| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 44.1 | March issue HBR | CLUSTA::KELTZ | You can't push a rope | Fri Apr 27 1990 12:09 | 14 |
| The March issue of Harvard Business Review contains an article
on the differences and interrelations between EEO, AA, and the
diversity programs under way at several major corporations (DEC
among them).
Subjects touched on are:
- what motivates AA vs. "managing diversity"
- why AA can't go the distance and do the job we thought it would
- salient distinctions between AA and diversity programs
I thought it was a very good article and heartily recommend it.
If there's interest, I can type it in -- it's a long one.
Beth
|
| 44.2 | (Moved from NEWS. =m) | ICESK8::KLEINBERGER | S.N.A.G.-HAG | Wed May 02 1990 16:02 | 19 |
|
WOMEN MANAGERS
++++++++++++++
* "Women Managers Quit Not for Family But to Advance Their
Corporate Climb"
<Wall Street Journal 5/2/90 P. B1>
Two new surveys indicate that women who quit their jobs do so
because they feel blocked from advancement, or feel they aren't
getting adequate opportunities for growth and job satisfaction.
Family issues are not the reason.
"Some management specialists warn that unless companies begin
accomodating women's desire for promotions and respect, employers
could risk increasing the already high rate of turnover among
female professionals."
|
| 44.3 | Tokyo court rules against sex discrimination in promotions | OXNARD::HAYNES | Charles Haynes | Sat Jul 14 1990 23:28 | 50 |
| Many people don't realize just how bad women have it in "modern" Japan.
Read this and weep. [Reprinted with permission.]
-- Charles
From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.labor,clari.news.group.women
Subject: Tokyo court rules against sex discrimination in promotions
Keywords: international, non-usa government, government, jobs, labor, women,
special interest
Date: Wed, 4 Jul 90 13:04:18 EDT
Location: japan
ACategory: international
Slugword: japan-women
Priority: daily
Format: daily
ANPA: Wc: 350; Id: a0699; Sel: na--i; Adate: 7-4-1255ped
Codes: yigfdjp., yiujdxx., yijwdxx., yblbdxx.
TOKYO (UPI) -- Japan took a step closer to equal rights for women in
the workplace Wednesday when a Tokyo court ruled that women cannot be
denied promotions based solely on gender.
The Tokyo District Court ordered a government-affiliated agency to
pay $640,000 in back salary to 18 women who sued the agency because they
were denied promotions despite having the same qualifications as the men
who were promoted.
Wednesday's ruling marks the first time a Japanese court has stated
in principle that promotions should be made without sexual prejudice.
Japan adopted an equal opportunity law in 1986 that was to
guarantee women equal access to jobs but left the issue of promotions to
the discretion of the employer.
The court said discrimination in promotion violates Japan's
constitution and labor laws.
The ruling was hailed by women activists as a step in the right
direction, but they cautioned it may take years before it is widely
adopted as policy.
Despite enactment of the 1986 equal opportunity law, most Japanese
employers continue to categorize jobs as either male or female. Women
are generally limited to lower-paying jobs with little opportunity for
advancement.
In the Tokyo court case, the Medical Insurance Fund, which handles
claims for Japan's national medical insurance, was found to routinely
promote male employees when they reached 14 years experience and again
at 20 years but not female employees with the same experience.
The 18 women who brought the suit also asked the court to order the
agency to confirm they will be promoted, but the court rejected the
request.
Of the insurance agency's 6,200 employees, 290 were women with more
than 14 years experience who had not been promoted at the same rate as
their male colleagues, according to the attorneys for the 18 women.
|
| 44.4 | In some ways, worse here.... | BETHE::LICEA_KANE | | Mon Jul 16 1990 13:16 | 17 |
| Many people don't realize just how bad women have it in "modern" USA.
Last year the Supreme Court ruled that civil rights statutes from
the last century (the *only* Federal statutes which protect workers
of small employers) apply only to hiring, not to promotions or even
to harassment on the job.
The Kennedy-Hawkins bill, also known as the Civil Rights Act of 1990,
is an attempt to reverse this decision and four other decisions of the
last year's Supreme Court. (Note, the the post Civil War codes would
also *finally* be amended to protect against discrimination on the
basis of sex.) The administration is opposed and is threating to
veto, invoking the ever popular chant of "quotas."
Of note, the bill does *not* call for quotas.
-mr. bill
|
| 44.5 | | OXNARD::HAYNES | Charles Haynes | Mon Jul 16 1990 19:09 | 4 |
| Good point. I forget sometimes that not all of the U.S. has the same rules as
DEC, or even California.
-- Charles
|
| 44.6 | | RCA::PURMAL | You look just like an Elvis from Hell | Mon Jul 16 1990 22:41 | 54 |
| San Jose Mercury News, Sunday July 15th, 1990; page PC-2
Glass ceiling for women; Stereotypes block corporate climb, survey
finds
By Ellen Forman
Fort Lauderdale News & Sun Sentinel
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.
Before getting to the top, senior managers have to prove themselves
in areas such as production, plant management and purchasing. Yet
large companies are slow to give women these jobs - and often block
their career paths as a result, a recent survey shows.
Catalyst, a New York consulting group that helps employers integrate
work and family issues, drew its conclusion from a survey of chief
executives and human resources professionals at Fortune 1000
companies.
The resulting study, "Women in Corporate Management," found that
stereotyping and preconceptions are still barriers to advancement for
women, despite the thought among chiefs executives that women should
be encouraged to shoot for top positions.
"There's been very little change in attitudes and perceptions of
women," said Mary Mattis, director of research for Catalyst. "When
people talk about the ideal manager, they tend to be male attributes."
