Gender Equity Programs

Gender parity has long been seen as a “women’s issue” – a problem for women to address. Men have historically been missing from these efforts. No longer. The most progressive companies are abandoning a “fix the woman” mindset (women should change themselves to conform to the workplace) in favor of a “fix the culture” stance.

Women’s Sponsorship Programs

Research finds a “clogged pipeline” keeping women from advancing to senior leadership, especially at the Director level. The reason? Lack of sponsorship. Sponsorship – the presence of a more senior supporter who leverages their influence to advance a protege’s career — makes the critical difference in elevating women and achieving gender equity in leadership.

Forms of sponsorship include expanding a protégé’s network by making introductions to key stakeholders, advocating for a protégé’s promotion, and strategizing about an expanded or new role. Men are significantly more likely than women to have a sponsor, a gap that has grown more pronounced during the pandemic.

Research shows that sponsored women are more satisfied with their career progress and more likely to ask their manager for a stretch assignment. In organizations where women are flight risks, sponsorship programs invest in women’s development and help attract and retain senior female talent.

The Program

Rachel designs each program in partnership with organization leads. The curriculum includes training in the Sponsor and Protégé Skillsets, and ongoing coaching for stakeholders to ensure success.

To inquire about launching a sponsorship program at your organization, contact Rachel’s team.

Gender Intelligence Programs

In companies where men are actively involved in gender diversity, 96% report progress towards their goals. Where men aren’t involved, only 30% make strides. 

Women’s leadership programming has historically encouraged women to “lean in” in order to pull even with men. Yet many men want to play an active role in achieving gender parity at both interpersonal and systemic levels. Few know how to proceed without frameworks to understand the challenges and tools to meet them. 

Understanding women’s experiences at work is a critical component of robust allyship initiatives. A comprehensive gender parity effort, however, will also enlist allies to examine the impact of gender on their own lives as leaders and as people.

The Program

This two-hour, small group, interactive session will teach participants to assess the impact of gender norms on their paths as leaders, and ground them in the experiences of women in the workplace so that they can actively promote gender fairness and equity on their teams. 

Objectives:

• Grounding in both the science and lived experience of women in the workplace in order to inspire interpersonal and systemic change
• A chance for leaders to apply their learning to the specific experiences of women in their workplace
• A safe space for leaders to explore the impact of gender on their own development 

Contact Rachel for more info about these programs.