Global Summit of Women

Global Summit of Women 2007 Remarks=

Susanne Klöß

Marketing Yourself Internally Within a Large Corporation

·        Title: It’s all about choice – isn’t it?

·        Ladies and Gentlemen= , I am delighted at this opportunity to speak to you today at the “Global Summit of Women” here in beautiful Berlin and to present to you our latest study on women.

·        I could just as well= be at home right now, building towers with little wooden blocks. That’s something I’m really good at, by the way.

·        Instead, I’m h= ere with you. Some might call me a “perfect” R= abenmutter (an image that’s used in Germany for an uncaring mother and refers to the female raven), as I am the mother = of a small son AND an executive at an international company. <= /p>

·        Many people still see the two as incompatible.

·        I chose both and wouldn’t want to miss either of them. And I don’t have to, beca= use my company has made it possible for me to strike an excellent balance betwe= en my family and my career.

·        However, this puts m= e in an exceedingly privileged situation in more than one way: first as a woman = in a management position – and second, as a mother who works full time.

·        The results of our study, ‘Expectations and Achievement – Empowering Women from Within’, show that this is still anything but the norm.

·        Here’s what we asked the women and men in our survey:

o      = What are their expectations of their careers and personal lives– and are they able to fulfil them?

o      = What obstacles do women and men face on their career paths?

o      = Are women able to choose their own life plan freely, with everything that entails – professional development, career, partner and family – without having to make concessions?

·        In January 2007, 2,2= 00 experienced executives at medium to large companies in 13 countries answered these and other questions relating to their work and lives.

·        62 percent of them w= ere women, 38 percent were men.

·        The results of the survey came as a big surprise to me personally.

·        Apparently, despite = all our efforts and the progress made, there are still insurmountable obstacles that make it difficult for women to put their plans for life into practice = the way they would like.

·        Let’s take a l= ook at some of the key results:

o      = all over the wor= ld, 24 percent of the women surveyed feel they are discriminated against in the= ir profession simply because they are women.

o      = They see their gender as the number one career obstacle, while men r= ank this next to last.

o      = Men continue to be in the passing lane on the career track.

o      = More than half of the male executives sur= veyed see themselves getting ahead faster than their female competition. In the economic wonderland of China, almost all men (90 percent) are convinced of it.

·        Evidently one reason= for this is the inner attitude found among women themselves.<= /p>

·        They are much more self-critical than their male colleagues, and take things much more personally.

·        When asked to name reasons for fail= ures or career dips, women will usually cite their own personality, while men are much more likely to blame it on external circumstances. =

·        20 percent of the men surveyed cite a weak economy or layoffs as the reason for dips in their car= eer.

·        This may be a less realistic assessment, but it is enormously effective from a psychological standpoint. Viewing things in this way doesn’t undermine one’s = own position and self-confidence nearly as much!

·        In fact from the beginning men generally display more confidence and self-assurance about th= eir career paths: 37 percent of those surveyed already had clear-cut management ambitions at the start of their career. Only 15 percent of women had clearly formulated this goal.

·        Why do they lack the courage?

·        They should be aware= of their skills, and identify what they wish to achieve with them as quickly as possible.

·        This would enable th= em to plan their career from the beginning, step by step, making it easier for them to clearly state their position to supervisors and communicate unmistakably what assignments and positions they wish to take on.

·        It is also important= to find mentors and supporters to facilitate your path. Apparently, many women still do not see an active pursuit of their career path as a ‘matter = of course’.

·        Most of them donR= 17;t start striving for the executive floor until they are already well into the= ir career, although at least 23 percent do eventually develop this ambition. <= o:p>

·        But often their plans for a family get in the way.

·        Our study shows that= women all over the world still make far more career sacrifices to be available for their families than men do.

·        23 percent of the wo= men we surveyed reduce their working hours for their children, while only 12 percent of men are prepared to do so.

·        In Germany= , the trend is even more drastic: 34 percent of women work only part-time because they have children, while 44 percent of men say their working hours are not influenced at all by having a family.

·        And it’s not a= s if women are eager to forgo a career: Nearly half of all women surveyed –= ; 45 percent – want a profession and an environment that would allow them = to have both a career and a family.

·        But sadly they are n= ot supported in this. Instead of having a choice, women feel forced to choose:= Do I want to stay on the career track or do I want to be a mother?<= /span>

·        In Germany for instance the Minister of Family Affairs Ursula von der Ley= en’s level-headed proposal of tripling the number of daycar= e slots for children in Germany to 750,000 by 2013 is a step in the right direction.

·        The signal being sen= t to women – and men – is that they are being given a bit more freed= om to choose. They can decide for themselves whether they want support with th= eir childcare in order to continue working full-time. Or whether they would pre= fer to stay at home full-time instead.

·        But the tone of publ= ic discourse about this proposal sends a negative signal: when women who do not wish to forgo their career are denounced as “Rab= enmütter” or uncaring mothers.

·        Such polemical phras= es make it very clear that we are still much farther from overcoming obsolete = role assignments than we thought.

·        No wonder women feel much more under pressure to somehow achieve a work-life balance than men! <= o:p>

·        But regardless of th= eir gender, half of all the people we surveyed found it difficult to combine th= eir work and family life.

·        What does this tell = us? We need social/societal models that go beyond prejudice and polemics to all= ow both men and women to put their personal life plans into practice – whether they aim to be a female top execut= ive or a full-time father.

·        The public and priva= te sectors are called on to help men and women achieve a work-life balance.

·        Neither business nor= society can afford to do without skilled women in the workforce, especially in ligh= t of current demographic developments.

·        A study by the German Institute for Economic Research arrived at the following conclusions: =

o      = The government’s tax revenues, for instance, would increase by= 1.1 billion euros if the around 250,000 academically qualified mothers who currently spend their days at home taking care of their children would go b= ack to work.

o      = The social insurance agencies would receive an additional 1.4 billion euros. In other words, wor= king women shouldn’t be underestimated as an economic force.

·        Women are also essen= tial to a healthy diversity at companies. I personal= ly prefer to work with mixed-gender teams.

·        They come up with mo= re creative ideas, are more innovative and often take a more practical approac= h to assignments. They deliver unusual solutions with real added value for customers. Companies can and must do much more for women in the future.

·        Accenture for one has set itself the goal of elevating more women into management positions.

·        We already have a 20 percent share of women in management. Women make up 10 percent of the execu= tive floor, and their number is on the rise.

·        I feel that a draft = bill to increase the daycare slots available here in= Germany= – as proposed by Mrs. von der Leyen - is a good start towards enabling true equal opportunity. Even if the plan= ned legal claim wouldn’t become law until 2013.

·        We should start creating the condit= ions for women and men to decide their way of living and have a real choice R= 11; (between children, a career, or children and a career) – as soon as possible. And ideologically charged terms like “= Rabenmutter” will hopefully soon be a thing of the past.

In any case the term derives from a clear misinterpretation: Contrary to the common German prejudice that ravens cast out their offspring prematurely, these black birds are in fact superb parents, guarding their young with great care and protecting them from enemies until they are fully fledged and can soar on their own …