I'm tired of talking about diversity.

October is Global Diversity Awareness Month (GDAM) – something I feel more compelled than ever to write about here. But first, why do I care so much about it?

• I’m a woman in a male-dominated industry (although my function of comms skews more female).
• I work in a global role for one of the world’s most global companies.
• I have a globally diverse team that spans nine different locations across China, the UK, Spain, France, Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Slovakia, and USA, aging from early 20s up to, well….let’s just say 60-ish – and work every day with people from every corner of the globe.
• Included in my broader global corporate communications organization are two key teams. First, the Lenovo Foundation, our philanthropic giving arm that empowers under-represented communities with access to technology and STEM education. I’m also proud to be a board director of the Lenovo Foundation. Secondly, the ESG comms team who tell our story across all areas of ESG and holds the business accountable for closing the gap between who we are and who we want to be.
• I’m a mother of two teenage boys and have an overwhelming sense of responsibility and accountability to ensure they become strong allies and advocates for women.
• I hit a milestone birthday this year and am acutely conscious of the increased age bias women face in the workplace.
• And I am the executive sponsor of the EMEA ‘Women in Lenovo’ employee resource group (ERG) and have team members who are incredibly active around the world across other ERGs such as PRIDE.

I have plenty of reasons to care about diversity.

Inevitably, the one I am most passionate about is gender diversity. Something we are STILL talking about because as I reflect this GDAM month I’m sad to say that I don’t believe enough has changed for women in the workplace. As McKinsey’s annual ‘Women in the Workplace’ report, launched last week, said on noting some improvements for women: “These hard-earned gains are encouraging yet fragile.”

So, what are the issues?

Societal expectations STILL holding women back

Earlier this week, I spoke with a team of amazing women in our Slovakia office. Our biggest office in EMEA that in its ~1,000 workforce has a ~50/50 gender split and an impressive 44 nationalities in the office. But the team still faces challenges – largely systemic cultural issues that mean women are expected to be in traditional homemaker roles, and when they work, they still carry the mental and physical load of the home and family. While this may not be a lived experience for me in the UK, I have huge empathy for all those brilliant women around the world who continue to face societal pressures (and pressure from their own families) to conform to traditional roles. In my ERG role we can help on this to a point – involving more men in our ERG activity, building more male allies, etc. I wish I had the power to change more.

Age bias faced by women at every level in their career

These may be paraphrased slightly, but they reflect comments and sentiments I’ve heard during my work life and from friends and peers that reinforce that women face age discrimination at every level of their career. 20s - “She’s young and seems immature.” 30s - “She’s recently married; she’s bound to go off on maternity leave soon.” 40s - “I’m not sure she can take on the extra responsibility (promotion) because she has young children.” 50s - “She’s too emotional (menopausal) for that leadership role.” 60s - “She’s caring for aging parents.” Would any of these ever be said about a man?

This study from Harvard Business Review backs this up too. Grey-haired men are experienced, distinguished, and wise. Women with grey hair are old and often written off as no longer being focused on their careers. There is even something called the ‘fatherhood bump’ – where children boost a man’s earning power because it “signals to potential employers greater maturity, commitment, or stability” . No prizes for guessing that for women it has the opposite effect.

And as if that isn’t enough to contend with, a friend told me that recruiters in the US advise women only to put the last 15-20 years of their career experience on LinkedIn, and nothing with dates on that can age them, such as when they went to university. I find it desperately sad that women come up against the most toughened glass ceiling of all just when we should be at the peak of our careers in the most senior leadership roles.

Mediocrity and incompetence are still rewarded

We’re all told: if you work hard and do well, you’ll be rewarded for it. But look around any business (or politics!), and you’ll see many brilliant people (both men and women) who should be in leadership positions and aren’t, and many mediocre men (mostly) who have risen to the top. Numerous studies have looked at why this is – sexism is one answer, but it’s more complex than that. It’s about what leaders see as traits to reward. Chamorro-Premuzic’s study says that ‘we habitually interpret traits such as overconfidence and self-absorption as signs of high ability, though in fact they’re negatively correlated with it. They “should be seen as red flags”, but “instead, they prompt us to say, ‘Ah, there’s a charismatic fellow! He’s probably leadership material’. The research also states that women are more harshly judged for displaying confidence - #truth. We need to reevaluate the leadership traits we want to reward. We need to stop allowing, enabling, or rewarding ‘strategic incompetence’ in organizations, and we need not to ignore rising female talent who tend to underestimate their abilities (imposter syndrome), all the while advancing the men who tend to overestimate theirs (Dunning Kruger effect ).

