Gender and the Economy

Tag: Careers+jobs

Research briefs, news, and event recaps related to careers and jobs.

Increasing gender diversity in capital markets
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Introduction

Women’s representation in capital markets has increased over the past few decades, but there has not been much change in leadership: these roles remain overwhelmingly filled by men. What contributes to this underrepresentation of women, and what can the industry do to improve it? The Institute for Gender and the Economy, in conjunction with Women in Capital Markets, hosted a panel discussion at Rotman School of Management in September 2018 to talk about these challenges.

Moderated by Sarah Kaplan, Professor at Rotman and Director of the Institute for Gender and the Economy, the panel of four included Amber Choudhry, Managing Director, Debt Capital Markets at CIBC Capital Markets; Deland Kamanga, Head of Global Fixed Income Currencies and Commodities (FICC) within BMO Capital Markets; Loretta Marcoccia, SVP & Chief Administrative Officer, Global Capital Markets, Scotiabank; and Camilla Sutton, President and CEO of Women in Capital Markets. The panel discussed the progress the industry has made on gender equality, barriers that still exist, and the various initiatives that have been implemented in their workplaces to make them more inclusive. Below are key takeaways from the discussion.

Family responsibilities are only one factor in women’s underrepresentation

A lack of gender diversity in leadership is often attributed to the difficulties women face in continuing their careers after they take time off to have a family. Indeed, many workplaces do not accommodate employees who need flexibility for care responsibilities, which disproportionately affects women and their ability to progress at work. However, the panelists emphasized that this is just one cause of a lack of diversity. Diverse candidates face numerous other barriers, including discrimination, unconscious bias in hiring and promoting, and a lack of networks in the “Old Boys Clubs” that are common in male-dominated industries like capital markets.

Managers do not take enough risks on women candidates

Women tend to be stereotyped as risk-averse, and this stereotype is used to justify why they do not get ahead at work. It is important to reframe this conversation and consider how managers don’t take risks on women. That is, managers may be willing to promote men even if their qualifications aren’t a perfect match for a position, but won’t do the same for women. This bias should be recognized, rather than placing blame on women for not making the right career decisions.

Women tend to be stereotyped as risk-averse, and this stereotype is used to justify why they do not get ahead at work.

Diversity and inclusion should not stop with gender

In general, diversity initiatives have been shown to solely benefit white women. When asked how capital markets are making room for other underrepresented groups, like racialized women, panelists acknowledged that the primary focus for diversity tends to be on gender alone. There may be a gap in addressing underrepresentation of other minority groups, and moving forward, working to include these groups needs to be a priority.

Diversity and inclusion initiatives in capital markets can be more innovative

The panelists’ workplaces have implemented several different diversity initiatives, such as ensuring that every position has at least one minority candidate, and that interviewer panels include at least one woman. However, they also noted that these have not resulted in as much change as they would like, and discussed what they are doing to be more impactful. Ideas included:
- Including diversity on leader scorecards: Increasing diversity is part of all leaders’ performance evaluations. For instance, leaders are required to expand the diversity of their personal networks. If they don’t perform well in this area, they face a financial penalty.
- Conducting skills inventories: Managers decide on the necessary skills for every position, and do not stray from this framework of skills when hiring. This makes it less likely that candidates will be chosen based on biased criteria, like being a “good fit”.
- Creating a position for a senior diversity and inclusion leader: A diversity and inclusion leader who is a respected senior member of the organization, and who is situated on the trading floor with other leaders, signals to employees that diversity and inclusion is highly valued.
- Actively involving men: Workplace groups that aim to involve men in advancing gender equality, for example through formalized training, peer coaching, and online communities or discussion forums, can be strong tools for education.
For women and other minority groups to find successful careers in this industry, there needs to be a shift in both the structure and culture.

Conclusions

Numerous factors contribute to the pronounced lack of diversity in capital markets, particularly in leadership. For women and other minority groups to find successful careers in this industry, there needs to be a shift in both the structure and culture of banks and financial service organizations. Potentially, this shift may come from more inventive and coordinated diversity and inclusion strategies, as well as a stronger emphasis on holding managers and leaders accountable for change.

For more information about the “Women in Capital Markets” panel event, click here.

To see a case study on this issue, click here.

