Seven Steps to Leading a Gender-Balanced Business

Seven Steps to Leading a Gender-Balanced Business
Author: Avivah Wittenberg-Cox
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
Total Pages: 87
Release: 2014-03-04
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1625275633

The proven rewards of a gender-balanced business. Scores of studies have shown the benefits to the bottom line of gender-balanced organizations. A handful of smart companies have tapped into the opportunities of today’s female consumer base and talent pool—yet too many companies still struggle with an outdated and ineffective imbalance of genders, across all levels, functions, and geographies. Now, Avivah Wittenberg-Cox brings a practical, seasoned voice to the problem of gender imbalance in business, laying out proven actions designed to make gender balance a sustainable reality. Wittenberg-Cox, CEO of the consultancy 20-first, has worked with some of the world’s largest and most reputable firms to deliver the benefits of balance. In this HBR Single ebook, she outlines what companies need to do to bring about real change. Beyond the usual well-intentioned but often ineffective mentoring and networking programs for women, the author argues that building gender balance is a twenty-first century management and leadership skill. Bringing a business into successful gender balance requires leaders who have a strategic understanding of the considerable economic benefits that lie untapped in the female population—in their roles both as customers and as talent—and the competencies needed to work across genders. It’s time for businesses to tap into 100% of the talent pool and connect with 100% of the market—both male and female. Wittenberg-Cox tells us how and why gender balance needs to happen now—and how to achieve it. HBR Singles provide brief yet potent business ideas, in digital form, for today’s thinking professional.

How Women Mean Business

How Women Mean Business
Author: Avivah Wittenberg-Cox
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 425
Release: 2010-05-24
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 047068884X

Why Women Mean Business showed you why business needs to change. Now Avivah Wittenberg-Cox’s new book shows you how to achieve a healthy and profitable balance. We know that business needs more women. Gender balance has been proven time and time again to lead to more innovation, better business performance and corporate governance. The only question is, how can business leaders make this happen? Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, an acknowledged world authority on women and business, points the way. In four simple steps she provides guidance on how to bring about real change: • Audit – where are you really at with gender balance now? • Awareness – Opening your eyes to what better gender balance could mean for your company • Alignment – Ensuring the buy-in that will bring about real results and change • Sustain – Building gender diversity into corporate DNA This lively, hands-on guide is packed with research and case-studies showing how some of the world’s biggest blue-chip firms have done it. Women are most of the talent and much of the market – you need this book.

HBR Guide for Women at Work (HBR Guide Series)

HBR Guide for Women at Work (HBR Guide Series)
Author: Harvard Business Review
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
Total Pages: 158
Release: 2018-10-23
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1633693376

Make your career what you want it to be. Women regularly face unfair challenges in the workplace--from being passed over for promotion to being ignored in conversation. Unconscious bias and negative assumptions are working against them. As a woman, how can you break through these barriers and get what you want from your career? The HBR Guide for Women at Work will help you identify and overcome the factors that are holding you back. It provides practical tips and advice so you can face gender stereotypes head-on, make yourself visible when opportunities arise, and demonstrate your leadership skills. You'll learn to: Speak up in meetings in a way that ensures your ideas will be heard Wield influence by building the right relationships Advocate for yourself--and for what you want Align yourself with mentors and sponsors to support your growth Show passion without being perceived as "too emotional" Create your unique vision as a leader

Lean In

Lean In
Author: Sheryl Sandberg
Publisher: Knopf
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2013-03-11
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0385349955

#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • “A landmark manifesto" (The New York Times) that's a revelatory, inspiring call to action and a blueprint for individual growth that will empower women around the world to achieve their full potential. In her famed TED talk, Sheryl Sandberg described how women unintentionally hold themselves back in their careers. Her talk, which has been viewed more than eleven million times, encouraged women to “sit at the table,” seek challenges, take risks, and pursue their goals with gusto. Lean In continues that conversation, combining personal anecdotes, hard data, and compelling research to change the conversation from what women can’t do to what they can. Sandberg, COO of Meta (previously called Facebook) from 2008-2022, provides practical advice on negotiation techniques, mentorship, and building a satisfying career. She describes specific steps women can take to combine professional achievement with personal fulfillment, and demonstrates how men can benefit by supporting women both in the workplace and at home.