Part of the perception problem was illustrated by contrasting survey
responses by chief executives to those of human resource directors.
In the survey, 91 percent of chief executives agreed it was the
company's responsibility to change to help meet the meeds of women.
Yet almost half of human resource managers surveyed said that women
are less committed to their careers than men, and 43 percent said woman
are perceived as less likely to take initiatives and risks than men.
Although middle managers are women, they are clustered in areas such
as finance, human resources, and public relations - areas considered to
be peripheral to the company's primary business, compared with
production, operations management and purchasing.
And although 87 percent of human resource managers said men leave
jobs for career advancement, women are perceived as slightly more
likely to leave to balance work and family responsibilities than for a
better job opportunity, the survey said.
The survey found that women in Fortune 1000 companies are clustered
in mid-level management jobs. More than half of the companies surveyed
said that less than 5 percent of their senior managers are women.
Tony
|
| 44.7 | Why are There so Few Female Computer Scientists? | ULTRA::ZURKO | Martyr on a cross of luxury | Fri Feb 01 1991 18:13 | 12 |
| I couldn't find a better place for this. Co-mods, feel free to move.
The two replies following are postscript files comprising a report called Why
are There so Few Female Computer Scientists? I share the author's enthusiam
for the quality of the bibliography; here are all the references you need when
you re-hash that same old topic the ump-teenth million time. She also has some
excellent anecdotes, and I especially enjoyed the section on language. I
haven't read this version yet; I read a draft.
Don't try to reply to me personally here; I'm still on Sabbatical til Sept '92.
But mail will eventually get replied to.
Mez
|
| 44.8 | Location of the two postscript files in -.1 | LYRIC::BOBBITT | a pickax a compass & night goggles | Mon Feb 11 1991 17:51 | 16 |
| The co-moderators have extracted the two large postscript files and put
them somewhere for you all to copy at your leisure - they were 25,000
lines each or more and this probably would have given those of using
notes via DECwindows just cause to defenstrate yourselves in a fit of
impatience....
Mez's two files can be found at
VINO::BORDEAUX:[BOBBITT.POSTSCRIPT]WOMEN1.PS
VINO::BORDEAUX:[BOBBITT.POSTSCRIPT]WOMEN2.PS
the first is about 1000 blocks long, and the second is about 800 blocks
long. They're two halves of a 85-page article titled "Why are there so
few female computer scientists?" by Ellen Spertus.
-Jody
|
| 44.9 | | GUESS::DERAMO | Dan D'Eramo | Fri Mar 29 1991 16:28 | 9 |
| The next four replies contain a paper titled
GLASS CEILING REALITIES: STRATEGIES TO COPE
It was forwarded by email to everyone in my group.
I've broken it up into separate replies, of lengths
180, 148, 149, and 191 lines.
Dan
|
| 44.10 | Glass Ceiling Realities: Strategies to Cope (1 of 4) | GUESS::DERAMO | Dan D'Eramo | Fri Mar 29 1991 16:29 | 180 |
| I N T E R O F F I C E M E M O R A N D U M
Date: 19-Mar-1991 09:59am EDT
From: Ed Toomey
TOOMEY.ED AT a1 at witnes at
pko
Dept: Organization Consulting
Tel No: 223-3715
TO: See Below
Subject: Paper
Hello,
This paper is being submitted to the Association of Management for
presentation at their annual conference this summer and, hopefully, for later
publication. Your comments are welcome. Ed
GLASS CEILING REALITIES:
STRATEGIES TO COPE
Edmund L. Toomey
Organization Consultant
Digital Equipment Corporation
and
John Koziell
Professor of Management
Merrimack College
March 14, 1991
ABSTRACT
GLASS CEILING REALITIES: STRATEGIES TO COPE
Women in the workplace appear to be encountering a `Glass
Ceiling' culminating in early career plateaus. This paper
addresses contemporary research on how women effectively cope
and additionally illustrates one large organization's
initiatives to deal with this issue.
The principle source for addressing contemporary research in
identifying successful strategies for women to cope is
"Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Can Women Reach The Top Of
America's Largest Corporations", by Morrison, White, Van
Velsor and the Center for Creative Leadership. With respect
to a large organization's initiatives, Digital Equipment
Corporation was selected by virtue of its receiving the
Department of Labor 1990 Opportunity 2000 Award, which was in
part awarded for its efforts in addressing glass ceiling
issues.
The paper concludes by discussing the implications of the
findings on contemporary developments.
GLASS CEILING REALITIES: STRATEGIES TO COPE
Almost two-thirds of the new entrants
into the workforce between now and the
year 2000 will be women, and 61 percent
of all women of working age are expected
to have jobs by the year 2000.
...Workforce 2000
Women are rapidly converting the profile of the American
workforce from a "blue collar" to a "pink collar"
orientation. Although women continue to exert a growing
influence in the workplace, upward mobility opportunities
appear to be constrained. A recent finding by Catalyst Inc.,
an organization promoting women's leadership, found that
fewer than 5 per cent of the senior managers in 60 percent of
the large corporations were women. (Konrad, 1990).
Let's look at some additional demographic information, which
makes this a compelling topic of study for men and women
alike. The data is extracted from a Fortune magazine cover
story, July 30, 1990, titled "Why Woman Still Don't Hit The
Top"; and from Opportunity 2000, a U.S. Department of Labor
publication, prepared by Hudson Institute for the Employment
Standards Administration in September 1988.
The number of women entering the labor market has steadily
increased over the second half of this century. In 1950,
less than 35% of American women worked outside of their home.
By 1965, 39% of woman had joined the labor force, increasing
to 46% in 1975, and 50% in 1985. In the year 1984, 61% of
married woman with children were in the labor force compared
to the rate of only 28% in 1960. This trend is expected to
continue through the remainder of this decade and beyond.
