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September 1, 2011
GWEN
I went to a small community theater last night in New York City to see Shakespeare’s Cymbeline. The king, Cymbeline, is infuriated by his daughter, Imogen, who marries an impoverished but ingenious orphan instead of the oafish prince. The king and his daughter are eventually reconciled after the usual cross-dressing and feigned death by potion scenes. This play is evocative of another Shakespeare comedy that I saw in July, All’s Well That Ends Well, in which the heroine, Helena, solves the king’s dire medical issue and is allowed to select the man of her dreams to wed. She chooses the handsome noble, but the cad runs away to war in France and seeks to bed an attractive local. Helena, ever inventive, befriends the beauty and through a blindfold, substitutes in the bedroom scene. In the end, the noble, a soon to be father, agrees to wed the quite pregnant and most persistent Helena.
Why am I obsessing about these two plays? Because it must not be so hard for women to get ahead in the business world. My wife bailed out of her investment bank after a Wharton education, 17 years with many happy clients, not just because we had our third child, but because her male peers were getting better opportunities to rise in management.
We have never explicitly paid attention to the gender issue at Edelman. We have countless smart, talented and driven women here, many who have been very successful, such as Pam Talbot, who ran our US company for 15 years, while raising two outstanding children and contributing to the Chicago community. But now the playing field is becoming more complicated, with executives often needing to move across geographies, large clients and practices, with dual career couples or single headed households, often working long hours, and juggling responsibilities outside of work, such as caring for children, aging parents, etc.
Despite some stellar examples of women who have risen through the ranks, we have an issue at Edelman like much of the corporate world, which can best be understood in quantitative terms. Women account for approximately two thirds of our total work force, but only 34% of our Strategy Committee and 28% of our Operating Committee. One of our four regional presidents is a woman. Of our sixteen Global Client Relationship Managers, five are women or 31%. Of our five large practice chairs, two are held by women. Our goal is simple—50% of those on Strategy Committee, Operating Committee, GCRM and practice leadership will be women by 2016. They will have earned the positions; there will not be a quota.
In view of this challenge, I have asked Gail Becker, Chair of Canada and Latin America and the U.S. Western Region, to take on the challenge of addressing this issue and creating an environment in which women are able to succeed at the senior most levels of Edelman. She has created an internal task force called the Global Women Executive Network (GWEN); more than 250 women have signed up. She is focused on:
1. Mentorship – increasing opportunities of women learning from other women through direct interactions
2. Sponsorship – being an advocate for other women when they are not “in the room”
3. Education – addressing culture that can perpetuate potential problems
4. Policy – examining HR policy to ensure that it is aligned with our goals
5. Career Paths - working with women across the firm to define goals and a defined way forward
We have set up a special domain on our internal portal, FUSION, where people can share stories on their careers, plus a blog that brings in outside commentators. GWEN also has a number of additional initiatives underway including employee surveys and focus groups to gain a better understanding of the issues before us in all regions of the company.
We have made progress even in the past few months, with women accounting for seven of the nine Edelman Fellows serving in the BRIICME nations. Half of the committee chairs in our Strategy Committee are women (innovation, global clients, mature markets and talent). We have also recently named Claudia Patton as Chief Talent Officer; as an experienced line manager, she will implement change across the firm.
I am ultimately going to turn the reins at Edelman over to my three daughters, whether as owners or managers. They will have to make their own decisions about work/life balance, about the right life partners and about where to live. What I want for them and for all of the women at Edelman is that they make the call about how far and how fast they want to rise in the organization and that they have the opportunity to thrive without having to choose between Edelman and life outside of work. I don’t want Edelman women to, in the words of Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, “leave before you leave,” to hold back in anticipation of children. I want Edelman to be the place where women can grow, succeed, choose to have children and come back to lead. So many women have given their ‘all’ to Edelman so it’s only natural that Edelman can and should be the place for women to have it all.
That’s a promise I will keep.
Posted by Edelman at September 1, 2011 4:59 PM |
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Comments
Wow. Wow. Wow, wow, wow. Awesome post, awesome program, awesome promise. As a recent but now former Edelmanite, this makes me remember the thinking and strategic forethought that really made me enjoy being Type E. I'm sad to miss out but will be watching and cheering!
Posted by: Larisa Spillman at September 1, 2011 8:30 PM
Looking forward to what's ahead!!
Posted by: Dominic Ybarra at September 1, 2011 10:05 PM
Thank you Richard.
Posted by: Philippe at September 2, 2011 11:21 AM
More men need to think like Richard Edelman. I doubt most male executives are even aware of the representation of women in their company's ranks, let alone making such a public commitment to improving those numbers. I salute you, Richard. Your company will be better off with more women at the top; it's a proven boost to the bottom-line.
Posted by: Kat Gordon at September 3, 2011 6:40 AM
Hi Richard,
Your commitment to developing the leadership potential of women within your organization is visionary. If only more industries and businesses built flexible career paths to accommodate major life events, such as parenthood, family illness/ crises, caring for elderly parents, etc. Women have traditionally been the nurturers, and are torn between pursuing their professional goals and caring for a nuclear and/or extended family. Your strategic goal to level the playing field and significantly increase female representation in upper management is inspirational.
My best to you and your family,
Cathleen Cogswell
Posted by: Cathleen Cogswell at September 6, 2011 9:27 AM
As a hopeful female interviewee for your internship program, reading this blog gives me confidence in a company I already admire but also in the leader behind such a company. Your support is much appreciated.
Posted by: Ishtar Schneider at September 12, 2011 10:16 AM
Bravo! This makes me proud to be an Edelman alum.
Posted by: Victoria Glazar at September 12, 2011 2:18 PM