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34 <strong>Diversity</strong> The key to unlocking women’s route to the top A lack of exposure is inhibiting the rise of talented women throughout the corporate world. Could sponsorship be the answer? BY MARK FENTON ACCOUNTANCY IRELAND APRIL 2017
<strong>Diversity</strong> 35 We’ve heard the soundbites – gender pay equality is 170 years away; only 4.4% of S&P 500 CEOs are women; only 14% of Irish companies have either a female CEO or Head of Operations (and this ratio is diminishing). Meanwhile, an international report by Citi showed that closing the gender gap in labour market participation could add 12% to OECD gross domestic product (GDP). And yet there are many men (and some women) who believe gender equality in the workplace is a zerosum game. For example, if women are to win, men must lose. Men often feel disengaged from the inequality problem too because issues relating to gender do not concern them. Further, when men do generally get involved, it is to ‘fix’ the problem by encouraging women to behave in the same way that men do in the workplace. With such a high socio-cultural mountain to climb, it is no wonder that progress has been painfully slow towards gender equality at work. Furthermore, the traditional talent programmes (most commonly packaged as ‘mentoring’) have not delivered the necessary results in terms of the recognition, professional development and career progression of women. Why is this, and what can be done to correct it? A mentor can empower a person to see a possible future and believe it can be obtained, but many mentoring programmes fail because the discussion surrounding such empowerment doesn’t generally apply in real life. As E.M. Forster put it, “Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing except the shape of the spoon.” Mentoring is restrictive as it involves talking to just one individual and, more often than not, expectations are not met regarding mentee belief and mentee exposure. Perhaps surprisingly, it is your exposure that holds the lion’s share of future opportunity and advancement. It is not what you know or indeed who you know. It is more about who knows you and what you can do. Exposure is the recipe; sponsorship provides the ingredients Studies have shown that there are three principle levers to career success and their weighting is not as you might expect. One’s professional performance (i.e. how you do your job) is important. However, in modern businesses with sophisticated talent attraction techniques, it accounts for just 10%. After all, your company expects you to be excellent – that is why you were hired in the first place. More important is your professional image (i.e. how you present yourself in the workplace). Being assured, trustworthy and open to change is central to your success and this impacts on just under onethird of your success. Perhaps surprisingly, it is your exposure that holds the lion’s share of future opportunity and advancement. It is not what you know or indeed who you know. It is more about who knows you and what you can do. Historically, men have been expert at cultivating their exposure levels through informal and male-stereotypical networking environments. Conventionally, women have less flexibility (and perhaps desire) to embrace these traditions. They also remain more risk-aware of their abilities, whereas men are generally openly confident about their suitability for a new opportunity. In terms of exposure, sponsorship is more involved than mentoring regarding both the sponsor and sponsoree – both are accountable for the process and its outcomes. The best programmes last for at least 12 months, include jobshadowing, resilience-coaching and are supported by clear metrics. Sponsorship takes mentoring beyond the tandem partnership and into the boardroom and/or management meetings. Sponsors talk to and about their sponsorees and therefore increase their corporate exposure and can provide feedback on unseen opportunities for growth. Sponsors also benefit from the learning opportunity that comes with an intense, frank and extensive personal and professional interaction. Sponsorship’s immediate and impressive impact The impact of sponsorship can be immediate and impressive. A recent series of sponsorship programmes within a Euro Stoxx 50 firm doubled the ratio of women at the top layer of management in just two years and demonstrated that an overwhelming majority of senior female promotions were directly linked to participation in such programmes. Sponsorship is not about talking to me; it is talking about me. It is the key to unlocking the main obstacle to women’s career success – a lack of exposure. MARK FENTON Mark Fenton FCA is founder of MASF Consulting, a specialist advisory firm focusing on diversity and inclusion. www.accountancyireland.ie
Page 1 and 2: VOLUME 49 NUMBER 2 APRIL 2017 Diver
Page 3 and 4: Comment 3 President’s comment Apr
Page 5 and 6: Contents 5 Spotlight 30 Pay gap, or
Page 7 and 8: News 7 Enhancing audit quality anch
Page 9 and 10: Est 1887 News 9 UCD and PwC promote
Page 11 and 12: When you fly Aer Lingus, you‘re c
Page 13 and 14: Annual Dinner 13 Gillian Doherty, C
Page 15 and 16: Comment 15 Brian Keegan An uncharit
Page 17 and 18: Comment 17 Write it down Des Peelo
Page 19 and 20: Comment 19 Emotion: the spoiler Ann
Page 21 and 22: Interview 21 Serving the public goo
Page 23 and 24: Retirement Planning... You have lot
Page 25 and 26: Diversity 25 Diversity... is it goo
Page 27 and 28: Diversity 27 fact that diversity an
Page 29 and 30: LONGBOAT ANALYTICS WINNER FINANCIAL
Page 31 and 32: Diversity 31 than half agreed that
Page 33: Mandatory Electronic Filing is fast
Page 37 and 38: Diversity 37 The road to inclusion
Page 39 and 40: Diversity 39 Sponsorships Organisat
Page 41 and 42: Diversity 41 Thoughts on diversity.
Page 43 and 44: Audit 43 insights for stakeholders
Page 45 and 46: TALK TO TOMORROW’S ACCOUNTANTS TO
Page 47 and 48: Financial Reporting 47 financial re
Page 49 and 50: LEADING PROFESSIONAL PUBLISHING
Page 51 and 52: Restructuring Trends 51 The 2016 re
Page 53 and 54: Restructuring Trends 53 insolvency
Page 55 and 56: Audit Quality 55 should be written
Page 57 and 58: Tax 57 BRASS TAX Current developmen
Page 59 and 60: Tax 59 entrepreneurial and favourin
Page 61 and 62: Tax 61 Furthermore there was no rea
Page 63 and 64: Tax 63 Tax deadlines David Fennell
Page 65 and 66: Professional Standards 65 Consent O
Page 67 and 68: Win a two-night stay at Clontarf Ca
Page 69 and 70: Membership 69 Quigley, Keith Rice,
Page 71 and 72: Innovation 71 The strategy of innov
Page 73 and 74: Innovation 73 Graph 1: Title TBD Wh
Page 75 and 76: Leadership & Management 75 UK acade
Page 77 and 78: Corporate Governance 77 Figure 1: P
Page 79 and 80: Leadership & Management 79 Whistlin
Page 81 and 82: Commercial Feature 81 www.liquidati
Page 83: Commercial Feature 83 the high leve
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I trusted my future to Barden So sh
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88 Careers keystrokes and create ju
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90 Careers The hard case for soft s
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92 Careers job can add an entirely
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THE SPECIALIST GOVERNANCE RECRUITME
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EXCELLENCE IN FINANCIAL RECRUITMENT
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98 Member Profile A new orbit From
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NETWORK Building a strong network i
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Diversity

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