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Published

August 2019

Prepared by

Carmina Ravanera

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July 31, 2019
Fact check: CNN’s Democratic debate

July 31, 2019
Towards a more equitable gig economy

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Executive summary

The concept of the “gig economy” is popular in discussions about the future of work, and is sometimes hailed as a solution to underemployment and unemployment. In particular, a main advantage of gig work is that it allows flexible hours and worker independence, as compared to a standard nine-to-five role. This is especially relevant for those who are disadvantaged by standard models of employment and would benefit from the ability to choose how and when they work, such as caregivers or persons with a disability. An article in The Globe and Mail in 2017 claimed that “For women with children, the gig economy is a means to balancing family duties with a fulfilling professional career…[it] gives women the option to scale up or scale down as necessary and without the repercussions that often come with traditional employment.”

However, it is arguable whether the gig economy is a viable alternative to standard work. Although the concept itself may suggest possibilities for a liberating transformation in labour, many companies have taken advantage of the abundance of people willing to work gigs, and have deprioritized worker welfare in order to increase profits. Gender inequity, as well as racial and class inequities, also persist within and may be enhanced by gig work. Thus, while the gig economy can be beneficial for those who are looking to pad their incomes, it can have dire consequences—such as financial precariousness, an absence of benefits, vulnerability to harassment, and overwork— for those belonging to less privileged groups. Companies, governments, worker cooperatives and researchers therefore face an imperative to ensure the safety and rights of gig workers, many of whom are struggling to make living wages and find secure employment in difficult labour markets.

Read and/or download the full policy brief.

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Authors

Carmina Ravanera

Published

August 2019

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July 31, 2019
Capital markets: Why so few women?
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Overview

This case was prepared by Alicia Riolino (MBA Fellow, Institute for Gender and the Economy), Sarah Kaplan (Professor of Strategic Management and Director, Institute for Gender and the Economy) and Camilla Sutton (CEO, Women in Capital Markets) and is based on a design sprint jointly hosted by both organizations in the fall of 2018 at the Rotman School of Management. (Learn more here.)

This case would be useful for those interested in or teaching courses in:
- Gender analysis in the business context
- Financial services
- Capital markets
- Human resources
- Women’s empowerment
Introduction

Capital markets move trillions of dollars within the global economy. Global debt markets are worth over USD 100 trillion, and global equity markets are approximately USD 64 trillion, earning combined revenues of over $670 billion in 2017. Investment banks, corporate banks, institutional investors and the broader financial services industry employ over 700,000 people in Canada and account for some of the highest paying jobs in the economy. Capital markets has a history of being highly male-dominated and a reputation for being unwelcoming and even discriminatory towards women.

To increase representation and reduce turnover for women and other underrepresented groups, many banks and financial institutions have implemented diversity and inclusion hiring and retention programs. These programs have helped to improve hiring at junior levels, with some institutions hiring at a balanced workforce at entry levels. However, for most firms the results at the mid and senior levels are still lacking. While the number of women entering capital markets has increased, few are rising to the top or advancing beyond Associate and Vice President roles. The main interventions, such as mentoring programs, unconscious bias training and more systematic promotion processes, have not yielded strong results. Consequently, representation in leadership has been slow to increase. Capital markets organizations need an effective, long-term solution to retain diverse talent. The question is, how can capital markets foster an environment that is inclusive and supports career advancement for women as well as men? What can leaders or team members do to promote an environment that is hospitable for its workforce and supports diversity?

To view and download the full case study, follow these instructions.

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July 24, 2019
« Ces hommes qui m’expliquent la vie » : de nouvelles solutions à un très vieux problème

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

En 2008, l’auteure Rebecca Solnit a publié son désormais célèbre essai, Men Explain Things to Me, (Ces hommes qui m’expliquent la vie) déclenchant une tempête !

Bien que Solnit n’ait pas utilisé le mot « mansplaining », on crédite à cet essai la naissance de ce terme, qui fait maintenant partie du langage courant.

Le « mansplaining » survient lorsqu’un homme (« man ») explique (« explain ») à une femme quelque chose qu’elle sait déjà, sur un ton généralement paternaliste ou condescendant. Même si cette dernière n’a rien demandé, et qu’il s’agit souvent de son domaine d’expertise et pas du tout de celui de l’homme. Idem lorsqu’une femme tente de raconter une expérience signifiante, et qu’un homme renchérit.

