where decisions are made.” Therefore, eliminating gender stereotypes about women’s work is essential. Women still perform more than 75% of the world’s unpaid labour, which includes caring for children and elders. More equitable distribution of labour in the home will result in greater women’s workforce participation. The increase in women in the workforce will create vastly deeper talent pools for organisations to draw from and will benefit society economically.

QUESTION: Janet Yellen, the current and first female Secretary of the Treasury, has been described as, "A proven leader who knows how to build consensus, the kind of person who makes everybody around her better." What three characteristics are necessary to create a consensus-builder?
MICHELLE REDFERN: Being noted as a consensus builder is a lazy way of placing Ms. Yellen in the “acceptable behaviour for women” box.  Women are expected to behave in certain ways, building consensus, being agreeable and likable. When women break free from those behavioural stereotypes, they can be punished. If they behave in line with those standards, they are often viewed as “not promotable.”

Check out what is called THE DOUBLE BIND here:
https://www.catalyst.org/research/infographic-the-double-bind-dilemma-for-women-in-leadership/.

So, I do not think that, in the context of gender equality, advising women to strive for consensus is helpful. Let’s instead, ask them to develop the skills to challenge the status quo and drive innovation, continuous improvement, and to have sustainable impact for their organisations. Even better advice would be to advise women to learn and apply our three-part leadership definition: “Leadership is using the greatness in you to achieve and sustain extraordinary outcomes by engaging the greatness in others.”

TWEET THIS: Leadership is using the greatness in you to achieve and sustain extraordinary outcomes by engaging the greatness in others. ~@RedfernMichelle #LeadershipTip #EmployeeExperence #EmployerBranding #DebbieLaskeysBlog

QUESTION: What recommendations do you have for personnel/hiring/staffing departments to hire more qualified women, and then promote them?
MICHELLE REDFERN: Big question! The first thing to do is to recognise that it is not solely the role of the HR department to address gender inequality in the organisation. The Board, CEO, and all leaders in the organisation must consider closing the leadership gender gap as a business priority. Just like any other business priority, there is:
[1] a goal or target state,
[2] a strategy to achieve the target state,
[3] a plan to deliver on the strategy,
[4] resources assigned to implement the plan.
[5] Leaders are held accountable for successful delivery of the plan.
Yes, the HR departments hiring practices may well be part of the plan, but the rest of the business needs to also do the heavy lifting!!!

TWEET THIS: All leaders in an organisation must consider closing the leadership gender gap as a business priority. ~@RedfernMichelle #LeadershipTip #EmployeeExperence #EmployerBranding #DebbieLaskeysBlog

QUESTION: In one of your Blog posts written during the covid pandemic entitled, "How leaders can create workplace cultures that are better for working women," you suggested that the following question be asked during board and/or executive team meetings: "Do the board and the executive team regularly review the representation and lived experience of women in the workplace?" Can you please elaborate?
MICHELLE REDFERN: The context for this question comes from my own experience as a woman, an executive leading organisations and now, someone who advises Boards, CEOs, and Executives how to close the leadership gender gap. Over my 40+ years working in organisations, I saw many initiatives launched that were purportedly going to address gender inequality in the workplace. These initiatives more often than not fell/fall into the “Fixing Women” category which meant giving women mentoring, sending them to conferences, courses, or programs. None of these initiatives have worked and have fail to address the systemic barriers that exist for women in workplaces. Each workplace has its own culture, ways of work, and each woman in those workplaces will have had unique lived experiences. Rather than throwing investment and effort at initiatives that have failed to deliver, I want leaders to spend time listening to the women in their organisations so that they can hear exactly what it is like, for women, to navigate the workplace dynamics that exist. By doing so, leaders will have a much better understanding of how to address the barriers and behaviours that hold women back.

(Post referenced: https://michelleredfern.com/how-leaders-can-create-workplace-cultures-that-are-better-for-working-women/)

(Fixing Women article referenced: https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/its-not-women-who-need-to-change-but-the-world-of-work-20170227-gumjkh.html)

QUESTION: In one of your Blog posts written during the pandemic entitled, "How Equitable and Inclusive is Your Organisation? (Do you really know?)," you listed six questions for leaders about leading for equity and inclusion. They follow below for context. After leaders answer these questions, what three things do you recommend they do to improve their corporate culture so that it reflects diversity, equity, and inclusion?
1. Do you know how your employees really feel about your organization?
(If you read this question and answered “no”, isn’t it time you asked?)
2. And even if the answer was “yes,” do you really know?
3. Do you know how your employees are experiencing your organization’s culture?
4. Do they feel included?
5. Are your company’s leaders demonstrating inclusive behavior?
6. Do your employees see them demonstrating inclusive behavior?

