5 WAYS TO ADVANCE WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP AND SHAPE A BETTER WORLD ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY (AND EVERY DAY).

You will agree that on this International Women’s Day  we live in a world where tolerance, co-existence and diversity & inclusion are so critically important. Given all that is happening in the world right now, each of us has a personal responsibility to shape a better, more inclusive world.

I have had the privilege of working with you and serving over 30000 women leaders since 2012 through our book “Break the ceiling touch the sky: success secrets of the world’s most inspirational women” and our signature Break the ceiling  touch the sky – the success and leadership summit for women. Your support, partnership and commitment inspires me daily and has consistently helped me reach a simple conclusion - that the world would be a better place if power were more equally distributed between the genders and if more women and more inclusive  leaders were in charge.  This makes perfect sense in a world in which over 70% of purchasing decisions are ultimately influenced by women. 

Consider the facts: 

•       Gender diversity = Better business: Companies with 30% women executives bring in as much as 6 percentage points more in profits, according to the Petersen institute for International Economics. In fact, our own research from the Break the ceiling touch the sky® 101 Best Global Companies for women in leadership® Index conducted annually, assessing gender diversity at the top of the world’s 500 largest Companies (reviews 11000 C-Suite executives annually) reveals that Companies with the most gender diverse boards and Executive management teams grow Company sales and profits faster than non gender- diverse Companies

•       Gender diversity = Better leadership: When considering a potential employer, 61% of women look at the diversity of the employer’s leadership team, 67% at whether it has positive role models similar to them, and 56% at whether the organization publicly shares its progress on diversity (PwC). 

•       Gender diversity = Better Corporate Governance: Gender diversity on boards is connected with better corporate governance and board oversight and less unethical behavior (S&P) and finally (and most relevant given current times) 

•       Gender diversity = Better Safety: An analysis by the US Non-Profit Inclusive Security of 182 Peace agreements between 1989 and 2011 found that an agreement is 35 per cent more likely to last at least 15 years if women are included as negotiators, mediators, and signatories.  (Yet women constituted on average just 14 percent of negotiators between 2015 -2019 in major Peace Processes globally according to the Council on Foreign Relations).  

So, from the data above, WHATEVER your gender it makes business sense to advance gender diversity & inclusion and women in leadership. 

The experts repeat that it will take over 135 plus years to close the global gender gap.  Since none of us reading this will be alive by then, I prefer to talk about what we can control and execute in the next 10 years to impact a better, more diverse, and more inclusive world. Which is why in mid 2020 House of Rose Professional launched MISSION 2029 FOR A BETTER WORLD, a cross industry effort to shape a better world via better gender diversity & inclusion with a very challenging measure – to quintuple the number of Female CEOs in the World’s 500 largest Companies (from 14 in 2020 to 70 in 2029) and double the number of Male CEOs in the same group who actually invest in gender diversity & inclusion in the same period. Currently the needle has moved to 24 Female CEOs! Slow but steady progress.

Here are five simple ways YOU can play your part in advancing the positive impact of gender diversity & inclusion in shaping a better world while building your business and your employer brand. 

1.     Invest in learning for yourself and your teams: Attend and support your teams to attend best in class industry leadership and DEI  forums such as Break the ceiling touch the sky® - the success and leadership summit for women where the world’s best companies come to share best practices on leadership, diversity & inclusion and success. Read the testimonials on different forums before deciding which ones to support.  See where the world’s best and most successful brands are going to learn… then learn alongside them. Find the time and the budget to support the learning and development of your leaders. 

2.     Demand equality in your Talent pipeline: As an Executive search leader I have rarely been unable to meet specific needs of Companies when it comes to supplying senior, diverse global Executive talent for senior executive roles. If you are in a position of power and influence, ensure the next role you fill has a balanced slate of candidates. If you are a woman and aspire to get to the C-Suite, put your hand up for your next big role even if you haven’t figured it all out!  Step out of your comfort zone and go/ask for that position you dream of! If you are a HR leader frustrated with the “there is no pipeline of women leaders” comment from your Search agency in filling senior executive roles, call us.  We will absolutely smash this myth.