Between 1985 and the year 2000, white males will comprise
only 15% of the new entrants to the labor force, while the
majority of new entrants will be woman and minority group
members. By the end of this century 61% of woman will be
employed. However, notwithstanding these increases in the
labor market, women continue to be concentrated, in nearly
the same proportion today as in the 1960's, in traditional
female positions like secretaries, nurses, and teachers. As
a result, in 1987, the average working woman earned only 70%
of their male counterpart.
page 2
This difference in pay is expected to decrease as women
continue to move into traditional male positions in
increasing numbers, particularly in the growth industries
that are adding to their workforce. A 1986 Equal Opportunity
Commission report states that women are represented in larger
numbers, and are advancing more rapidly, in high growth high
tech industries than in older declining industries. Let us
now take a closer look at the number of woman who are moving
through the glass ceiling to top management positions in
corporations. The numbers are not encouraging, especially
for women.
Today, fewer than 2% of the officers in Fortune 500 companies
are woman and the trend does not appear to be improving. A
University of Michigan survey conducted in 1987, found that
women represented only 3% of the 800 newly promoted corporate
chairmen, presidents, and vice presidents. The survey
further indicated that the percentage of women managers being
promoted to vice president was actually decreasing. A 1990
Fortune magazine survey of the 1000 largest U.S. industrial
and service companies found that of the 4,012 highest paid
officers and directors of these companies only 19, or one
half of one percent, were women.
Meanwhile, women are continuing to aggressively pursue
technical and professional fields. The Johnston and Packer
Hudson Institute Report on Workforce 2000 (1987) cites a 1983
United States Bureau of the Census finding which reflects
that in that year, women received 45 percent of the
accounting degrees, 36 percent of the law degrees, and 30
percent of the degrees in computer sciences. Nearly a half
of the business majors that year were women. It is
reasonable to conclude that as women become more and better
prepared for increased responsibilities within the workplace,
expectations for expanded career opportunities will also
rise.
As expectations rise given the enhancement of technical and
professional competence, organizational sensitivities toward
upward mobility opportunities for women take on added
significance.
Potential `Glass Ceilings', which address early career
plateaus for women, need closer scrutinization to sustain
organizational climates which facilitate equal opportunities
for women to advance. Organizational climates which provide
|
| 44.11 | Glass Ceiling Realities: Strategies to Cope (2 of 4) | GUESS::DERAMO | Dan D'Eramo | Fri Mar 29 1991 16:30 | 148 |
| page 3
`equal' opportunities as opposed to mandated `special'
opportunities appear to logically provide the greatest
utility for both the organization and upwardly mobile women.
To critically address the issue, this paper discusses:
- Findings on a successful strategy
- A company's initiative
- Future considerations
Findings on a Successful Strategy: One of the comprehensive
surveys on strategies for upwardly mobile women was published
in Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Can Women Reach the Top of
America's Largest Corporations. (Morrison, et.al. 1987).
The authors outline six lessons for success which are
believed to be `requirements' for a woman to succeed in a
large corporation. Each of these will be briefly discussed.
The first requirement identified by Morrison, et.al. (1987)
is `Learn the Ropes'. Survey results revealed that `being
smart and working hard' wasn't enough. An understanding of
corporate politics was critical and the opportunity to
solicit feedback from more senior men in the company was
helpful. This factor in particular was perhaps illustrated
in the May 1, 1989 Supreme Court decision relating to Price
Waterhouse vs. Hopkins. In the case, Ms. Hopkins was a super
achiever who alleged that she was denied partnership because
of her sex. One of the suggestions she reportedly received
from a sympathetic supervisor was to "walk more femininely,
talk more femininely, dress more femininely, wear make-up,
have her hair styled, and wear jewelry." (Fiske: 1989).
Secondly, Morrison et.al. (1987) state that women need to
take control of their own careers. The underlying message
appears to suggest that women may have to fight for upwardly
mobile line positions. Aggressive pursuits of mainstream
business activities may also mean changing companies or even
industries.
Thirdly, building confidence by taking risky jobs, performing
well, and maintaining a support system were also factors
found by Morrison et.al (1987) as contributing to success.
Although this particular factor has a generic quality which
may be equally applicable to men, `gender blindness' on the
page 4
part of senior management would appear to be the desired
element. As stated in another source, "Few corporate women
are asking for favors. What many want is the removal of
roadblocks." (Konrad: 1990)
Fourthly, Morrison et.al (1987) found that successful women
executives relied on several individuals or groups for
different sorts of help and assistance. Soliciting feedback
and learning how to manage people helped facilitate increased
interactions. The importance of working with others also
served to provide a feedback process from individuals and
groups from both in and outside the work environment.
Rosener (1990) alludes to these characteristics as an
`interactive leadership' style that has its roots in the
socialization process of women. Women interviewees in the
Rosener study firmly believe in its benefits. (Rosener:
1990).
The fifth factor for success identified by Morrison, et.al.
(1987) address the issues of toughness, going for the `bottom
line', and producing results. Women need to be as tough as
their male counterparts, and subsequently, live with the
consequences. An earlier study revealed that women have
traditionally had to fight perceptions of not seriously
desiring positions of authority and that women lacked the
skills and traits to do a manager's job (Sutton and Moore:
1985).
Finally, in addressing the issues of integrating work and
life activities, most women interviewed in the Morrison,
et.al. (1987) study stated that in prioritizing issues,
careers were first and whatever else in life was `squeezed
in' around it. Decisions relating to marriage, children and
other personal life issues were constantly being balanced
with work related issues. Choosing and juggling alternatives
led successful women to examine and set priorities.
