Today is Dads4Daughters Day, when fathers of daughters everywhere are asked to commit themselves to achieving greater gender equality.

Today is Dads4Daughters Day, when fathers of daughters everywhere commit themselves to promoting gender equality in the workplace – the future workplace of their daughter.

So today I'd like to invite you to consider the following questions:

· If you have a daughter, would you like her to work in your workplace? If not, why not?

· Is your workplace somewhere men feel comfortable about taking a year’s parental leave – or accompanying their child to a dentist?

· What could you do to promote women at work? 

· What could you do to influence the culture at work so that men can strike a healthier work/life balance?

· Are you aware of your unconscious gender biases? Take the unconscious bias test and make a personalised pledge

Some estimates predict it will be another 170 years before we reach gender parity at work – meaning our great-great-granddaughters won’t see it, let alone our daughters. That’s just not acceptable.

To speed things up, organizations need to manage their talent pipeline the way they would manage an extended supply chain. That means taking the following steps:

1. Ensure the employer’s brand and employee value proposition are attractive to potential female employees, be they school leavers, graduates or lateral hires. Build relationships and target early-stage talent by tapping into education, community and professional networks. 

2. Once women are hired, make sure they are engaged, nurtured and differentially mentored, with credible and visible role models openly espousing the topic of gender parity. Create sufficient career pathways and performance management systems to help them thrive as they pass through the different stages of their personal life experiences. 

3. Forge life-long relationships, staying connected with talented individuals beyond the organization. At EY, some of our best leaders have joined, thrived, left and returned with wider experiences and as more effective leaders.

Find out more

To better understand the difficulties women face in advancing their consulting careers, EY has sponsored a new survey, Women in Consulting: How to Hold Onto Talent in the ‘Pinched Middle’, from Source Global Research and UNIDA. 

Our Women. Fast Forward site has case studies, views and advice about closing the gender gap. Visit https://www.ey.com/gl/en/issues/business-environment/women-fast-forward

My personal commitment to accelerating gender parity

 ? I help ensure the next generation of women are prepared and equipped for the business world by being actively involved in Dads4Daughters.

? I mentor future female leaders within EY and actively intervene if I see the firm not living its values and commitments, or if I notice bias in our processes and behaviors.

? I champion the cause of gender parity internally and demonstrate this is absolutely a key element of our leadership philosophy.