3.     Research, Recognize and Reward the companies that are walking the talk on women in leadership: Social media abounds with fabricated awards and recognitions. Several years ago, I was duped into attending an awards program and on reaching the presentation ceremony was stunned to find over a 100 Companies being awarded that same award!! I later found out that each of them had in fact paid an “application fee” for the award of over a 1000 USD! (I had NOT).   Research and reward the Companies and organizations legitimately helping build great women leaders. Support the companies truly investing in women and walking the talk on gender diversity & inclusion in the C-Suite.  A hint - Companies that truly believe that gender diversity & women in leadership work will consistently have gender diverse Boards and Executive leadership teams. They walk the talk. Support the Companies that are actively trying to get better on gender diversity. Check out the 2022 Break the ceiling touch the sky® 101 Best Global Companies for women in leadership Index

https://houseofroseprofessional.com/101-best-global-companies-for-women-in-leadership-2/

4.     Sponsor female executives and inclusive leaders across genders: Apart from coaching and mentoring leaders to success, SPONSOR such leaders. Sponsorship means you will advocate heavily for deserving female leaders at every reasonable opportunity. Support them in the Boardroom, in meetings where their voice is in the minority and ensure you are do your bit to build a culture and environment in which female leaders feel safe and valued.   Advocate for them to get a role that others in the decision-making circle believe is a stretch for them. Amplify their points of view while giving them credit for their perspective. The more such advocacy and sponsorship, the better chances you will attract the right talent to your team and organization, creating a virtuous circle of positive business and organizational impact. 

5.     Role model good behaviors. A diversity champ will:

a.     Be sincere and passionate about her/ his committment to equality 

b.     Practice gender diversity & inclusion starting in the home and community (read – sharing household chores, treat your partner with respect)

c.     Make the time to engage on diversity & inclusion and will (wherever possible), volunteer time, budget, and experiences to support the DEI agenda

d.     Will actively support diverse candidate slates for key roles

e.     Will consistently throw a spotlight on other leaders even if it means that spootlight is moving off self

f.      Will be available to coach, mentor or even simply provide effective feedback to others who seek it 

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, I can say the Future is Female. And this will be supported by Male champions for gender diversity & inclusion because they understand that better gender diversity = better leadership = better business and a better world. 

I’d like to take a minute to thank my beloved wife Dilya who gives me her unstinted support and partnership in pursuing our MISSION 2029 FOR A BETTER WORLD , our HORP team, our advisory council for MISSION 2029, the over 1000 speakers who have led at Break the ceiling touch the sky since 2015, our sponsors – you can see them all at www.houseofroseprofessional.com,  the female leaders in my book  Break the ceiling touch the sky: success secrets of the world’s most inspirational women, and last but the most important my Mother Leonie Rose. 

10 years ago, I made a promise to my Mum (who passed with Alzheimer’s) that she would not be forgotten. That I would do my best to help leaders like herself access knowledge and best practices for success, and through the book and the work we have done since, I continue to keep that promise. 

Happy International Women’s Day Ma. Happy International Women’s Day Dilya. And Happy International Women’s Day to all of you dear friends. 

Lets keep the focus on gender diversity & inclusion as core to your business not just today, but every day.  It’s the only way we can get to a world of tolerance, understanding and a better world.  

As my hero Mother Theresa shared. "Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let's get started."

Lets get started.

My best always,

Anthony A. Rose 

To get your Company involved in MISSION 2029 FOR A BETTER WORLD or to attend a Break the ceiling touch the sky summit in your region visit www.houseofroseprofessional.com or email [email protected]from your business email.  The next Edition of Break the ceiling touch the sky will be held on Apr 19, 2022. 

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