(Morrison, et.al. 1987).
The research conducted by Morrison, et.al. (1987) provides
useful insights for women to develop effective upward
mobility strategies. Large organizations, however, can also
become significant factors in promoting upward mobility
opportunities for women and minimizing the anxieties and
frustrations unique to the upwardly mobile woman. Digital
Equipment Corporation is a company which has frequently been
page 5
identified as having progressive human resources policies in
this area. As the winner of the 1990 Department of Labor
Opportunity 2000 Award, Digital Equipment Corporation has
demonstrated its commitment to meeting the employment
challenges of the next century. This paper will now discuss
the critical components of the program.
"Workforce diversity is part of our business, part of our
philosophy, and part of our long-term strategy for staying
competitive. We promote a work environment where every
employee is empowered and feels valued. The core of Digital's
value system and culture is the belief that our people are
our most important asset. We value employees differences and
want to see people of difference at every level of the
company" John Sims, Vice President of Corporate Strategic
Resources. (Digital Press Release, 1990)
Digital, which has 120,000 employees and $13 billion in
revenues, is a leading supplier of networked computer
systems, software, and services, and a leader in multivendor
systems integration. Digital is an international company,
which does more than half of its business outside the United
States, developing and manufacturing products and providing
customer services in the Americas, Europe, and the Pacific
Rim. (Digital Annual Report,1990).
It is not our intent to portray Digital as a model company
which should be emulated by others for its programs for
women. Nor is it our intent to make a critical evaluation of
Digital's programs by pointing out their strengths and
weaknesses, or by making an assessment of the those programs
by comparing them to similar programs in other companies.
Digital was selected as a company to review because it was
the 1990 recipient of the Department of Labor's Opportunity
2000 Award for its leadership work in addressing issues
relating to cultural diversity and the "Glass Ceiling
Initiative". The Opportunity 2000 Award is given annually by
the Secretary of Labor, under the auspices of the Office of
Federal Contract Compliance Programs, to the employer who
anticipates the challenges of the changing American
demographics while assuring its workforce equal opportunity
with comprehensive affirmative action strategies and
programs. (Digital Press Release, 1990).
A review of the facts and trends presented earlier in this
paper makes it clear why a number of companies, influenced by
|
| 44.12 | Glass Ceiling Realities: Strategies to Cope (3 of 4) | GUESS::DERAMO | Dan D'Eramo | Fri Mar 29 1991 16:31 | 149 |
| page 6
the demographic data and by the women in their workforce, are
implementing programs to enable women to become part of the
corporate mainstream, and not only auxiliary members. A
measure of being in the mainstream is having women
represented in all levels of the corporation from the
washroom to the boardroom. Women have made progress at the
lower and middle management positions in some corporations
but, as the aforementioned data illustrates, not many women
have been able to move beyond the glass ceiling.
The formal and informal programs in place at Digital
Equipment corporation will now be discussed. The formal
programs are designed to prepare men and women for the
increasing presence, responsibility, and authority that women
will have in the workforce by the beginning of the next
century. The informal programs are designed to prepare women
to create, accept, and seize opportunities to move into
positions at the top of the corporate power structure.
In the late 70's and early 80's, Digital began the process of
preparing and educating its employees for the increasing role
of women in the workforce . This work was begun through
Male/Female Awareness workshops. These workshops, conducted
by external consultants, were first attended by Digital vice
presidents and their staffs. All other levels of managers in
the corporation were then encouraged to attend. We use the
word encouraged rather than required because managers were
not forced to attend the workshops. Digital uses a
normative-reeducative model of change, and believes that
forcing somebody to attend a workshop, intended to allow
managers to reflect on their values and attitudes toward
women and men, would be counter productive.
A normative-reeducative model is built on the assumptions
that norms form the bases for behavior and change comes
through a reeducation process allowing old norms to be
discarded and replaced by new more appropriate norms. (French
and Bell, 1984)
From the days of its founding in 1957, the management
philosophies of the company were influenced by the
Organization Development movement which was gaining
popularity during the 1950's and 60's. Ken Olsen, a former
MIT student and engineer, was undoubtedly influenced by the
writings of Douglas McGregor, an MIT professor and pioneer of
the OD movement. There is an unmistakable similarity between
page 7
Digital's style of managing employees and those recommended
by McGregor in his now classic book, The Human Side of
Enterprise. He was also strongly influenced by Edgar
Schein, a McGregor protege' at MIT, who has been an
Organization Consultant to Ken Olsen and Digital for over
twenty-five years.
These awareness workshops, which were three to five days long
and attended by men and women, were conducted at a conference
center away from the normal workplace so attendees would not
be distracted by day to day work issues. The workshops were
designed to allow participants to evaluate some of the
values, attitudes, and stereotypes they hold towards people
of the same and the opposite sex. Over a period of years
every manager and many individual contributors attended the
workshops. During that time one of the outward
manifestations of the change that was taking place was in the
language of the men. No longer did men use the diminishing
and derogatory terms of "girls or ladies or gals" when
referring to women.
As a follow up to the awareness workshops, seminars on sexual
harassment were conducted for all managers. Managers were
required to attend these workshops as sexual harassment is a
violation of the law and it was important for all managers to
understand what sexual harassment was, and to know that
Digital would not permit any form of harassment in the
workplace. In concert with, and as a follow on to these
programs, the company began to hire and promote more women
into positions of responsibility throughout the organization.
Just as a plant needs fertile soil in which to grow and
thrive, the awareness and education programs created a
working climate that was more receptive and supportive of
women moving into positions that had traditionally been held
by men.