MICHELLE REDFERN: Make DEI a critical business priority: DEI is not nice to have, it is an enabler of sustainable high performing organisations. Make a visible, vocal commitment.
[1] Confront your organisations brutal truths. Obtain the data to establish the status quo for DEI (where are we now?) communicate to the organisation where you are now and where you aim to be, by when.
[2] Hold leaders accountable to deliver on the DEI vision, strategy, and plan.

(Post referenced: https://michelleredfern.com/how-equitable-and-inclusive-is-your-organisation-do-you-really-know/)

QUESTION: Which three women leaders inspire you, from business or history, and why?
MICHELLE REDFERN: Here are my three:
[1] Professor Marcia Langton. Marcia is one of Australia’s most respected Indigenous Academics. She is a remarkable woman who is fearless in her pursuit of both knowledge and justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island women. Each time I hear her speak, I am inspired to do more and be better for our First Nations women in Australia.
[2] Susan Colantuono: Founder of Leading Women and my co-host of A Career that Soars. Susan consistently inspires me to think deeply about the issues that affect all women, and especially women of colour, and to develop actionable insights for organisational leaders as well as be generous with my time and effort for women who need me.
[3] Julia Gillard: Australia’s first and thus far, only woman Prime Minister. She inspired me and millions of other women when she came to power, when she was enduring the awful misogyny and sexism during her term as PM and of course, like so many other women, I was inspired by her famous Misogyny Speech.  Her work on a global level to create gender equality and stand up for the rights of women everywhere is outstanding.

QUESTION: One of my favorite leadership quotes is from author and consultant Mark Herbert (@NewParadigmer on Twitter): "Leadership doesn't require you to be the smartest person in the room. It requires you to block and tackle for others." What does this quote mean to you?
MICHELLE REDFERN: I really love that quote as it reminds me of my approach to leadership. Leaders must be both a bulldozer and a barrier. Firstly, they need to bulldoze through the BS that keeps their people and organisations from being successful. That means being open to hearing about barriers, things that don’t work well and then setting about fixing them. Secondly, leaders must be a barrier to BS. There is just some stuff that our people and our organisations need to be shielded from so that each individual and then the organisation collectively can reach their full potentials.  

TWEET THIS: Leaders must be a both a bulldozer and a barrier. ~@RedfernMichelle #LeadershipTip #EmployeeExperence #EmployerBranding #DebbieLaskeysBlog

My gratitude to Michelle for sharing her insights about leadership and gender equality and also for celebrating International Women’s Day with us.

Image Credits: Debbie Laskey and Imad Clicks via WordSwag app.

In Celebration of International Women’s Day

 

Today is a special day. On March 8, we celebrate International Women’s Day around the world. 

According to the United Nations, “Women of the world want and deserve an equal future free from stigma, stereotypes and violence, a future that’s sustainable, peaceful, with equal rights, and opportunities for all. To get there, the world needs women at every table where decisions are being made.”

International Women’s Day grew out of the labor moment to become a recognized annual day by the United Nations. The seeds were planted in 1908 when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter work hours, better pay, and the right to vote. 

The idea for the day to become internationally recognized was suggested in 1910 by Clara Zetkin. First celebrated in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland, the United Nations made the day official in 1975. Each year, the President of the United States issues an official proclamation.

To quote Sheryl Sandberg, “We stand on the shoulders of the women who came before us, women who had to fight for the rights that we now take for granted.”

From President Joe Biden's Proclamation dated March 1, 2021, “During Women’s History Month, let us honor the accomplished and visionary women who have helped build our country, including those whose contributions have not been adequately recognized and celebrated. And let us pay tribute to the trailblazers from the recent and distant past for daring to envision a future for which no past precedent existed, and for building a Nation of endless possibilities for all of its women and girls.”

I wish to recognize my great-grandmother on this important day. Bertie Green was a civic leader and philanthropist in New York. She was married for 47 years, raised two children, and enjoyed the antics of her four granddaughters.

But what stands out as inspiring today is that she was an active member of the women’s suffrage movement in the years leading up to the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920. She was also a member of the American Legion Auxiliary, the world’s largest women’s patriotic service organization.

Many people are afraid to speak up and take a stand in today’s era, so this type of bold action a little over a century ago is incredibly impressive. So, today, on International Women’s Day, I applaud my great-grandmother and thank her and those she marched with to make today a little bit easier for women to stand up and make their voices heard.

FOR MORE INSPIRATION:

Read President Joe Biden’s Proclamation in full:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/03/01/a-proclamation-on-womens-history-month-2021/

Read “2020 Was the Year of Women!”
https://debbielaskey.blogspot.com/2020/12/2020-was-year-of-women.html

Read “That’s What She Said: Wise Words from Influential Women” by Kimothy Joy
https://www.kimothyjoy.com/the-book


Image Credit: Debbie Laskey and UN Women.