Les femmes ont donc finalement trouvé un moyen d’exprimer ce phénomène qu’elles vivent régulièrement, particulièrement au travail.

Sallie Krawcheck prend la parole à l’assemblée annuelle de la Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Sallie Krawcheck, ancienne PDG à la Citibank et auparavant PDG de Smith Barney Investment Advisers, a déjà dit que des investisseurs en capital-risque intéressés par sa nouvelle entreprise d’investissement financier, Ellevest, lui offraient des conseils financiers qu’elle-même leur avait déjà donné!

Nous avons toutes nos propres histoires à ce sujet. La plupart des femmes que je connais lèvent les yeux au ciel lorsqu’on leur pose des questions sur le « mansplaining ». Nous en avons fait l’expérience si souvent que nous ne sommes même pas toujours conscientes de ce qui se passe.

Monsieur prend le plancher

Notez, comme le fait Solnit, que le « mansplaining » n’est pas un défaut universel du genre masculin. Il s’agit simplement d’un mélange d’excès de confiance et de manque de connaissances. Un vieux problème qui a un nouveau terme pour décrire une réalité très tangible.

Des études montrent que dans les réunions, les hommes parlent davantage, et encore plus s’ils ont du pouvoir. Les hommes interrompent aussi davantage, et sont moins susceptibles que les femmes de céder la parole. Les femmes craignent (à juste titre) que si elles se battent pour faire entendre leur voix, elles en subiront les contrecoups.

La blogosphère est remplie de recommandations sur la façon dont les femmes doivent gérer le « mansplaining » lorsqu’il se produit : 7 façons de répondre à du « mansplaining », ou Comment traiter avec un « mansplainer » et Comment gérer le « mansplaining » au travail.

Ces recommandations sont bonnes : ignorez le « mansplainer », tenez-vous debout, posez-lui des questions sur son expertise et sur ce qu’il espère accomplir en « expliquant » quelque chose, utilisez d’autres femmes comme alliées pour vous défendre, et autant d’humour que possible.

Comme avec le mouvement #MoiAussi et d’autres efforts pour souligner les inégalités que connaissent les femmes, beaucoup d’hommes se sentent attaqués, même lorsque les femmes tentent de répondre avec humour, comme l’a fait la blogueuse féministe Elle Armageddon avec son organigramme « Should You Explain Thing to a Lady ? ».

« Pas tous les hommes » est le refrain habituel. Mais honnêtement, de telles protestations témoignent d’une réticence à écouter les expériences légitimes des femmes sur leur lieu de travail. Et il est injuste que, bien que le « mansplaining » soit subi par les femmes, les solutions semblent toutes porter sur la façon dont ces dernières peuvent y faire face – plutôt que sur la façon et les raisons pour lesquelles les hommes devraient cesser de le faire.

Tactiques d’éradication

Un service d’assistance téléphonique serait génial, mais apparemment il n’est disponible qu’en Suède. Shutterstock

En Suède, un important syndicat a mis en place une ligne d’assistance téléphonique pour dénoncer un « mansplainer ». Vous pouvez appeler pour dénoncer les délinquants et recevoir des conseils et de la compassion. Mais ce n’est pas une ressource dont nous disposons toutes.

Alors, que peuvent faire les hommes pour se débarrasser du « mansplaining » ? Les conseils d’Armageddon sont plutôt bons : si vous n’êtes pas un expert en la matière, vous n’avez peut-être pas besoin de parler.

Pour ceux d’entre vous qui craignent d’être un « mansplainer », gardez à l’esprit – même si vous êtes un expert – que la femme est aussi une experte et n’a pas demandé votre avis. Vous pouvez simplement rester silencieux. Quel mal y a-t-il à écouter ? Vous pourriez apprendre quelque chose. Même si vous parlez beaucoup moins, vous le faites dans doute encore plus que les femmes dans la salle, selon la recherche que j’ai citée plus haut.

Mais les « mansplainer », presque par définition, ne peuvent pas s’en empêcher. Les conseils sur l’auto-contrôle sont voués à l’échec. Peut-être devrions-nous donc réfléchir à des solutions plus structurelles. En d’autres termes, que peuvent faire les organisations pour égaliser les chances ?

