Learning the Lesson of Gender
As the oft-quoted nineteenth century Spanish philosopher and novelist, George Santayana, famously said, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." One lesson many big businesses have failed to learn is how best to employ (in both the literal and figurative senses) women. How to hire them in the first place and then how to use them to the best of their abilities.
As usual, the principle enjoys almost universal approval with the practice remaining an elusive aspiration. According to Forbes, Bain & Company conducted a survey of more than 1,800 people worldwide and discovered that near 80 percent claimed to be "convinced of the benefits of gender parity at all levels." Respondents, comprised of men and women, allegedly "recognize that retaining more women as they ascend the corporate ladder will add diversity of experience and perspective and also will help them understand women as buyers and influencers. Higher retention rates will also save companies millions in recruiting and retraining costs."
The problem, Forbes points out, is the difficulty in getting women into leadership positions. While half of America's workforce is female, they explain, in 2009 women represented a mere "three percent of the chief executives of the country's 500 largest companies." Furthermore, "the female-to-male ratio rapidly dwindles at almost every rung of the ladder upward, across organizations and across industries."
The two most likely causes cited are time off from career trajectories due to motherhood, with the consequential lack of experience this causes, and a failure by companies to enact consistent career development programs. At least in part because of these corporate failures, more women are choosing to start their own businesses rather than accept the frustration of being employees. Bain apparently found "women entrepreneurs start nearly 1,600 businesses daily in the U.S." They then quoted one such entrepreneur who explained, "I chose to leave the corporate world and run my own company rather than try to achieve gender parity at that corporation, in that industry."
Discussion Questions: What in your opinion are the primary reasons that women are represented in such low numbers in the executive ranks of business? Are there opportunities for executive women particular to the retail industry that should be further developed? What answers do you have that will address the issue and improve business performance in the process?