Why Women Mean Business

Why Women Mean Business
Author: Avivah Wittenberg-Cox
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 392
Release: 2009-11-04
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 047068562X

WOMEN MEAN BUSINESS “...gives example after example of the price that we all pay for a situation in which ‘women may hold the keys but men still control the locks’.” The Times “What’s especially valuable is the authors’ analysis of where companies go wrong in managing women...that’s how it will help women in the workplace.” Harvard Business Review “Lays out the importance of retaining women in senior leadership positions.” Harpers Bazaar “Wittenberg-Cox and Maitland have opened new ground.” Management Today WOMEN MEAN BUSINESS They make up much of the market and most of the talent pool. Reaching women consumers and developing female talent is essential for sustainable economic growth in the 21st century. Studies show that better gender balance in business means better bottom line results and greater resistance to economic crises. So why are there still so few women in leadership roles in business? Why are companies struggling to respond to today’s female consumer? Why is there a persistent pay gap between men and women around the world? Why Women Mean Business takes the economic arguments for change to the heart of the corporate world. Fully updated in paperback, the book shows why getting gender right matters – as much when the economy’s bust as when it’s booming. A must-read, packed with ideas from companies that have made it work, views from top business leaders and step-by-step guides to how we can all become gender bilingual.

HBR's Women at Work Collection

HBR's Women at Work Collection
Author: Harvard Business Review
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2019-04-16
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1633698483

Get what you really want from your career. As a woman, you may face unfair challenges in the workplace--from being passed over for promotion to being ignored in conversation. Unconscious bias and negative assumptions are working against you. HBR's Women at Work Collection will help you break through these barriers and help you get what you want from your career. This two-book set includes HBR's 10 Must Reads on Women and Leadership and the HBR Guide for Women at Work. The Must Read volume brings together the 10 best articles from Harvard Business Review, curated by our editors, on gender dynamics in the workplace, while the HBR Guide provides practical and useful tips for how to identify and overcome the factors holding women back. This unique compilation offers insights from world-class experts including Herminia Ibarra, Joan Williams, Sheryl Sandberg, and others. It will inspire you to: learn the root causes of the barriers that exist for women; better understand the path women must take to leadership; check your own gender biases and distinguish between confidence and competence; manage a more effective gender-diversity program; advocate for yourself; and demonstrate your leadership skills. HBR's Women at Work Collection is an invaluable resource for any woman seeking to reach her true leadership potential and for anyone--man or woman--looking to create a more gender-balanced workforce.

Bridging the Gender Gap

Bridging the Gender Gap
Author: Lynn M. Roseberry
Publisher:
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2014
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0198717113

Despite decades of efforts to promote gender equality, most leadership positions in business, politics, education, and even NGOs are occupied by men, and most people still work in occupations dominated by one sex. This book argues that gender imbalances in leadership and occupations are not simply a moral issue or an economic issue, but a governance issue. Gender imbalances persist in large part because the very people with the authority and influence to do something about them know very little about gender and how it works in their organizations and in society at large. Gender imbalanced governance is an expression of entrenched ideas about masculinity and femininity that lead to poor decision making. Improving the quality of governance requires action to counteract the main justifications for the status quo. Based on interviews and conversations with leaders and managers in Europe and the United States, the book presents seven of the most common explanations for persistent gender imbalances and shows how they are based on common stereotypes and myths about men's and women's abilities and preferences. This book provides a guided tour of current research about gender from a multi-disciplinary perspective. It challenges commonly held assumptions and offers alternative explanations and corresponding principles to guide individual decisions, action, and behaviour toward achieving gender balance.

Women in Management Worldwide

Women in Management Worldwide
Author: Ronald J. Burke
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 391
Release: 2016-08-12
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1134775482

Organizations today are facing unprecedented challenges, including an ageing workforce, potential talent shortages, an increasingly competitive international environment and the need to utilize the talents of the best qualified people, regardless of gender. More women than men, in many cases, are graduating from universities and gaining the requisite experience to qualify for advancement to higher levels of management. In this expanded and revised third edition, Professors Burke and Richardsen, together with a list of international contributors, address women’s progression in the workforce and into the upper echelons of management. They cover a range of professions and a geographically dispersed territory, thereby advancing the understanding of women in management within a traditional context, and making a substantial contribution to the literature for both an academic and practitioner audience. The broader regional perspective offers a comprehensive overview of the challenges and opportunities facing women in the workplace, and promotes the ongoing analysis of the interface between women's career aspirations and societal and organizational norms, assumptions and values. Following the same format as the previous edition, the country by country analysis allows for the data between countries and regions to be compared, for the differences to be addressed and a more holistic picture of the situation in a given country to be assessed. Women in Management Worldwide will appeal to researchers, policy-makers in a range of countries interested in workforce issues, talent management and gender equality, as well as consultants working with international organizations on HRM and organizational effectiveness challenges.

HBR Guide to Work-Life Balance

HBR Guide to Work-Life Balance
Author: Harvard Business Review
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
Total Pages: 169
Release: 2019-04-16
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1633697134

Stop running on empty. Every day you juggle the many components that fill your life. Between work and family commitments, volunteer work, hobbies, and managing your physical and mental health, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and that you’re letting someone down or neglecting some aspect of your life. But you can find ways to honor all of your commitments without collapsing. The HBR Guide to Work-Life Balance will help you: Evaluate and adjust your priorities Manage expectations Set and spend your time budget Make plans--and backup plans Understand how to make trade-offs Prioritize self-care Discover what works for you