Why Women Mean Business

WOMEN MEAN BUSINESS “...gives example after example of the price that we all pay for a situation in which ‘women may hold the keys but men still control the locks’.” The Times “What’s especially valuable is the authors’ analysis of where companies go wrong in managing women...that’s how it will help women in the workplace.” Harvard Business Review “Lays out the importance of retaining women in senior leadership positions.” Harpers Bazaar“Wittenberg-Cox and Maitland have opened new ground.” Management Today WOMEN MEAN BUSINESSThey make up much of the market and most of the talent pool. Reaching women consumers and developing female talent is essential for sustainable economic growth in the 21st century. Studies show that better gender balance in business means better bottom line results and greater resistance to economic crises. So why are there still so few women in leadership roles in business? Why are companies struggling to respond to today’s female consumer? Why is there a persistent pay gap between men and women around the world? Why Women Mean Business takes the economic arguments for change to the heart of the corporate world. Fully updated in paperback, the book shows why getting gender right matters – as much when the economy’s bust as when it’s booming. A must-read, packed with ideas from companies that have made it work, views from top business leaders and step-by-step guides to how we can all become gender bilingual.

Foreword by Niall FitzGerald KBE xiii Preface by Michael Kimmel xv Acknowledgements xxi CHAPTER ONE: WOMENOMICS 1 Guarantors of growth 1 The strategic side of the gender divide 6 Opportunity cost 9 Valuing difference 12 Becoming “gender-bilingual” 15 Declining demographics is not destiny 18 21st century forces: weather, women, web 22 CHAPTER TWO: MOST OF THE TALENT 27 The “talent wars” are here 28 Female brainpower 30 Under-used talent 34 The role of business schools 36 Tapping into the pool 39 Recruiting: making women welcome 40 Retaining: structural repairs needed 44 Promoting: return on investment 57 Building better boards 62 Legislating solutions – the controversial quota 65 CHAPTER THREE: MUCH OF THE MARKET 73 Purchasing power – beyond parity 75 Female finances 77 Sex and segmentation 85 The many faces of marketing to women 89 Shut-your-eyes 90 Marginalise 93 Specialise 94 Prioritise 96 CHAPTER FOUR: BECOMING “BILINGUAL”, WHAT COMPANIES CAN DO 103 A fresh look at traditional approaches to gender 103 Equal and different 107 Diversity dilemmas 110 Recognise that “best” is biased 113 Surprising sectors 119 A new approach to gender 120 Understand the starting point 120 Personalise the conversation 124 Manage the metaphors – the power of vocabulary and vision 126 The building blocks of bilingualism 130 1 “Getting it”: top management commitment 131 2 Management bilingualism: proactively managing difference 132 3 Empowering women: the knowledge and networks to succeed 133 4 Banning bias: identifying and eliminating systemic bias from corporate systems and processes 134 CHAPTER FIVE: SEVEN STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION 141 Key success factors 141 1 Awaken your leadership team 143 2 Define the business case 148 3 Let people express resistance 151 4 Make it a business issue, not a women’s issue 155 5 Make changes before making noise 162 6 Don’t mix up the messages 166 7 Give it a budget, not just volunteers 170 CHAPTER SIX: CULTURE COUNTS, WHAT COUNTRIES CAN DO 183 Making bosses and babies 183 Best and worst: surprising results 187 Imperfect deal in America 199 Continents of contrast 206 Public policy pull, private sector push 212 CHAPTER SEVEN: FIGURING OUT FEMALES 223 What companies need to know about women 223 Discomfort with “politics” 225 The conversations that matter 236 Careers are not straight lines 238 Phase 1: ambition 242 Phase 2: culture shock 244 Phase 3: self-affirmation 252 The lure of entrepreneurship 256 Alternative views of “power” 258 Sex, success and the media 259 Change agents on their own terms 264 CHAPTER EIGHT: TOMORROW’S TALENT TRENDS . . . TODAY, “WOMEN-FRIENDLY” MEANS “PEOPLE-FRIENDLY” 271 New models of work 273 Fathers count too 277 Technology as enabler 280 The value of “grey” brainpower 285 Making the most of the “Me” generation 291 The future is already here 296 CHAPTER NINE: CONCLUSION, FROM BETTER BUSINESS TO A BETTER WORLD? 301 New voices, new choices 302 New measures of success 306 A challenge for business 309 Index 317