Ajuster le niveau de testostérone

En tant que professeur de gestion stratégique, j’y ai beaucoup réfléchi dans mon propre enseignement aux étudiants du MBA. Historiquement, les programmes de MBA ont toujours été à haute teneur en testostérone. J’ai l’habitude de faire appel aux étudiants qui sont silencieux, de découvrir qui sont les vrais experts et d’interrompre ceux qui parlent tout le temps.

J’évalue également les élèves en fonction de leur contribution à l’expérience d’apprentissage en classe. Et ces évaluations récompensent l’écoute et la mise à profit des idées des autres (pas seulement en répétant leurs propres lignes dans leur tête pendant qu’ils attendent de parler).

Les organisations peuvent reproduire ces pratiques. Elles peuvent élaborer des lignes directrices lors des réunions afin que chaque personne puisse partager son point de vue ou donner des instructions. L’animateur de la réunion s’assureraient que les « mansplainer » ne prennent toute la place au détriment des femmes.

Il ne suffit pas, soit dit en passant, de simplement prolonger la période de questions ou de discussions dans l’espoir que les femmes s’exprimeront davantage ou que les hommes seront à court de choses à dire. Les recherches montrent que cela ne fonctionne pas .

Les réunions d’affaires sont particulièrement appréciées des « mansplainers. » (Shutterstock)

De plus, les évaluations de rendement pourraient être adaptées pour sanctionner le « mansplaining » de certains, et récompenser l’écoute et la mise à profit des idées des autres membres de l’équipe.

En bref, nous devons cesser de donner aux femmes des conseils sur la façon de corriger les inégalités et la discrimination auxquelles elles sont confrontées et nous tourner plutôt vers les auteurs de ces actes pour qu’ils changent leur comportement et vers les organisations pour qu’elles changent la dynamique du milieu de travail.

« Réparer les femmes » est une solution coûteuse pour ces dernières et pourrait entraîner la perte de précieuses employées dans les entreprises. En fin de compte, il sera inefficace sans un changement organisationnel. On ne devrait pas demander aux femmes de « s’occuper » du « mansplaining ». Les organisations devraient s’en occuper à leur place.

Sarah Kaplan, Professor, Strategic Management, Rotman School of Management; Director, Institute for Gender and the Economy, University of Toronto

July 24, 2019
Mansplaining: New solutions to a tiresome old problem

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

In 2008, author Rebecca Solnit’s now famous essay, Men Explain Things to Me, set off a firestorm.

Though Solnit didn’t use the term “mansplaining,” the essay is credited with birthing the term that’s now part of regular parlance. Women (and other underrepresented groups such as people of colour and non-binary people) had finally found a way to articulate that phenomenon they routinely experienced, particularly at work.

Men feel the need to explain something to a woman, even if the woman hasn’t asked for an explanation and often pertaining to something that’s directly in the woman’s area of expertise and not at all in the man’s. Or when the topic is about a woman’s own experience and the man wants to explain her experience to her.

Even women who are famous for their mastery of a domain find themselves being mansplained.

Krawcheck is seen in November 2011 speaking at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association annual meeting. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Sallie Krawcheck, a former CEO of wealth management at Citibank and before that the CEO of Smith Barney investment advisers, says that venture capitalists interested in her new financial investment venture Ellevest mansplained financial advising to her.

We all have our own stories. Most women I know just roll their eyes knowingly when asked about mansplaining. Most of us experience it so often that we aren’t always even conscious it is happening.

‘Cluelessness’

Note, as Solnit does, that “mansplaining is not a universal flaw of the male gender, just the intersection between overconfidence and cluelessness where some portion of that gender gets stuck.”

But the mansplaining term has stuck. And research demonstrates that the feeling of being mansplained is, in fact, not just a feeling.

Studies show that in meetings, men speak more, and more powerful men speak even more. Men interrupt more, and are less likely than women to cede the floor when they are interrupted. Women worry (correctly) that if they fight to get their voices heard, they will experience backlash.