The programs just described had a positive impact which
allowed women into entry level management and mid level
management positions but did little to allow women to move
beyond the glass ceiling into upper level management
positions. To affect this type of change, which means
sharing power, continues to be difficult for Digital as it is
for most corporations. Digital does have one female on its
Board of Directors, three female vice presidents, and scores
of women in upper management positions; although not nearly
as many as would be expected based on the numbers of women in
page 8
the company and in the labor force. Additionally, the key
top management positions where strategies are developed and
policies are made, which effect the growth and profitability
of the company, are still largely held by men.
The approach that has been used in Digital to allow women to
move into top management positions is mentoring. Mentoring,
after all, is the same method that men have used informally
for decades to get other men into the circle of influence in
Corporate America. Because women have been excluded from
executive positions they have not been able to sponsor and
mentor other women to allow them to move to the top. At
Digital, some male vice presidents have become mentors for
high potential females who have expressed an interest in, and
have demonstrated the ability, to be successful at the
highest levels of the corporations. The role of the woman's
mentor is to "show her the ropes", make introductions to
other executives, help her understand the power and politics
at the top of the organization, identify those she can trust
and those she can not, and to impart some of the "wisdom"
that is needed to survive at the top.
It is not only men who are helping women; women at Digital
have formed what is called "Core Groups" to help each other.
As reported by women who have attended, these topical support
groups are designed to allow them to gather with other women
who share a common issue they would like to discuss. These
groups, which meet either during working hours or after
hours, allow women to share concerns, air grievances, make
plans, and develop strategies for being successful in the
company. These groups also serve to allow women to expand
their network in the company which is also important for
upward mobility. The importance of networking will be
developed in a later paragraph.
An example of a Core Group is the Women's Leadership Forum.
It consists of a group of senior women managers who meet to
provide support for one another, identify other high
potential women to sponsor and mentor, develop strategies for
affecting policy changes that will benefit women--as well as
men--such as part time work, flexible hours, job sharing,
maternity and paternity leaves, child care, and other
policies and practices which allow a better work and family
balance for all employees. Digital does have policies and
practices in place which support all of the initiatives just
listed; although some, such as child care and availability of
|
| 44.13 | Glass Ceiling Realities: Strategies to Cope (4 of 4) | GUESS::DERAMO | Dan D'Eramo | Fri Mar 29 1991 16:31 | 191 |
| page 9
part time work with fringe benefits, still require greater
company support according to many employees.
Let's now spend a moment on this concept of networking.
Businesswomen are beginning to realize--what some men and
women have known for centuries--how vital and fundamental a
support network is to ensure safety and survival. Men's
networks, the most effective ones which are informal, include
but are not limited to some of the following: friends,
classmates, teammates, neighbors, street corner gangs, guys
from the park, the soda shop, and the pub. The list goes on
to include: college fraternity brothers, or fellow graduates
regardless of the year, army buddies, associates from the
country club, the tennis club, or yacht club; fellow joggers,
church members, current and former coworkers, and past and
present business associates. The list could continue but the
point has been made; women are beginning to learn how to use
formal networks but are still not, in our opinion,
effectively tapping into their informal networks. Certainly
we can't speak for all men, but we would say this network
isn't consciously developed for future utilitarian reasons, but it
is utilized whenever it is necessary to secure a job,
identify a business opportunity, or gain a competitive
advantage. There is no stigma attached to one who has to ask
for help and there is no expectation that the favor has to be
repaid--although if one were in a position to return the
favor he would be happy to do so.
Women are beginning to develop networks in the company and
utilizing them effectively by helping each other get the
inside track on new positions which are available (at Digital
if you don't hear about a key job until it is posted, you are
too late). They are using Digital's extensive computer
network to facilitate their interpersonal network. For
example, a woman who is seeking part time work upon her
return from maternity leave can put a note out on electronic
mail to hundreds or thousands of women and men asking for
help in identifying a part time opportunity. Woman are also
utilizing computer "notes files"--an electronic bulletin
board--which allows them to communicate with virtually every
other woman in the company through the women's notes file.
One of the by-product of these Core Groups and Woman's
Leadership Forums--and the Valuing Differences Programs the
company has had in place for years--was the creation of a
Task Force on Valuing Women's Strengths. This task force,
page 10
developed to help create a climate that elicits, enables and
rewards women's full contribution to Digital, draws heavily
on research from the Stone Center and has retained Stone
Center consultants. The Stone Center is a Wellesley College
Institute for scholarship and activism in the fields of
personality development, mental health, and organizational
psychology. (Event Report, 1988)
Some of the recommendations of the task force which have been
implemented at Digital include: Maternity and paternity
leaves, facilitate part-time work and job sharing, promote
child and dependent care, eliminate sexual harassment and
gender based discrimination, emphasize affirmative action in
hiring and promotions, establish a speaker series on women's
issues, enable women's groups, and promote employees
awareness on women's issues.
As stated earlier, it has not been our intent to evaluate,
critique, or praise Digital's programs, but only to identify
some of the programs in place that enabled Digital to be the
recipient of the 1990 Opportunity 2000 award for its
leadership work in addressing issues relating to cultural
diversity and the "Class Ceiling Initiative".
Future Considerations: Although significant advances have
been made in upward mobility opportunities for women by
virtue of enlightened company policies and heightened
awareness of relevant issues, difficulties remain. One fifth
of the men and two fifths of the women executives surveyed by
Sutton and Moore (1985) agree that the business community
will never wholly accept women executives. These numbers
suggest that additional federal legislation may be
appropriate.
With the Presidential veto of the 1990 Civil Rights Act, and
subsequent failure by the Congress to override the veto, new
legislation is now being proposed. Unlike the 1990 Civil
Rights Act, the new proposal appears to be designed to help
women fight job discrimination. One Congressman reports that
passage of the legislation "is essential to give women the
same rights as those available to minorities." (Wall Street
Journal: 1991).
