How companies can increase gender diversity by empowering women
“It’s no longer just the right thing to have women as leaders — it’s good for business,” says Lynn Branigan, President and CEO of She Runs It.
“There’s study after study showing that companies who have more women at the top outperform companies with less women at the top in sales, in return on equity — so many important business metrics.” Yet 51% of working women in the USA say their companies are not doing enough to promote gender diversity at work. In fact, in S&P 500 Companies, 37% of women say that their gender has played a role in them missing out on a raise, promotion, or the chance of getting ahead.
“There’s study after study showing that companies who have more women at the top outperform companies with less women at the top…”
Since being founded in 1912, She Runs It has been looking to tackle these issues by paving the way for more women to lead in every level of media and marketing. Initially called the League of Advertising Women, and later named Advertising Women of New York, it has evolved from ensuring that women have a seat at the table, to empowering them to thrive in business. It holds over 50 programs a year across New York and Chicago focusing on five key themes: mentoring, networking, professional development, thought leadership, and celebrating executive achievement with award events — much of it created by volunteer committees — from young executives all the way to the C-suite. “This way, we’re helping women at each career stage,” explains Branigan.
She Runs It also focuses on facilitating connections to help women thrive. For example, its 22-year-old mentoring program sports 800 people nationwide, appealing to the 30% of women who consider mentoring extremely important to their work life. “At She Runs It, we talk about ‘mentors, sponsors and other heroes’,” says Branigan. “Mentors are essential, and can give you personal advice. Sponsors play an advocating role for you when you’re not there. And heroes are those we put a spotlight on as a teaching moment, to show people how others have navigated their journey.”
“Companies need to make sure that their employee bases are as diverse as the mosaic of their customers and the marketplaces in which they serve.”
Though progress has been made, there is still room for improvement in the workplace. “Gender diversity is going to be hard work to achieve in the future, and it’s not going to change unless companies agree to be measured.” says Branigan. “If you don’t know where you are relative to others, how do you know what to fix?” This is why, in 2018, She Runs It launched the Inclusion and Diversity Accountability Consortium (#inclusivebrands), a free initiative which encourages businesses to measure their best practices related to inclusion, representation and culture against other peers in the industry. “We want there to be a frictionless way for people to know where they stand in inclusion and diversity, to help them improve that dynamic,” says Branigan.
But inclusion and diversity is also important to consider within a business’ cohort. “Companies need to make sure that their employee bases are as diverse as the mosaic of their customers and the marketplaces in which they serve,” says Branigan. “Consumers aren’t going to stand for a lack of diversity in the future. It’s not going to happen, because they know that they win when they understand who their customers are.”
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