Back Out of Bed
The inequality, harassment, and divisiveness must stop
My mom taught me when I didn’t have anything good to say that it was better to say nothing. So, I’ve gone silent for the past few weeks, speechless at the steady flow of news. Between natural disasters, man-made disasters, and catastrophic violence, it’s enough to make me want to stay in bed with the sheets pulled over my head. But that would be the coward’s way out, and that would not be me. I opened a steady stream of messages about gender, pay, and inequality in our own industry, especially those stories in Hollywood, and decided to continue the dialog began at Outsell’s Signature Event in order to keep doing something positive in the face of all that’s wrong.
First, to Mr. Harvey Weinstein and anyone else cut from the same cloth, I say how dare you. And to the women who finally came out I say, thank you. Not speaking up for all the right reasons still keeps us complicit. We are mothers of sons, wives of husbands, sisters of brothers, and we expect more from men. The inequality, harassment, and divisiveness must stop, and it starts with our speaking up. To anyone who gave voice to #metoo, your bravery will pay off. More women will speak up and more good men will, too. Because they are fathers of daughters, husbands of wives, and brothers of sisters who are equally aghast at appalling behavior. So, hallelujah. I believe there will finally be lasting change for women and anyone else harassed or abused; as we know, it can be man against man or woman against man. Can’t we just be nice to each other?
Meanwhile, closer to home, in the land of information, the Telegraph reported in late August on the BBC’s pay gap, revealing that two-thirds of the top wage earners are men.
And while denying the claims but settling in order to move on, the firm behind Fearless Girl settled a row over equal pay. How sadly ironic.
CNN reported that female CEOs only get 3% of VC money. McKinsey reported that while more companies are committed to gender equality, progress remains slow. Meanwhile, one fearless scientist calculated the cost of not being a straight male and wants something done about it. The American Society of News Editors measured diversity in US newsrooms, which still remain predominantly male. The New York Times, which could be one of those newsrooms, also reported on why women aren’t CEOs, according to Women who almost were. At least it was written by a woman.
But we have to do better. We must do better. I learned long ago that if you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem. So, at Outsell’s Signature Event in Boston, in early October I challenged a room filled largely with men to start doing something about gender diversity in our c-suites. And I shared Outsell metrics about how well our industry is doing following the adage that what gets measured gets managed. You’ll recall a post where I looked at the top performers in our industry and the paltry gender diversity in their c-suite. We expanded that to a formal benchmark of 350 companies. I’ll share more about that in the coming days. It’s all part of our focus on providing essential benchmarks for leaders to outperform and out sell, and gender diversity is a part of that. Stay tuned.
And because our industry is also made up of exhibitions and trade shows, we have to do our part to put nonsense there to rest, too. Where are the organizers of this show? Too bad some great construction information companies are taking heat as well. Showgirls on the floor in 2017? C’mon people. We must do better.
Meanwhile, my mom also taught me to see the glass as half-full. So, I’m ending this post with applause, applause to industry leader Adobe Systems which has introduced a gender pay parity policy in India, as well as globally, to achieve 100 percent pay parity between male and female employees across levels. The company is working on closing the gender wage gap in the US by the end of its current fiscal year, in November, with women paid $1 for every $1 earned by male employees. Hooray to Adobe who has joined Thomson Reuters and Oath to do something about a very real phenomenon that needs fixing. And a shout out to my alma mater, D&B, which has long been a progressive place to work. They earned a perfect score from the Human Rights Campaign for LGBTQ workplace equality. Yay to these leaders for being part of the solution.