Why PwC is HeForShe

As a business leader, I have had many conversations about the role businesses can play in driving change within society. I’ve often talked about the “Power of One” – the idea that when you bring together individuals around a common goal you can accomplish more than by working alone. This week, we are unleashing that power in support of global gender equity by asking everyone in the PwC network – men and women alike – to commit to the United Nations HeForShe initiative.

In January, Emma Watson announced the United Nation’s IMPACT 10x10X10 initiative, which brings together leading companies, universities and government in support of global gender equity. I was proud that PwC was one of the founding IMPACT champions and this week I am even more proud of the PwC partners and staff who are stepping forward to make personal commitments and think about what they could be doing to work better across gender lines.

Why is this important?

Gender, along with knowledge skills and experience, was one of the most common dimensions addressed in the diversity and inclusiveness strategies of the business leaders participating in PwC’s 18th Annual Global 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. However, this goes beyond simply being good for business. We need the best people working together to address the many complex problems facing our world. We believe gender equity unlocks everyone’s potential and that’s good for our future as individuals and all of society.

It takes all of us

PwC’s US diversity strategy is based upon the premise that we are all responsible for helping to support an inclusive work environment. The more men and women play active roles in each other’s success, the more we all benefit – both as individuals and as an organization.

HeForShe also recognizes that for women to succeed, men need to be explicitly invited into the conversation and made part of the solution. The UN has set an ambitious goal of engaging one billion men for the cause. Making a commitment to HeForShe is just the first step. The ultimate goal is to make it personal because change happens at the individual level. In particular, we’re focused on the following three actions individuals can take:

1. Acknowledge potential blind spots

Research has shown that human beings have blind spots – cognitive shortcuts we use to understand the world. We may make assumptions based on our own experiences which may not be accurate. For example, we may mistakenly think we know how someone feels about a particular topic. Blind spots are bad for business, which is why PwC UK developed an educational series called “Open Minds.” This online training helps our people build their global acumen to increase awareness of potential blind spots and overcome them. When we are open minded, 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.

2. Call on more voices

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.

I would add that getting people talking about these issues is critical. To do this, PwC supported #LeanInTogether for Equality, Lean In's campaign to engage men, and we hosted a dialogue with LeanIn author Sheryl Sandberg that brought together our people, students on campus, our clients and many others to talk about women and leadership. I've also taken the opportunity to write about this in some of my other blog posts, including ideas for how white men can help to advance diversity.

3. Bring equity home, too

Research shows that women do more housework and shoulder more domestic responsibilities than men. Add in the responsibility that comes along with the addition of a new child and many women reach a critical point at which some feel they need to consider choosing between their family and their career. That’s why PwC offers various flexibility options and has enhanced our US parental leave policy to give eligible mothers and fathers the same amount of time off.

We believe our enhanced policy sends a message that all parents need time away from work in the first year after adding a new child through a birth, adoption or foster placement. Giving men and women the same amount of time can help reduce the stigma sometimes associated with traditional maternity leaves and lay the foundation for a successful parenting relationship once they return to work.

Jake Stephens, a Tax manager in Houston, took six weeks off to be with his new daughter and his wife, who was excited to know he would be there by her side during those crucial first weeks as new parents. “There are so many ways the firm can reward employees,” said Jake. “Monetary rewards are always great, but having this time is a differentiator for me and shows PwC’s commitment to people.”

Since Jake took the expanded parental leave, other fathers on his team have done the same.

Success factors

Jake’s story brings home two important points for me: 1) the importance of individual actions in driving cultural change and 2) that it’s all in the execution.

I was recently in Tokyo with members of our global leadership team where we all had a chance to make our commitment to HeForShe together. Supporting global gender equity is the right thing to do for our world and our business. Now it’s up to each of us to not only commit to HeForShe, but to support global gender equity through daily interactions

Join us at heforshe.pwc.com. Because everyone’s success is connected.