The blogosphere is filled with recommendations for how women should handle mansplaining when it happens: “7 Ways to Handle Mansplaining,” “How To Deal with a Mansplainer” and “How to Handle Mansplaining at Work.”

The recommendations are good — ignore the mansplainer, stand your ground, ask the mansplainer questions about their expertise and what they hope to accomplish by “explaining” the topic, explain mansplaining to the mansplainers, use other women as allies to stand up for you, and use as much humour as you can.

As with #MeToo and other efforts to point out the inequalities that women experience, many men feel attacked, even when women try to respond with humour, as feminist blogger Elle Armageddon did with her 2015 flow chart “Should You Explain Thing to a Lady?”

“Not all men” is the regular refrain. But, honestly, such protestations smack of an unwillingness to listen to the legitimate experiences of women in the workplace. And it’s unfair that while mansplaining is done by men to women, the solutions all seem to be about how women can address it — rather than how and why men should stop doing it.

It’s a further demand placed on women to solve the problems imposed on them by others. I’d like to take another tack.

Mansplaining eradication tactics

A mansplaining hotline would be great, but apparently it’s only available in Sweden. Shutterstock

In Sweden, a major union has set up a mansplainer hotline you can call to report offenders and receive advice and commiseration. But that’s not a resource available to all of us.

So what can potential mansplainers do? Armageddon’s advice is pretty good: If you aren’t an expert on a topic, maybe you don’t need to talk.

For those of you who fear you might be mansplainers, keep in mind — even if you are an expert, but the woman is an expert too and hasn’t asked for your advice — maybe you still just stay silent. What’s the harm in listening? You might learn something. Even if you speak a lot less than you do now, the research I cited above suggests that you still might be speaking more than the women in the room.

The point is, you can dial it back a lot and still speak your fair share about issues on which you are an expert and have something unique to contribute.

But mansplainers almost by definition can’t help themselves. The advice on self-restraint is bound to be ignored. So maybe we need to think about more structural solutions. In other words, what can organizations do to even the playing field?

‘High-testosterone settings’

As a professor of strategic management, I’ve thought about this a lot in my own teaching to MBA students. MBA programs have historically been pretty high-testosterone settings. I have an explicit practice to call on those students who are quiet, find out who the true experts are and shut down interrupters.

I also evaluate students on their contributions to the classroom learning experience, and those evaluations reward listening and building on the ideas of others (not just rehearsing their own lines in their minds while they are waiting to talk).

Organizations could replicate these practices. They could develop guidelines for meetings that require each person to share their point of view or instructions to the meeting leader to shut down mansplaining and support women who are speaking.

It is not enough, by the way, to simply extend the amount of time for questions or discussion with the hopes that women will speak up more or men will run out of things to say. Research experiments show that doesn’t work.

Further, performance evaluations could be adapted to sanction mansplaining and to reward listening and building on the ideas of other team members.

Business meetings are often particularly rife with mansplainers. (Shutterstock)

In short, we need to stop giving women advice on how to fix the inequalities and discrimination they face and instead look to the perpetrators to change their behaviour and to organizations to change workplace dynamics.

“Fixing the women” is a costly solution for women, and could result in companies losing valuable female employees. It will ultimately be ineffective without organizational change. Women shouldn’t be asked to “handle” mansplaining. Organizations should handle it for them.

Sarah Kaplan, Professor, Strategic Management, Rotman School of Management; Director, Institute for Gender and the Economy, University of Toronto

July 24, 2019
Companies using technology to close the gender gap, but experts warn of pitfalls

July 23, 2019
Explaining the effect of ‘mansplaining’ in the work place

July 23, 2019
Mind the gap: Business schools help women break the glass ceiling

June 17, 2019
Changing performance rating scales to interrupt gender bias
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Summary

Research has shown that gender bias affects employee performance ratings: on average, women are judged as less able and worthy than men even if they have identical qualifications, performance, and behaviours. Is it possible for workplaces to reduce inequality in evaluations? In this two-part study, the authors examined how the design of performance evaluations affects gender bias in ratings. Specifically, their study found that using a 6-point rating scale rather than a 10-point rating scale eliminated the ratings gap between men and women. This evidence suggests that the structure of performance evaluations can considerably affect how men and women are evaluated, and consequently, how they are rewarded.

