Let's Aspire to Lead on Gender Equality

The image of the star attached to this post is a photo I took a day ago while walking through Los Angeles early in the morning with my daughter.  For those who have not been to Hollywood Boulevard, the sidewalk is lined with the names of stars...celebrating great accomplishment.  The particular star in the photo is blank...a script yet to be written. It is a reminder that the possibilities should be limitless for my daughter, her classmates, young women and young men everywhere. But the reality is we have not reached gender equality. In fact, we’re not even close.

Gender, along with knowledge, skills and experience, is one of the most common dimensions addressed in the diversity and inclusiveness strategies of the business leaders participating in PwC’s annual CEO Survey. Of the CEOs who responded to the survey, 64 percent have a diversity strategy in place and 13 percent plan to adopt one. And 85 percent of those with a strategy in place said it has enhanced their business performance. In short, supporting global gender equity makes good business sense because diverse perspectives can create innovative ideas that can drive growth.

Hollywood is home to an industry that has a powerful influence on culture--including our perceptions on gender. Yet, a study sponsored by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender and Media found only 30.9% of the characters within films are female. And 85% of films had no female director, 80% had no female writers, 33% had no female producers, 78% had no female editors and 92% had no female cinematographers. We have to do better.

At PwC, we want to help lead that discussion. Last year, we announced our commitment to be one of the lead impact champions of the UN Women HeforShe initiative, a global campaign to engage men to be champions of gender equality.  HeForShe recognizes that for women to succeed, men need to be made part of the solution. As part of that commitment, we brought participants from more than 100 countries together today for our Aspire to Lead discussion to have a earnest dialogue about gender and understand concrete actions we can take--men, women, and industry.

There were a lot of great discussions and dialogue, but here are my three takeaways on concrete actions we must take now:

1. Acknowledge blindspots: Research has shown that human beings have blind spots – stereotypes and implicit beliefs that serve as “cognitive shortcuts” we use to understand the world. Blind spots are bad for business. When we work to understand our own blind-spots, we are less likely to make assumptions when working with others who are different from us, whether that is someone of a different gender or other dimension of diversity.  Follow the links at heforshe.pwc.com and take the Implicit Association Test - raise awareness of your own blindspots.
2. Expand your network: The majority of our professionals work in teams. Real change happens at the individual level when we take actions such as considering diversity when forming teams and ensuring that everyone – including an individual who may naturally be hesitant to speak up – has an uninterrupted opportunity to participate in a discussion. Expanding your network also means doing an “audit” of your personal network - push yourself and make sure your network reflects gender diversity, as well as other dimensions of diversity.
3. Bring equity home, too: Despite the fact that more and more women are working full-time jobs, they are still carrying the majority of housework.  Whether it is doing dishes, folding laundry or helping manage childcare, there is an opportunity to bring more parity to household responsibilities to drive equality.  

As the father to a bright, young daughter, I know the work we’re doing on gender equality will help define her future. As a business leader, I know this issue is important to our ability to perform to our fullest potential, to drive innovation and growth. In both roles, I am convinced that gender equality is one of the most important issues in our society today--the time to tackle it is now. At PwC, I work with accomplished women who deserve the full support and commitment of their male colleagues. Join us at heforshe.pwc.com. Because everyone’s success is connected.