Equality, Like Great Movies, Requires Attention to All of the Details

Content Insider #596 – Earned Spot 

By Miles Weston

“I was
waiting for the universe to dispense some justice but sometimes the universe is
just too damn slow. The effects of putting Nair in someone’s styling gel,
however, only take a few minutes.”
– Murphy, “Murphy Brown,” Warner Bros., 1988

We
seldom research and rehearse when we go to a professional luncheon but for this
year’s SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) WIP (Women in
Post) luncheon, we studied harder than we did for our master’s degree.

No
not to justify the way things are but to have some facts at my fingertips that
illustrate positive changes that are taking place. 

You
know:

At
the recent IBC, 30 percent of the speakers were professional females35
percent of the titles (121) at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) were
directed or co-directed by womenSalesforce’s
Marc Benioff spent $6M, actively pushing for tech equalityIBM’s
Ginni Rometty should be a gold standard measure for anyone who is being
considered for the top job at a company … male or female

We
thought a broad spectrum of positive points would be best to show there is a
commitment to equality and a better environment for everyone rather than dwell
on the gloomy side. 

If
that didn’t quite work, we were ready with a foolproof backup – “Did you catch the return of Murphy Brown to
TV.  Sure, glad Warner and CBS brought it
back and is addressing today’s issues – cable news, social media, fake news,
and a very different political and cultural climate than when it left the air
in 1988.”

O.K.,
the facts didn’t get a lot of traction, but we had a great discussion about Murphy Brown because it is great, timely
video storytelling.

Murphy
was a great role model in ‘80s.

She
showed that a female could be tough, kind, focused, driven, have a personal and
professional life, be respected and listened to as a boss/major contributor and
even get national political attention (some like to say Dan Quayle lost a lot
of points when he belittled single parenting).

We
agreed Murphy Brown will have
political overtones; but it’s still a comedy and hopefully, great storytelling
that will again get the point across that women and boomers (Murphy is 30 years
older, after all) deserve a seat at the Millennial male table.

It
just takes some longer than others to see the benefits of not being a knuckle
dragger.

May Be Coincidence – It’s probably just a coincidence that women’s progress
slowed about the time Murphy Brown left the air.  We’ll see if it gains momentum now that the
show is back on the air. 

According
to Pew Research, the World Bank and the US Labor Department, EU countries like Sweden,
Finland, Netherlands and France have made equality a priority, while less forward-looking
countries like the US have let things stall

According
to Pew Research and the World Bank:

There
are 1.75B working women around globeThe
median female share of the workforce is 45.4 percentIn
Sweden, 2/3 of university degrees are earned by womenIn
the US, 60 percent of degrees are earned by women

However,
gender parity is still tough:

Around the globe, women earn 60-75
percent less than menEstimates
are that it will take 170 years to close the
gender pay gap around the globeBringing
women’s/men’s pay in line would add $28T to global GDP

Some
countries and companies are just a little more progressive than others and the
results are pretty amazing.

Salesforce’s
Marc Benioff has made equality and diversity a priority in his firm since 2015,
initially focusing on equal pay. 

Early Bonding – The first few weeks/months are an important period
for a family to welcome the new baby into the family and ensure the
relationship is positive.  While most countries realize the importance of
this by giving mothers paid leave, a growing number of companies are
encouraging participation and connection by both parents. It also encourages
shared responsibility for both parents.

With
Benioff’s support, the company audited its staff pay; and to his surprise,
found a statistical difference in pay between men and women.

“It
was everywhere,” Benioff said in an interview. “It was through the whole
company, every department, every division, every geography.”

He
fixed the problem by dedicating $3M that year to correct the discrepancy,
and another $3M last year to correct compensation differences by gender, race
and ethnicity across the company.

He
told his organization he would not hold a meeting unless at least 30 percent of
those in attendance were women and encouraged women to be promoted and seen as
leaders.

Gender
parity is tough.

While
both sexes are equally capable, “most” recognize that females are superior to
guys in certain management skills.

Yes But – Individually, people agree women are superior in most
of the key capabilities needed for a successful company; but somehow, that
doesn’t get translated into advancement and earnings equality. 

There
are exceptions on both sides; but according to a recent Pew report, women are
better in the soft attributes of being a good team player; strong team leader;
more compassionate and empathetic; better at standing up for what they believe
in and compromise; and able to maintain a tone of civility and respect even in
tense situations.