Research

Employee performance ratings are subject to bias. Numerous studies have shown that managers hold women to higher standards relative to men, and that women are less likely than men to be seen as ‘geniuses’ or brilliant. This negatively impacts women’s career successes and trajectories. However, little research has been done on how to reduce inequalities in evaluation. Therefore, the authors conducted two complementary studies to examine whether the structure of performance rating scales affects the manifestation of gender bias. They theorized that because there is a cultural association between brilliance and receiving a 10 out of 10, a 10-point scale disadvantages women.

Because there is a cultural association between brilliance and receiving a 10 out of 10, a 10-point scale disadvantages women.

The first study analyzed faculty teaching evaluation data from a professional school at a North American university. The school had been using a 10-point scale for evaluations, then switched to a 6-point scale (for reasons unrelated to this study). The data consisted of student ratings of the same instructors before and after the change. In total, this included 105,034 ratings of 369 instructors. Some areas of study were more male-dominated than others, so the researchers analyzed the data from male-dominated areas separately from those that were not male-dominated.

The second study used an online survey to show an identical lecture transcript to 400 students from across the United States. Each respondent was randomly assigned whether the instructor was a man or a woman. Each respondent was also randomly assigned a 10-point or 6-point scale with which to evaluate the instructor. They then had the opportunity to indicate the extent to which they viewed the instructor as brilliant, knowledgeable, nice, helpful, and hardworking.

Findings

Study 1: Shifting the rating scale from 10 to 6 points eliminated the gender gap in ratings in the male-dominated fields at the school observed in the study. With a 10-point scale, the most common score for men was 10 (31.4 percent received this score) and for women it was 8 (23.3 percent). However, with a 6-point scale, 6 was the most common score for both men and women (41.2 percent of men and 41.7 percent of women). The observed shift benefitted women because those who received an 8 or 9 with the 10-point scale tended to receive a 5 or a 6 on the 6-point scale. Even after controlling for various factors such as course quality, tenure-track, and the number of years since receiving a PhD, the effect still remained.

Study 2: In this online survey, when using a 10-point scale the instructor received an average rating of 7.8 when perceived as a man, and 7.1 when perceived as a woman. However, with a 6-point scale the instructor received an average rating of 4.9 when perceived as a man, versus 4.8 when perceived as a woman. The results once again showed that the gender gap could decrease with the introduction of a 6-point scale.

Interestingly, of respondents who gave the instructor a 10 out of 10, 65.7 percent strongly agreed that the instructor was brilliant. However, of those who gave a 6 out of 6, only 28.6 percent strongly agreed. Further, when respondents believed the instructor was a man, 15.5 percent strongly agreed he was brilliant. However, when respondents believed the instructor was a woman, only 9.5 percent strongly agreed they were brilliant. These results suggest that even though the 6-point scale reduced gender bias in the evaluations, respondents still considered the man instructor as more brilliant than the woman instructor. This corresponds with the notion that a 6 out of 6 is not as associated with brilliance as a 10 out of 10.

Even though the 6-point scale reduced gender bias in the evaluations, respondents still considered the man instructor as more brilliant.

Implications
- Minor aspects of evaluations can have a major impact on careers – The study suggests that rating systems can drive workplace inequality. Since a 10 out of 10 is culturally associated with brilliance while a 6 out of 6 is not, changing a 10-point scale to a 6-point scale can benefit employees who, as a result of bias, may be deemed less worthy of a 10. In order to minimize inequality, workplaces should take into account that performance appraisals are connected to cultural beliefs and stereotypes, and should therefore test for the best evaluation methods.
- Changing evaluation structures may interrupt gender bias, not eliminate it – Regardless of the rating scale, respondents in this study were still more likely to call the man instructor brilliant compared to the woman, even with an identical lecture. Rating scales are important, but what also matters is how leaders and decision-makers perceive these numbers, and whether they understand the effects of bias and stereotyping at work.
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Title

Scaling Down Inequality: Rating Scales, Gender Bias, and the Architecture of Evaluation

Authors

Lauren A. Rivera and András Tilcsik

Institutions

Duke University

Source

American Sociological Review

Published

2019

DOI

10.1177/0003122419833601

Link

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0003122419833601

Research brief prepared by

Carmina Ravanera

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June 5, 2019