The proposed legislation is a means which men and women both
would probably prefer to avoid. However, as one woman
executive remarked in the Sutton and Moore (1985) survey,
page 11
"Women in management have made tremendous advances over the
last ten years, which I believe reflects the excellence and
competence of those women who have succeeded." She adds,
however, that "I do not believe many of those opportunities
would have arisen in the first place without equal
opportunity legislation and oversight by federal and local
governments." Her concluding remark was that "This oversight
and enforcement, therefore, must continue to exist."
Although less than a third of the men and women surveyed by
Sutton and Moore (1985) believe that such legislation has no
impact on equal opportunity for women, the influences of the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Office of
Federal Contract Compliance Programs can be significant. At
the present time both agencies appear to be focusing on
`Glass Ceiling' issues. The proposed legislation has the
potential to further enhance the latitudes of the agencies to
assist in reducing potential restraints on upward mobility
for women. The proposed legislation may not change
attitudes, but as Sutton and Moore (1985) suggest, they "can
change behavior and that behavior often leads to new
attitudes."
In closing, perhaps a quote by Felice Schwartz, the founder
of Catalyst summarizes the issue best when she says:
Companies that depend only on male managers
and leave women to plateau, drop out, or
succeed against great odds on their own, will
have management teams composed not of the best
and the brightest, but of the brightest and
the not so bright, of both the highest and the
not so high performers.
References
Digital Annual Report, 1990
Digital press release, October 24, 1990
Event Report, Dec Task Force on Valuing Women's Strengths,
Presentation of Findings and Recommendations, October 26,
1988.
Fierman, "Why Women Still Don't Hit The Top", Fortune, July 30,
1990, PP 40-62.
Fiske, "Opinion", The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 31,
1989 PP B-2.
French and Bell, Jr., Organization Development, Behavioral
Science Interventions for Organization Improvement, Third
Edition. New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, 1984.
Johnston and Packer, Workforce 2000: Work and Workers for the
21st Century, Hudson Institute, Indianapolis, Indiana, June
1987, PP xix-87.
Konrad, "Welcome to the Woman-Friendly Company", Business Week,
August 6, 1990, PP 48-55.
McGregor, The Human Side of Enterprise, New York,
McGraw-Hill, 1960.
Morrison, White, Van Velsor, and the Center of Creative
Leadership, Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Can Women Reach the Top
of America's Largest Corporations?, Addison-Wesley Publishing
Company, Inc., Reading Massachusetts, 1987, PP 71-122.
Rosener, "Ways Women Lead", Harvard Business Review,
November-December 1990, PP 119-25.
Schwartz, "Discrimination: Roots and Remedies", Management
Review, December 1987, PP 38.
Sutton and Moore, "Executive Women-20 Years Later", Harvard
Business Review, September-October 1985, PP 42-66.
Wall Street Journal, "Women first is the strategy for backers of
a new Civil Rights Bill, February 8, 1991, PP 1.
To Distribution List: [deleted]
|
| 44.14 | Thanks! | YUPPY::DAVIESA | first to praise the Moon | Wed Apr 03 1991 09:55 | 8 |
|
Dan...
Thanks for taking the time to enter all that info....
I'm still digesting it 8-]
'gail
p.s. hope you had a happy MATH dinner!
|
| 44.15 | good reading | SA1794::CHARBONND | | Wed Jun 12 1991 15:24 | 19 |
|
The cover story of the new (June 17, 1991) issue of 'U.S. News &
World Report' is titled :
The Executive Suite
Why Women (can't/won/t/don't want to) Make It To The Top
Lengthy article beginning page 40. One highlight of interest - the
story of a woman who worked as a manager at a Mass.-based high tech
firm.
"Despite such tangible early successes as meeting daily production
requirements 95% of the time, ____ found her path to the upper echelon
blocked by men who were uncomfortable with her more open, nonconfront-
ational style of management. "
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The magazine also contains a look at AIDS as awareness of the disease
enters it's second decade.
|
| 44.16 | | GEMVAX::ADAMS | | Wed Jun 12 1991 15:37 | 18 |
|
re: .15
I think this article is good reading too - well written and
thought-provoking. A little more about it:
The first part of the article talks about studies and statistics;
then it goes on to discuss the problems/dissatisfaction many women
have with the "male model" of career achievement, and the idea
that a remodeling of the workplace that takes into account a
"female model" might be in order. The author includes a lot of
personal stories that illustrate the variety of women's
approaches to career/growth (including the former DECcie).
It ends with a few paragraphs on future goals of the women's
movement: helping women *and men* deal with their needs beyond
work; and expanding the traditional feminist view of equal
opportunity to include family and community values (thereby
including women with more varied backgrounds and lifestyles).
|
| 44.17 | Article on Leadership | REGENT::BROOMHEAD | Don't panic -- yet. | Wed Jun 12 1991 16:04 | 110 |
| Ooops! This has reminded me to post the following that was
forwarded to me for this very purpose:
LEADERSHIP ARTICLE
By Catherine Foster
Staff Writer of The Christian Science Monitor
------------Boston-----------------
Do women CEOs lead differently from men? Is the entree of women
into higher echelons of power making an impact on how corporations
are run?
In her book "The Female Advantage," (Doubleday, 1990, $19.95) Ms.
Helgesen examines the individual styles of four executive women who
developed ways of leading that come out of their sense of womanhood
and break the traditional hierarchical mold. They are Dorothy Brunson,
owner and president of Brunson Communications; Frances Hesselbein,
former head of the Girl Scouts; Anita Roddick, president and founder
of the Body Shop, a $300 million international chain of natural
cosmetics stores; and Nancy Badore, executive director of the Ford
Motor Company's Executive Development Center.
