Value propositions that cut through diversity fatigue

2021 saw a positive global shift in equity and inclusion with nearly every CEO and board working to address the pipeline for leadership roles. It’s a positive development with only one major challenge: women are incredibly diversity fatigued.

Why a fatigue?

I could offer my anecdotes as a financial services C-Suite recruitment specialist but a quick google provides an added demonstration on ‘why the diversity fatigue’. This is not a new topic of conversation. 

• This 2012 McKinsey report revealed that diversity sits very close to the bottom of the agenda for the majority of human resources professionals in large firms.
• The Conversation was already talking about diversity fatigue and the gender gap in 2014.  
• Moving along to 2019, a topic for discussion at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, was leadership accountability and diversity fatigue. 

Creating value propositions that cut through the lip service noise.

Any organisation serious about attracting or retaining top female talent are working on systematic and cultural barriers. They have clearly defined strategies to do this and procedures for measurement, because ‘awareness education is just not enough. 

What women want is not so different to a decade ago:

• professional development opportunities to help prepare for a raise and/or promotion.
• Parity – equal status and pay, equality in possibilities and opportunities and decision making.
• Flexibility to adjust work hours and options to work from home.

However now women want to see it in action: 

• Bias-free work environments.
• Flexible and inclusive employment experiences.  
• Innovative recruitment processes – inclusive job postings, transparency in selection criteria and salary ranges. 

Did you see Sam Mostyn – President of Chief Executive Women’s address to the National Press Club this year? She summarised the needs of women workers perfectly.

Being a woman leader is quite different from being a male one.  Of course, there are far fewer of us – and our paths tend to be different. As women, we encounter obstacles and challenges that are often invisible to men. Although we work in the same landscape as men, our experiences in those landscapes are not the same. That is the case for women everywhere – in politics, in business, in sport, in the arts, in journalism, in academia, in the trades, in public service.  And the truth is, we don’t seek to be the same as men. We just want the same opportunities and outcomes across our lives.

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I consult on acquisition, succession and executive recruitment with a laser focus on diversity and inclusion. It’s part of what I do to help clients unearth the best talent and results for their organisation.

Please call me if I can help with yours.