Data doesn’t lie

I was recently asked how I tackle conversations with men who don’t believe a diversity problem exists. My answer was simple – start with the data. Data can be the catalyst for incredible discussion and debate. But while it can be our friend, it can be our foe too. If you’re asking a majority white male organization whether they think the business they work for supports people of different diverse backgrounds to thrive, then you’re very likely to get an answer that is overwhelming yes – because the majority answering the question aren’t the ones in those diverse groups. Cut it by age, by gender, by minority group where you can, and the story is probably very different.

Look at data that helps you understand bias – things like the average age of women when promoted to executives; speed at which women are promoted through the ranks versus men; the number of executive positions filled with women versus the number of female candidates on the slate; % of high potential talent split by gender versus gender split of the overall organisation, etc. While there may be other factors behind some of these data points, they are a starting point to unpick the issues in your organization and work to fix them.

These are just a few of my favourite data points:

• According to UN Women there are only 26 (out of 195) countries in the world where women serve as a head of state and/or Government. That’s just over 13%. At that rate gender equality in the highest positions will not be reached for another 130 years.
• As of 2022, 8.4% of FTSE 250 companies have female CEOs – that’s just 21 women.
• Female CEOs first outnumbered any single male name among S&P 500 CEOs in 2018. (Before 2018 there were more CEOs called John in the S&P 500 than there were women CEOs.)
• In 800 years of political records, there has NEVER been a female Chancellor in the UK (the most senior political financial role)

It’s so tiresome that after a 28-year career we’re still talking about the same issues. But we can’t give up. So:

I’m speaking out more than ever when I see misogyny and/or bias – The bias may be subtle, or it may be overt. Don’t be afraid to challenge it – you don’t have to be rude or angry; say it with a smile. A recent example was when I was on the fringes of a conversation about a (male) headteacher from a school stepping down when someone asked, ‘So who is the new headmaster going to be?’. My instant polite retort was, ‘Or headmistress?’. I’m coaching male colleagues to think more about the words they use. Don’t talk about women ‘needing training to advance’ – talk about ‘coaching and development to harness potential’. Needing training makes it sound like it’s our problem and failing and that we clearly lack something.

I’m trying to be a good role model – I’ve worked full-time since both my boys were a few months old. Simple finances made it easy for my husband and I to decide who would stay at home in those early years to look after them, and I think they have gained more than I’ve missed out. But being a good role model is about more than going to work or being in a leadership position. I love this video from Jen Brister on the difference between a mother/son relationship versus a mother/daughter one – it’s a reminder that as mothers, we have a duty to bring up sons who not only see that women are equal to men, but that we don’t inadvertently reinforce gender stereotypes in other ways by what we say, rather than what we do.

I will always advocate for change – Be a loud voice, ask the hard questions, and don’t be afraid to challenge poor behaviours. Never take ‘no’ for an answer. Be a beacon and safe space so that others can confide in you and seek support. Raise other women up.

I’m fortunate to know some incredible women in many industries – forces of nature that are too many to list here, but you know who you are when reading this. Some have had to leave their jobs or teams to get the bigger role and/or promotion they long deserved. Some have left the corporate environment altogether because they could no longer tolerate seeing mediocrity and incompetence rewarded. Some have had their confidence knocked by being told they were too emotional or aggressive for a leadership position (note emotion and aggression in women = passion and ambition in men). Others have quietly quit , settling for what they have as good enough.

It doesn’t need to be like this.

I never intended this to be an anti-men post, and I really hope anyone reading it hasn’t taken it that way. I have two very important straight, white, male, middle-class young men in my life who are arguably in the most un-diverse group that exists today. In the next five-ten years they will enter the workforce and will need to forge a path in a working world that’s very different from the one I entered in 1995. I know their experience will be all the richer and more rewarding for the more balanced and equitable environment they will be in. But make no mistake, I will be (quietly) behind them, reminding them of all the privileges those who look like them have had for centuries, and I expect them to be the strongest allies they can be for others.

I am tired of talking about diversity, but it won’t stop me from doing it. Nor advocating for change or being the loud and annoying voice calling out bias when I see it. I owe that to myself, all the brilliant and fearless women I know and work with, and all the young women yet to enter the workforce.

Thank you to my trusted friends and colleagues who read this for me before I posted it. Most of all, thank you to my 17-year-old son who simply said "it's not anti-men Mum, it's about the system'.

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