The new management structure, rather than a pyramid with an isolated,
insulated boss at the top (with secretary standing guard), is more like
a web, with the manager in the center of a series of concentric circles.
"The advantage of the web style, is that anybody can talk to anybody,"
says Helgesen, in a telephone interview from her home in New York.
"With that kind of structure, it's more flexible. You can move them
around as you need them to do tasks and it's not seen as a demotion."
Information is treated differently. In the traditional power structure,
information is viewed as power and is hoarded. Here, it's shared.
"I see myself as a transmitter-picking up signals from everywhere,
then beeping them out to where they need to go," says Ms. Brunson,
whose company owns three radio stations.
Helgesen says the old hierarchical mode is becoming obsolete in a time
of global competition, instant communication, a work force that includes
large numbers of women, and the need for flexibility and fast decision-
making. "This is an interesting moment in history," she says. "What
businesses most need and what women can supply is congruent."
This is a departure from the 1970s and '80s when women were criticized
for not having enough understanding of the importance of hierarchy,
she says. Many popular books of the time stressed the importance of
playing by "men's rules."
"And yet, here I saw four successful women who had not gotten with the
program at all," she says. "They were not interested in the assertions
of power so common in their hierarchical organization. They maintained
a kind of facility of putting themselves in the middle of an organization
rather than the top. It was fascinating because I was seeing you didn't
have to adapt to the way it's always been, you could maintain your own
values and be successful. I found it exciting."
Among the women she studied, Helgesen found a concern for the big picture
rather than merely the bottom line. She's been giving talks at major
corporations lately. "One of the reasons we're seeing an interest in
this system is it reflects the way technology works; it's more responsive,
it allows organizations to take advantage of many talents of people in
the organization rather than giving them labels. It's suited for its
time."
There's no secret, all-women's MBA program that teaches "woman's style
of management." There's not just one style. And not all women managers
are good ones. Helgesen does not get into the old nature/nuture debate
about the source of feminine qualities.
When asked what women's styles of management might look like, Ms. Roddick
said, "Principles of caring, making intutitive decisions, not getting
hung up on hierarchy or having a sense of work as being part of life,
not separate from it; putting your labor where your love is; being
responsible to the world in how you use profits; recognizing the bottom
line should stay there -- at the bottom."
Components of the 'Web' style of management:
o For these women managers, family life (their own and employees')
is a priority. Several don't work weekends or encourage employees to.
o They don't identify themselves with their jobs; jobs are just one
part of who they are. Home and work are integrated. "It's not hard
work that wears your out, but the repression of your true personality,
and I've found a way of working that does not demand that," says
Frances Hesselbein, former head of the Girl Scouts.
o Professionalism doesn't mean autonomy and distance. Office space
is organized to keep people in touch. In one business, offices circle
a glass-sided conference room where employees are encouraged to mingle,
the philosophy being that creative ideas often spring from spontaneous
meetings.
o Keeping relationships in good repair is important. Nancy Badore,
executive director of the Ford Motor Company's Executive Development
Center, answers every letter within three days and asks everyone else
to do the same.
o Listening is important. Several of the women refuse to look at
their watch while meeting with coworkers, and schedule "office hours"
for workers to just talk, complain, share ideas.
o Unscheduled tasks and encounters are not viewed as interruptions,
but part of the current of the day, as ways to share information and
stay in touch.
o Secretaries aren't used as shields but to further communication and
public relations.
- C.F.
|
| 44.18 | O nooooooooooooooooooo...... | GEMVAX::KOTTLER | | Wed Jun 12 1991 16:12 | 4 |
|
sharing power? caring? *webs* ? what's going *on* here???
Dorian
|
| 44.19 | Taken from soc.women on the Usenet | JURAN::VALENZA | Go ahead. Make my personal name. | Sat Aug 10 1991 14:48 | 106 |
| Article: 44982
From: tls@cbnewsd.att.com (terry.l.shockey)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african.american,soc.women
Subject: glass ceiling
Date: 10 Aug 91 05:27:38 GMT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
The following is an article in the Beacon-News, August 9, from
the Associated Press [my comments in brackets] and titled
Martin takes aim at 'glass ceiling;' Women skeptical
Women's groups aren't impressed with a new Labor Department initiative
to shatter the "glass ceiling" blocking the advancement of women and
minorities in the workplace.
"We know that it will take more than research, study and the "bully pulpit"
to reverse the ill effects of workplace discrimination," Marcia Greenberger,
co-president of the National Women's Law Center, said.
"This appears to be a 'carrot and stick' program without much 'stick,'" said
Harriett Woods, president of the National Women's Political Caucus.
Labor Secretary Lynn Martin on Thursday pledged to use her position as a
"bully pulpit ... to encourage every corporation to develop its own strategy"
for promoting women and minorities into the middle and upper management
ranks of corporate America.
Martin's promise came after a department review of nine Fortune 500 companies
revealed widespread barriers to promotion.
She outlined a four-point program "to dismantle, to remove and to shatter"
the glass ceiling, a term describing the fact that many women can see through
to top corporate posts, but are blocked from competing for them. The program
includes:
- Further reviews such as the nine already conducted as part of a
pilot project.
- An internal effort to educate Labor Department officials on the
glass-ceiling issue. [Does that mean we taxpayers will get to pay
for someone to come in each day and read aloud to these officials
the literature on the subject that has appeared in magazines and
newspapers over the years?]
- A public awareness campaign to encourage companies to make
voluntary improvements.
- An award program to recognize businesses that make particularly
effective efforts to encourage equal opportunity.