Most
“normal” folks see few differences between men and women on the qualities and
competencies needed to be an effective leader.

And
women are consistently proving they’re not only equal to the task but often
better.

Ginni
Rometty, of IBM, is currently one of the tech industry’s most successful CEOs.

Unlike
HP’s Carly Fiorina, chosen for her tenacious, aloof style and Yahoo Marissa
Mayer, chosen for her talents and experience as a middle manager at Google,
Rometty was groomed and tested for years on all of the rigors and
responsibilities of her current job. 

Her
work was constantly monitored and evaluated by a team of her peers and the
company’s board. 

When
she stepped into her current role; she had a strong sense of the depth, breadth
and diversity that was needed to keep the company on track. 

She
has all of the soft attributes you expect and just enough of the hard
attributes to know when to push, when to draw the line, when to walk away.

About
the only areas – at least by perception – men dominate are willingness to take
a risk and negotiation skills; but then, those folks have probably never seen
our daughter and wife in action.

Jeezz!

Where
it counts today, women are superior … creating a safe, respectful workplace and
mentoring next-generation leaders.

Still,
with numbing regularity, yearly corporate studies remind us that few women lead
our largest corporations. 

Male
CEOs are counted in 100s/1000s, while a list of female leaders could be put on
a Post-it.

Silicon
Valley’s start-up and investment communities are by no means perfect, but they
have finally come to realize some embarrassing truths. 

Cash Register Measurement –There are always exceptions you can point to, but
women or mixed founded companies appear to be more carefully managed than their
male-only counterparts. 

Women:

Tend
to run more profitable companiesAre
more likely to form healthcare, hospitality, retail, consumer goods firmsBurn
through less moneyProvide
better shareholder returns

Despite
a seemingly better track record, female founders raise 4X less than men –
median $50.4M vs. $226M and their valuations are lower – $65.5M vs. $400.4.

Of course, one reason for the lopsided investment
ratio might be that 90 percent of the VCs are male. 

It has only been in the last few years that the
firms have been adding female partners to help them understand and invest in
half of the world’s population.

While
men continue dominate the CEO, CTO positions of tech firms, women are
increasingly entering the executive ranks as COO and CSO.  They’re the folks who foster diversity and
inclusion across the organization. 

Still,
we’re a long way from achieving parity.  Except
for Salesforce’s highly visible and widely discussed pay equality commitment,
women still suffer the salary penalty. 

Focus Needed – Much to his amazement, Benioff found that even
Salesforce suffered from inequity in pay for females on his team.  Unlike Benioff, few CEOs confront and rectify
the situation, so it persists. 

According
to a recent Glassdoor report, women are paid, on the average of five cents less
on the dollar than men – same position, equal qualifications/experience, same
firm.

One
of the reasons as Sallie Krawcheck, founder of Ellevest, pointed out is that
there is a natural reticence for people talking about how much they make, and
women tend to undervalue their education, experience and corporate value in
salary negotiations.

Even
though it may not be fast enough, things are changing.

The
hardest thing to change is perception and the human mind.

Sheryl
Sandberg, Facebook’s COO, summed up the challenge by saying, “Aggressive and hard-charging women violate
unwritten rules about acceptable social conduct. Men are continually applauded
for being ambitious and powerful and successful, but women who display these
same traits often pay a social penalty.”

In
today’s instant news everywhere, world male bosses are also quick to realize
they stepped in it.

Speaking
at the Women in Computing Conference a few years ago, Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella,
got immediate feedback when he said women don’t need to ask for a raise and
should instead put their trust in the male-dominated system.

Fire your script writer, dude!

He
stumbled to recover saying, “I believe
men and women should get equal pay for equal work. And when it comes to career
advice on getting a raise when you think it’s deserved, you should just ask.”

It
was the best mea culpa he could make at the time.

Pointing the Way – Lewis and Clark put the success of their venture in
the hands of a young woman’s knowledge, which is at least on a par to running a
company. 

Gender
parity will be achieved.

Remember,
it took a native female – Sacagawea – to guide Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery
Expedition across the western portion of the US.

Digital
natives and Gen Zers, should be able to do as much for full potential
participation. 

Achieving
equality has a financial side benefit.

According
to McKinsey, bringing women’s/men’s pay in line will add $38T to the annual
global GDP.

Murphy is doing her part; and hopefully, it won’t be long before Jim
won’t be surprised when she says,“Jim, I make
as much as you do.”

She’s
probably worth more … we’ll see next season.