Issue No. LXXXI, January 18, 2011

 THIS ISSUE’S HIGHLIGHTS:

I.     SUMMIT 2011 HIGHLIGHTS:  “LEADING DIVERSITY FROM THE TOP
II.     BIG FOUR ACCOUNTING FIRMS LEAD THE WAY TO WORK/LIFE BALANCE
III.    QUOTAS AT THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
IV.   GLOBEWOMEN PROGRAM UPDATES

 


 Irene Dorner
 CEO, HSBC USA



Umran Beba President - Asia Pacific PepsiCo


 

Dick Evans
Former CEO
Alcan

 Johan Raslan
President, Price-waterhouseCoopers
Malaysia

Ali Faramawy
Vice President for Middle East and Africa, Microsoft

 











 

Davos, Switzerland

 

 

Colloquium on Global Diversity World Bank, Washington, DC
March 3-4, 2011
 


Isabel Linares
CEO
Telemadrid


Maite Ballester
Partner and Managing Director
3i Spain

Marieta del Rivero
Vice President for Telefonia Business, Nokia Spain 
 

 

 

 

 



 

 


I.    SUMMIT 2011 HIGHLIGHTS:  “LEADING DIVERSITY FROM THE TOP

All diversity executives agree that initiatives to improve women’s access to leadership roles within the world’s largest companies do not happen without commitment from the person at the helm of the corporation.  The Global Summit of Women (May 5-7, 2011 in Istanbul) is bringing together four executives who are indeed taking the lead in ensuring that a diverse workforce and leadership exist within their companies.  Chairing the discussion in this special luncheon session is Richard Evans, former CEO of Alcan, whose direct reports included four women presidents of divisions during his tenure.


               Johan Raslan, President of PricewaterhouseCoopers Malaysia, Ali Faramawy, Vice President for Middle East and Africa at Microsoft, Irene Dorner, CEO of HSBC USA, and Umran Beba, President for the Asia Pacific Region at PepsiCo form a stellar panel, who will draw from their varied experiences in different parts of the world to share what works from their perspectives in advancing women’s workplace opportunities.  How do cultural factors impact on women’s access to senior executive positions?  If the majority of business leaders accept the “business case for diversity” (i.e., more women in decision-making roles improve the bottom line), as McKinsey’s recent survey points out, why do so few act on it?  Do policies such as ‘positive action’ or quotas work?  These are only a few of the questions that will be discussed in this session.  The Summit invites GlobeWomen readers to submit additional questions to be considered for this panel.  Send your questions to summit@globewomen.com.  For more information about the 2011 Global Summit of Women, go to www.globewomen.org.  (Discounted registration fees are available until January 31st, 2011)


II.     BIG FOUR ACCOUNTING FIRMS LEAD THE WAY TO WORK/LIFE BALANCE

Several US companies now have some initiatives in place to help employees deal with their family responsibilities along with their work obligations, but the largest accounting firms in the country – Ernst & Young, Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG – outpace all others in the comprehensiveness of their work-life programs.  All extend flexibility in work schedules beyond that offered by companies in other industries.  Some provide entire summers off for employees to spend time with children, three-day work weeks during non-peak months, ‘sabbaticals’ of 3-6 months to pursue an interest, 12-week maternity and 6-week paternity leaves on top of the 12 weeks of unpaid leave required by law, which are above the norm by U.S. standards.  The most important aspect of these customized flexible schedules is that they do not derail an employee’s career advancement.  They can make partner even on a part-time schedule, so there is no stigma attached to making use of these benefits.  PricewaterhouseCoopers even has a Full Circle program that enables new mothers who take time off for a few years to raise children to return to their positions when the children start kindergarten.


