eve-olution newsletter June 2004
Contents
- Statistic of the month
- Book of the month
- Jane Campion returns – eve-olution's Strategic Coach
- Opportunity Now Awards, by Tracey Carr, CEO eve-olution
- Plugging Britain's skills gap
- Creative Female Leader Programme
Statistic of the Month
4% of films in the US are made by women, compared with 25% in Iran. (Source: The Observer)
Book of the Month
Influence by Robert B. Cialdini
An absolute must read for anybody who is interested in how they are influenced or, indeed, interested in how to influence. A comprehensive and scientific look at the study of compliance: What makes your clients, team, associates, friends and even your children say 'yes'? This book clearly demonstrates the principles behind the how and why of automatic influence and why this type of unthinking compliance will become more prevalent in the future.
Jane Campion Returns – eve-olution's Strategic Coach
This month's Coaching Tip - Your true delight is the beginning of leadership
Would you say your professional life is a duty … or a delight to you? What about your personal life?
Are you happy about that?
This month's coaching tip continues Jane's theme of getting to the heart of personal leadership in order to be the change you want to see in your world. It takes a few moments and is pre-recorded on 0870 262 3044, so you can get your coaching when it suits you.
First go somewhere you won't be interrupted and, without lifting your pen or even stopping to think, write for at least 10 minutes about what your life would be like if it was a complete delight to you. No duty allowed. No musts, shoulds, oughts or even an "I'd better or else". Just "I really long/would love to..." Then call Jane.
Jane would enjoy hearing from you by email too on jane@eve-olution.net. And thanks to everyone for your patience during her absence the last couple of months.
Opportunity Now Awards
by Tracey Carr, CEO eve-olution
I was very fortunate indeed to be invited by Barclays Bank on 26 May to attend the Opportunity Now Awards 2004 (an award that recognizes employers for their success at putting gender equality into practise) at the Hilton Hotel, Park Lane.
Barclays Bank has become one of eve-olution's biggest clients and is clearly an excellent example of how to 'do' instead of just 'talk'.
It has been a very great pleasure to work with an organisation that is unafraid to make radical decisions in order to change the culture and has worked hard to bring the 'gender difference' conversation out of the closet thereby increasing inclusiveness for men and women, making Barclays a nicer place to work for everyone.
Findings form research, both here in the UK and overseas, is beginning to show a clear link between bottom line profits and gender diversity. Such organisations value the new creative energy that diverse boards bring to the business and a very real understanding of the customer and how to sell to her and to him.
Global companies that have moved strongly forward with their global diversity strategy, such as Shell, have realized the importance of integrating cultural awareness into the gender dialogue and are succeeding in delivering a worldwide women's development programme that has been a huge success across the globe.
If we need any evidence of whether or not women need or desire such programmes it is worthwhile remembering that men are surrounded by role models at home and at work from their Father's influence to the coaching and support that they receive from their peer groups. Women, on the other hand, have very few role models.
Do women benefit form peer group support? I heard last week that the women in Iraq had mobilized themselves to form a 'women in business' networking group. This has been achieved in less than 6 months and is a clear example of how strongly women value peer group support.
Why haven't the women in Iraq set up a network before? They simply weren't allowed.
Plugging Britain's Skills Gap
On the 4 May 2004 The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) published the GF1 Phase 1 Report of the Findings - Plugging Britain's Skills Gap.
The report's aim is to investigate and challenge gender segregation in training and work. Although it focuses on modern apprenticeships in skills shortage areas, it also draws out wider lessons for employment and training in the UK.
The preliminary findings suggest that after almost 30 years after Britain's sex equality laws were passed most jobs are still done mainly by women or mainly by men. For instance three quarters of women are still found in 5 occupational groups; administration and secretarial, associated professional and technical (for instance, nursing), personal services (for instance, childcare), sales and customer services and non-skilled manual work. The report looks at the case for change including productivity, competitiveness and choice, current policy and practise, modern apprenticeships and their opportunities and challenges, and the next steps everyone involved can take to improve the situation.
Key Findings of the EOC
- There is a clear link between skills shortages sectors, such as plumbing, construction and engineering and the under representation of women. Widening the recruitment pools to include more women offers a solution.
- The Childcare industry is also facing skills shortages and recruiting more men would help address this problem.
- Employers are concerned about skill shortages but not currently making the link with gender segregation.
- There are many specific initiatives across Government and by employers to increase the number of women and men in different jobs but lack of an overall strategy makes them ineffective.
Julie Mellor, Chairman of EOC said,
"This investigation has identified real barriers to choice for employers and for individuals. Unless we see dramatic action to address them, major skill shortages will continue to blight individual businesses and damage the economy."
She also said,
"We are delighted that we have had a clear signal from the Government that tackling sex segregation is a key route to improving the UK's economy and skills base in the longer term - and not an optional add-on."
It is great to have some further evidence and understanding of the importance and necessity of a more Diverse workforce and eve-olution looks forward with interest to the findings of the final part of the report which is due out at the end of the year. This part of the report is looking, we understand, at the barriers and solutions involved in these issues.
The full Phase 1 report referred to above and more information generally can be found on the Equal Opportunities Website, www.eoc.org.uk.
Creative Female Leader Programme
'Conventional MBA programmes ignore the extent to which management is a craft, requiring zest and intuition rather than merely an ability to analyse data and invent strategies' - Henry Mintzberg, The Economist, May 22nd 2004
Our May CFL programme, which included senior executives from HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland, was another huge success. Here are some of the delegate's comments:
- "For me, the goal setting, task definition and mind mapping sections all worked fantastically. Thank you."
- "An inspiring two days, helped to maintain my resolve to achieve my goals"
- "Anything is possible"
- "The programme has given me a new perspective on myself and my career options - from the values and beliefs to meditation to tactics in building confidence and self belief - wonderful!! Best thing I've done in a long time"