Why the Road to Gender Equality Has So Many Steps
BY Kyria Abrahams November 12, 2019In the long struggle for gender equality in the workplace, it’s important to remember that many small things add up. For example, when you compliment a woman on the job, what words do you use? Cynthia Carpenter, vice president of human resources and employee experience at Charter Communications, asks us to think about the implications of the accolades we give to women in a corporate setting. “A male leader will be praising women,” said Carpenter, speaking about a typical boardroom meeting. “He’ll say ‘That woman over there, she has a positive attitude. She’s a ray of sunshine!’ But to men, he says: ‘That man drives results!’” As an alternative, Stefanie Johnson, associate professor of management at the University of Colorado-Boulder’s Leeds School of Business, suggested how men could pivot to more equitable thinking in such situations: “Yes, we know she’s a ray of sunshine, but let’s focus on her skills.” Perceived gender roles have implications for advancement, Carpenter added: “How do you promote? Not for smiles!” At a recent From Day One conference in Denver, a panel of five female leaders discussed real-world ways that everyone in business can help achieve gender equality in the workplace, moderated by Natasha Gardner, articles editor of Denver’s 5280 magazine. The focus was not so much on women getting jobs, and the infamous pay gap, but on the types of jobs women get and how they can advance within their workplace. Among the things holding companies back from promoting women are unconscious bias and lack of mentorship. Men need to be allies, to speak up when given the opportunity, and to actively invite women to take on special projects, panelists said. A leader should make a list of who they normally go to for such tasks and then make an effort to rotate those opportunities fairly to women who deserve them–even if they haven’t been agitating for the assignments. What is that? Women are socialized to speak up less. Yet studies show that we perceive women as speaking far more than they actually do during normal conversations. Likewise, when asked how many opportunities a woman is getting within an organization, men often overestimate the numbers. This is why the panel agreed it’s important to have accurate statistics about who is advancing in your company–and when, and why. Pattie Money, chief people officer for SendGrid, said that her company has set a goal to have 50/50 gender parity by 2030. Said Johnson: “Yes, we know she’s a ray of sunshine, but let’s focus on her skills” “Men are fearful and it is preventing opportunities for women,” said Kristen Blessman, CEO of the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce, recalling the time her male boss critiqued her attire, saying she “looked like a prostitute.” Blessman decided to deal with the issue herself. “Instead of going to HR, I told him directly.” When men and women can have a rapport and a connection based on respect instead of fear, she said, conflict resolution becomes a lot easier. Aggravating the problem, however, is a backlash in the wake of the #MeToo movement, in which men perceive an adversarial environment. Many feel threatened by the perception that a woman is watching and waiting for them to screw up, cataloguing their every move. The solution may lie in education. Specifically, cultural-competence education, and not just for men. Women need to work towards healthy dialogue, too. Most importantly, women need to stop shaming people for their opinions, which cuts off the opportunity for any conversation, said Blessman. “We are never going to change bias if we keep shaming people.” By being honest and aware of the fact that some men feel pitted against women, companies can address the root causes of bias and work to change them. In an organizational structure, does change come from the top or the bottom? Yolanda Chase, director of Workplace Forward diversity and inclusion at Arrow Electronics, said she believes that change should start at the top. She advocates educating male executives on cultural competence with a “bias-busting toolkit,” which keeps the shaming to a minimum. Looking to the future, the millennial generation is being heralded as the bringers of cultural change. Some companies have tried to leverage their influence by promoting reverse mentoring, in which the young help guide their elders. Another way to change the conversation, panelists said, is to turn it from an “or” to an “and.” It's not women instead of men, it's women alongside men. Companies should also be transparent about their diversity data, which stops speculation and gossip. Women need to be fearless in their approach to the issue, willing to have the conversation that is uncomfortable, the speakers said. They can cultivate a relationship with male colleagues that allows for an open and non-judgmental exchange of ideas. Most importantly, instead of seeking out employees who "fit in," company leaders should encourage diversity of thought and healthy dialogue as a way to expand their company’s horizons–and increase the bottom line. "If you have a job posting that contains the words ‘cultural fit,’ take that out," said Carpenter. "It’s one small thing at a time." Kyria Abrahams is the author of I'm Perfect, You're Doomed (Simon & Schuster 2008). She is a writer and photojournalist whose work has been published in Narratively, among other publications. She lives in Denver with her husband and three cats
What It Means to Provide Health Care That’s Focused on the Patient