             The reason for these generous benefits is simple:  flexibility enhances the bottom line of their companies.  Jennifer Allyn of PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ Office of Diversity states that their flex-time policies reduced employee turnover from 24% to only 15%.  Deloitte’s Chairwoman, Sharon Allen, indicated that their flexibility policies saved more than $45 million a year by reducing turnover.  These accounting firms calculate that hiring and training a new employee costs 1.5 times a departing employee’s salary, and since accounting firms’ major assets are their accountants, the math was clear.  “We listen to our people and they tell us very consistently that flexibility is incredibly important to them and to their family,” states James S. Turley, Chairman of Ernst & Young.  (Source:  New York Times, 1/8/11)

III.  QUOTAS AT THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM 

The annual gathering of the world’s business and governmental leaders – the World Economic Forum -- announced recently a quota of one female delegate per five sent by their 100 corporate members.  This move was meant to address the paucity of women who attend each of these meetings.  Last year, only 17% of participants were female, which was an improvement over prior years’ 9-12% attendance by women.  “I applaud this move on the part of WEF,” states Irene Natividad, President of the Global Summit of Women.  “The big problems of the day – economic, social and political – cannot be addressed in this forum without the voices of women.” she adds. (Source:  The Guardian, 1/12/11).

The Davos meeting takes place in a country (Switzerland) where the President is a woman, who has appointed a female-dominated cabinet.  The WEF quota initiative echoes the European region’s increased use of legislative mandates to increase women’s access to corporate board seats.  Norway, Spain, Iceland, France , Netherlands, and Italy have all past quota laws, the last two in their Lower Houses of Parliament so far. A major reason for these drastic measures – a paucity of women in leadership roles.  Switzerland’s President is only one of 10 women heads of state out of 191 globally, and only 15% of ministerial and parliamentary seats are held by women.  In the US, women CEOs are only 3% of those leading the 500 largest companies.  (See www.globewomen.com for listings of women presidents/prime ministers and corporate CEOs)

IV.     GLOBEWOMEN PROGRAM UPDATES
1 - 2011 Colloquium on Global Diversity:  “Creating a Level Playing Field for Women”, March 3-4 at the World Bank (1818 H Street, Washington, D.C.)

This annual Roundtable brings together senior executives in Human Resources and Diversity Practice for two days of exchanges on gender equity initiatives in a global context.  AT&T’s Senior VP for Talent Development and Chief Diversity Officer Cynthia Brinkley, McDonald’s Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer Neil Golden, Pepsico’s VP for Diversity Development Maurice Cox, Iron Ore Company of Canada CEO Zoe Yujnovich join colleagues from Canada, Turkey, Germany, Spain and Mexico to explore initiatives in cross-industry mentoring, implementing diversity in Europe, integrating market outreach with diversity, among other topics.  For more details on the Colloquium, go to www.globewomen.org, click to Global Diversity.

· 2 - Legacies of Women Forum/Madrid:  February 11, 2011, 4:00-6:00 p.m. at Instituto Empresa.  Three top women leading major companies in Spain are featured in a dialogue forum led by Irene Natividad, President of the Global Summit of Women.  The Forum is designed to explore the personal and professional experiences of leading businesswomen to extract lessons learned as they advanced in their careers.  The Madrid Legacies panelists include Isabel Linares, CEO of TeleMadrid, Maite Ballester, Partner and Managing Director, 3i Spain, and Marieta del Rivero, Vice President, Telefonica Business for Nokia Spain. Prior Legacies Forums have been held in Paris (France), Tokyo (Japan), Johannesburg (South Africa), Mexico City (Mexico), Graz (Austria), Berlin (Germany), Shanghai (China) and Atlanta (USA). For more information and to register, contact elisa.melendez@ie.edu)

 

·  3 - Market Open, Madrid Stock Exchange:  February 11, 2011, 12:00 noon.  Corporate Women Directors International is pleased to announce that it will be opening the Bolsa de Madrid with women board directors and executives.  This would be the first time that women business leaders will be opening the stock exchange as a group.  CWDI previously spearheaded Market Open at NASDAQ, the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.