Women Reluctant to Hire Other Women, Report Finds
Don’t expect women executives to show you any favoritism in your next job search. They won’t — at least according to a report released last month from law firm Fenwick & West. In what comes as somewhat of a surprise — at least from a man’s perspective — companies that have a female CEO don’t have better diversity numbers than those led by men.
Consider the following findings from Fenwick & West’s report:
- while 62 percent of companies in the San Jose Mercury News’ Silicon Valley 150 Index of the top public companies have at least one woman as a director, only 20 percent of those have more than one; and
- in the Standard & Poor’s 100 stock market index, there are more women directors in executive roles, but a proportional lack of gender diversity is maintained because most of those companies have larger boards.
“Having a woman on the board or serving as CEO doesn’t translate into more women in other board or leadership positions,” the report said.
The goal of the report was to be an objective resource for Silicon Valley companies when analyzing how women are doing at the senior levels of IT management. And the numbers don’t lie: they’re struggling.
David A. Bell, lead investigator and Fenwick lawyer, acknowledged the report’s findings don’t provide an answer as to why there’s no meaningful difference in the effect of gender diversity with men or women as CEO. He did say it’s the accepted, anecdotal belief of most women leaders that members of both genders think about executive positions in the same way: objectively, with the company’s interest solely in mind.
Women want to surround themselves with capable, skilled officers who can help them best run the company, just like men do, Bell noted.
The report did offer a few suggestions on how companies, specifically IT firms, can do a better job at becoming more gender diverse. One is to take a long-term view of the problem. For example, Bell noted more women than ever are now working toward more technical and graduate degrees, which will help them prepare for high-level IT roles later in their careers.
In addition, companies need to be proactive in their recruitment efforts. The report found that when executive boards are recruiting for new members, they often keep the search limited to their own small social and career networks, which are inevitably filled with more men. Furthermore, many companies narrow their executive choices by refusing to pay the expensive fees necessary to hire a search firm to look for more diverse candidates. That investment could be repaid with a board filled with more diverse opinions, the report noted.