BY Kyria Abrahams October 25, 2019When you ask the universe to challenge you, says Dr. Jandel Allen-Davis, you’d better be ready for what you get. A former practicing OB/GYN physician, the now-president and CEO of Denver’s Craig Hospital calls herself “a warrior for the vulnerable.” Over the years, she’s moved from delivering four babies on a single Friday at Kaiser Permanente to leading a world-renowned spinal cord and traumatic brain injury (TBI) rehabilitation center. At the From Day One conference in Denver last week, she spoke with reporter Jensen Werley of the Denver Business Journal about what it means to provide care that’s focused on the patient and the family, the unique challenges of a specialized hospital, and her own journey from bedside to boardroom. She opened the conversation with a bit of a koan, relating her career change to that of a leaf in a stream. “It isn’t passive,” she explains, “It takes intention to stay still. And one day, you end up as the CEO!” There is no presumed self-importance when Dr. Allen-Davis speaks. The importance, rather, is focused on the human lives she is charged with protecting. The culture she fosters at Craig is open and accessible. The employees are “family,” and past patients are “grads.” She talks about accountability, gratitude, and transparency. Dr. Allen-Davis is careful not to marginalize Craig’s patients, but to empathize with their difficult transition. “These are people who woke up with one reality and went to bed with a very different one,” she said, typically the result of accidents. She notes that 60% to 70% per cent of people living with disabilities are unemployed. Craig is one of only two hospitals in the U.S. to specialize in TBI and spinal injuries, but Allen-Davis was mostly unfamiliar with the hospital about two years ago when she got an unsolicited call from a recruiter asking her to apply for the CEO position. She was hesitant at first, but warmed to the culture at the hospital. “Not just the mission and the focus on patients, as as [the recruiter] talked about the openness, the accessibility and the warmth. They call themselves a family,” Dr. Allen-Davis told Werley. The CEO acknowledged that Craig needs to tell its remarkable story more widely, but needs to be sensitive about how it does that. “If you’re not careful,” she says, “You look like a ghoul.” Her working motto for Craig is, “This should never happen to you. But if it does, you should come here!” As an African-American woman, Dr. Allen-Davis has risen to her position past all the obstacles presented by a largely white, male profession. She’d like to see more diversity at Craig Hospital too, where “there’s a smattering in the middle of people of color, with a lot in food services and environmental sciences,” she said. And then there’s her—seated at the top, but spending a lot of time walking around the hospital, asking you in all sincerity how your day is going. Having worked in healthcare since 1984, she is painfully aware that her way of thinking may have more in common with the old establishment than it does with women of color. “I am like an old white man,” she said. Because of this, she actively promotes diversity of thought in her hiring practices. “We are wired to hire people who think like us,” she cautions, joking, “I want you to call me the B-word if I deserve it.” Perhaps it is this type of irreverence that allows a woman of color to take a seat formerly occupied solely by white men. The need to push STEM education and opportunities for women and minorities in otherwise neglected communities is imperative if we are to have the diversity of thought that Dr. Allen-Davis champions as the future of health care, she said. “It actually starts with a pipeline at kindergarten,” she said. “This is a grade school to grad school problem … We’ve got to open more doors and got to push STEM education a lot more than we do.” Calling out her own peers, she explains that—for all the talk about putting the patient first—the health-care field is still set up to benefit physicians. From office hours to appointment lengths, the structure is there to benefit the existing system, she said. To counter this, her leadership policy is open-door. “I’m not buttoned up,” she says, stressing that real and honest feedback is something she yearned for during her days at health-care giant Kaiser Permanente, where her roles included VP of government, external relations and research. Brittany Hill, co-founder and CEO of Accelerist, conducted a workshop But what Dr. Allen-Davis really wants to do as a leader, she says, is “bring back spontaneous joy.” She speaks with pride about writing her monthly “CEO Reflections,” and how much she welcomes opening an email dialogue with the replies from hospital employees—each of which she answers personally. Alongside more serious and immediate concerns, such as diversifying the hospital’s board of directors, Dr. Allen-Davis has chartered “Project Rubber Ducky,” a community-building effort that involves mentoring and sharing moments of gratitude. In fact, Craig Hospital has a “gratitude bowl” in which employees can deposit thank-you notes to other employees. “If I had my way, there would be gratitude bowls everywhere,” she said. In an earlier breakout session, Abby Cheesman, founder of Skill Scout, talked about easy ways to use video in recruiting, and Brittany Hill, co-founder and CEO of Accelerist, spoke about how “the next generation is the bridge you need to integrate your team and your company’s purpose.” Kyria Abrahams is a Denver-based freelance journalist