Sarah Phipps

MGMT 3311- Spring 2014

Management Article Review

McKinsey & Company Research study, “Woman Matter 2010.”

5/4/2014

4/27/2014

Summary of Article

Woman Matter 2010 is a study of how a woman may or may not make a difference in the

workplace. Under-representations in the corporate boards, and upper management in general,

women have still been lingering at the bottom of the corporate latter for years. Studies done by

McKinsey & Company surveying 1500 business leaders, shows that there are many problems

that still hold women back from developing skills, and or taking initiative to actual climb to the

C-level. Some in part we can blame women themselves, and some men. Research concludes that

in some business, who have jumped on the diversity bandwagon, and have women in higher

positions, tend to do better financially as opposed to those who have yet to take the initiative.

The article also follows with ways to change this plateau. Positive feedback from executives and

CEO’s, including training targeted at woman, and specific evaluation of a diverse workplace,

may change this outlook in the near future, even though a corporation with have to rely on action

that actually translates to something. (Descaux, Devillard, Sancier-Sultan, 2010)

Evaluation of Key Points

Even though we are in a new business world after the hit of our recession, unfortunately

women are still highly invisible in the corporate and the top management world. Back in 2007,

when McKinsey & company first did a Woman Matter study, it showed that the link between the

number of woman in governing body, an organization, and financial performance were

extremely low, and much hasn’t changed. In figure one; we can see that the U.S alone only has

about 15% of women represented in corporate boards, while India has a mere 5% (pg. 2). We

have though seen improvement in some countries, which in terms gives us hope. Moving

forward we can see that event though 15% is low; it also varies by the industry being surveyed.

Exhibit 3 goes into detail; different industries represent different percentages of diversity in top

management. Of these industries, goods and retail, Telecom, media and entertainment, finance,

insurance and professional services are the leaders having anywhere from 15-16% of women in

boards(pg.4). Even though this is good, women still see difficulty, research has shown that unless

promotion systems and trends change within a corporation, even woman graduate will not make

and impact on the diversity gap.

Barriers that prevent woman from climbing hierarchy include double-burdens, anytime,

anywhere, a tendency of women not to promote themselves. According to interviews by

McKinsey, this double burden is more or less a societal issue. What this means is, for many

years, family life was always taken care of by women: cook, clean, look after children. Even

today we are still having a hard time distinguishing the difference. But if women are able to

overcome these objections, we see that they can do great things. The way that women manage

may be the forefront as to why companies that have women in their executive committees have

better financial performance as opposed to those who have not stepped into the diversity

bandwagon. Exhibit 6 illustrates the average return on equity with women in committees

resulting in a significant amount of difference, woman being higher return (pg.7).

How can the corporate world change this, you ask? Well, first need the action to translate.

Surveys for Woman Matter 2010 reveal, surprisingly, that executives actual see the positive

impact gender diversity may have on the company, but don’t do anything about it. On page 9 of

the article, it lists 13 gender-diversity measures that can assist in helping make a difference

within the company. Unfortunately, we still see the trend of diversity not even being part of a

strategic plan for the company. What this says is that it may not matter, so why try. Research

done by McKinsey & Company of over 1500 respondents, only 28%, but those companies are

doing better in training, promoting, and retaining woman leaders(pg. 10). In turn, we see a

difference in corporate structure which reflects in corporate financial stability. Of course, just

like anything the CEO of the company needs to have a hand in an effective gender diversity

ecosystem. Commitment on the CEO’s part in visibly monitoring gender diversity programs, we

can see a change not only in the company itself, but also actions taken by other executives as

well as women promoting themselves (pgs.14-15). An example of an Ideal gender-diversity

ecosystem can be found on pages 16-17. This explains the commitment by the CEO, programs

available for women, Collective enablers to collect information in the gaps and measure

progress, as well as, HR processes and policies, provides flexible working conditions and hours,

and infrastructure to help balance work-life. We can conclude that the business world still has a

long road to go down when it comes to gender-diversity, and it will take the company and its

hierarchy to make it happen.

Evaluation of Author

The authors were pretty precise when it came to collecting data to back up their

claim. I like the fact that while surveys can be very vague, they specified how many companies

they surveyed, how many actually responded, and to what type of industry. I am a woman, so

biased may be on my side, but the information contained in the article was very valuable to the

information I may need when I graduate. The educational value it provides makes the convincing

argument that much more valid. I am completely mesmerized by the fact that any corporation

would even respond, due to some of the criticism it may receive. But this definitely opens a big

door to change and it reflects it in this article.

The Value of the Article in American Industry

Business is constantly changing in the U.S. Recently we have seen some scandals with

Enron, and problems with the recession have put a lot of small business, out of business. This

article basically provides an option to make a change. The information relayed in this text, lays

out a problem, and ways to fix it. Everyone likes to be treated equally, and feel like they are

someone who isn’t easily replaced. This article justifies that women are and up and coming

assets to any company. Statically it would make sense to jump on the bandwagon, since so few

have taken the opportunity. This shows in the figure 6, providing information on an average

return on equity with women being involved in committees, and boards (pg.7). This will only

help industries in the future, outside and within their corporate structure.

What I learned

It’s a man’s world, has been for decades, well forever! Whether it has to do with an ego

trip or just an intimidation thing, women have always been somewhat regarded as someone who

needs to be “behind the scenes”. But times have changed, and according to this article not much

in business structure when it comes to women climbing the hierarchy, which is disappointing. I

learned that sometimes, it has nothing to do with the double standards of society but woman

themselves. The work-life balance may be demanding, and taking from our career, which plays a

huge roll in how we make decisions on our futures. As far as the amount of businesses and

industries that has yet to take action to adopt gender-diversity, I can’t say, is very surprising. I

have worked in the corporate world, and unfortunately this is the reality for most.

Relation to this Course

In the interim of this course we have been taken through how to be a good/bad manager,

how to delegate our time and tasks, how to abide by regulations, what our responsibilities are &

are not, how to manage projects, and how to treat others learning styles, etc. This article hits on

all these points. In relation to specifics it definitely hits on the fact that diversity is still a huge

issue when it comes to management, and business as a whole. We studied how to handle issues

with diversity when it comes to race, religion, and sex. In this article we can relay information

learned from the text and lectures, but having a broader outlook on the topic. Women, just like

any other, want to have an equal say and part in their careers and decision when it comes to their

companies.

Reference

Desvaux,Georges,Devillard,Sandrine,Sancier-Sultan,Sandra.(2010).Woman Matter 2010.

Woman at the top of corporation making it happen. McKinsey & Company, 1-22.