"We want to be the catalyst for change," Martin said. "We have not and will
not act as personnel directors who dictate from a distance who should be
hired, fired or promoted."
Randolph Hale, a vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers,
praised the initiative for raising "everyone's awareness of the invisible,
yet very real, barriers women and minorities face while climbing the
corporate ladder."
Women's groups, however, said more was needed.
"The department has essentially left the fox in charge of the chicken coop
by resting the bulk of its efforts on the voluntary actions of employers,"
Greenberger said.
"We can only hope that Secretary Martin's own determination to put the force
of her office behind the issue will make a difference," Woods said.
The Labor Department report, released by Martin at a news conference,
stressed that none of the companies reviewed was guilty of discrimination,
but said all engaged in practices that, intentionally or unintentionally,
prevented women and minorities from advancing into middle and upper level
management. [Say what? Companies that engage in practices that prevent
women and minorities from advancing into non-management or into lower level
management are guilty of discrimination but companies that engage in
practices that prevent women and minorities from advancing into middle
and upper level management are NOT guilty of discrimination? That's seems
to be a pretty good explanation for why there is a glass ceiling. And
why it's not likely to be shattered or even cracked any time soon.]
The companies were selected randomly by computer from among businesses
that received federal contracts. They offered a wide range of products
and services, were geographically diverse and had work forces ranging
from 8,000 employees to 300,000 employees.
"All of the companies reviewed had a level beyond which few minorities
and women had either advanced or been recruited, and minorities tended
to be found at lower levels of management than women," the report said.
"To put it plainly, the glass ceiling existed at a much lower level
than first thought." [Thought by whom? The glass ceiling has been
pretty common knowledge for years.]
A survey of large companies last year by the consulting firm, Korn-Ferry
International, and the University of California, Los Angeles, found that
women represented 37 percent of the work force and minorities 16 percent.
However, only 7 percent of the executive-level managers were women and
only 3 percent were minorities.
Among the practices identified by the Labor Department as contributing to
the bias were reliance on word-of-mouth recruiting rather than on more
formal methods that include women and minorities, the lack of access for
women and minorities to management development and training programs,
and the lack of involvement by top managers in fostering advancement
of women and minorities.
TLS
|
| 44.20 | ba ha ha. the last line's a real hyuk | LEZAH::BOBBITT | on the wings of maybe... | Mon Sep 09 1991 12:14 | 66 |
| from off the net:
********************************************************************************
Reprinted in its entirety without permission from the Worcester Telegram &
Gazette, the Monday, August 26th, 1991 edition. Leave originating header on.
********************************************************************************
WOMEN REMAIN BEHIND
2.6% in top jobs with Fortune 500
WASHINGTON (AP) - Less than 3 percent of the top jobs at Fortune 500
companies were held by women in 1990, according to a study by a women's
rights advocacy group.
Only 175, or 2.6 percent, of the 6,502 corporate officers employed at
the nation's largest companies last year were women, according to the
study released yesterday by the Feminist Majority Foundation. The
group blamed the disparity on sex discrimination and an enduring
old-boy network in the business world.
The study, which looked at jobs at the level of vice president and up,
was based on figures compiled by a University of Southern California
researcher.
"At the current rate of increase in executive women, it will take until
the year 2466 - or over 450 years - to reach equality with executive
men," saide Eleanor Smeal, the former president of the National
Organization for Women who now heads the Feminist Majority.
The Washington-area research and advocacy organization, which works for
the advancement of women in the workplace, timed the release of its
study to coincide with the 71st anniversary of women winning the right
to vote in the United States.
CORPORATE BOARDS
Besides the low number of women in key executive positions, the study
also found that corporate boards weren't crowded with women. Last
year, 4.5 percent - or 254 of 5,384 - of the Fortune 500 directorships
were held by women.
And only five women are the chief executive officers at Fortune 500
companies.
Although only 2.6 percent of top officers are women, the study said
women comprise 40 percent of all executive, management and
administrative positions, up from 24 percent in 1976.
"They remain confined mostly to the middle and lower ranks, and the
senior levels of management are almost exclusively male domains," the
study said.
Citing various reports, the study said women are still victims of an
old-boys' network and male "clubbiness" that dominates corporate
executive suites. Men, when deciding whom to promote, often tap
people like themselves, the study said.
Peter Eide, the manager of labor law for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,
disputed the notion that an old-boys' network or discrimination keep
women from advancing.
"We think that if there is a glass ceiling, it is rapidly cracking",
Eide said.
% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
|
| 44.21 | Business as usual | REGENT::BROOMHEAD | Don't panic -- yet. | Mon Sep 09 1991 15:41 | 10 |
| Saturday, a bunch of us were talking as we worked. T--, who spends
a lot of time with his headhunter, relayed this information to us:
There are a lot of companies which send out written job descriptions
to employment firms, then call and explain ~since this job can lead
to a [high-level] management position, we won't be hiring a woman or
minority person, so you shouldn't send us any. Oh, we'll interview
'em but we won't hire 'em. And don't quote me on this; I never said
it.~
Ann B.
|
| 44.22 | wasted talent | WAHOO::LEVESQUE | Hell Bent for Leather | Mon Sep 09 1991 15:44 | 3 |
| Someday somebody's going to get smart and hire all of these people who've been
overlooked for jobs they are more than well qualified for, and that company
is going to make an absolute fortune...
|
| 44.23 | | ZFC::deramo | I'd call that a big "yes"! | Mon Sep 09 1991 17:25 | 3 |
| Someday somebody is going to start recording those conversations.
Dan
|
| 44.24 | As if you did not know! | CSCMA::BARBER_MINGO | Exclusivity | Mon Sep 09 1991 17:32 | 3 |
| Batch noters already do.
Cindi
|