The Exponential Power of Potential
So the BBC said it needed to ensure a better mix in male/female experts and says they will measure it. CNBC said only 2 out of 37 leaders reporting to Jeff Bezos are women, and the New York Times is addressing how well it’s doing with gender mix and diversity. Progress is being made. Slowly. In progressive Iceland it’s now illegal to pay men more than women and companies over 25 employees need certification of equal pay. And Uber (surprisingly) discovered a gender pay gap among drivers. You’d think the algorithms could get it right but it turns out there’s some drivers (no pun intended) behind those drivers that result in some surprising pay differences. Female Uber drivers earn less per hour than their male counterparts even though the algorithms that determine pay are gender blind.
Closer to home, earlier this year four academic publishers relayed the disparities in their gender pay, and thankfully Stephen Carter, Informa PLC Group Chief Executive Officer has joined Jim Smith and Tim Armstrong in taking a stand to resolve the systemic issues that create this problem in the first place.
But what’s bumming me out is that our latest annual Outsell CEO Sentiment Study still shows roughly 40% of our respondents having no explicit diversity and inclusion goals that they are managing to, and another 20 percent don’t have goals but are putting them in place. That’s 60%. Progress is coming too slowly.
What I’m heartened by is Automotive News (owned by CRAIN) and the work they’re doing in the automotive industry. It got me to thinking that every company in our industry is serving some other industry. And if like Automotive News they started actively serving and measuring women in those industries’ executive ranks, then many boats could lift simultaneously. The women and diversity in upper management opportunity isn’t just in publishing. It’s in so many other industries. Look at financial services, entertainment, insurance, energy, big pharma, and yes… the auto industry. They are male dominated and continue to be. But the role of media, particularly B2B media and business information firms targeting certain industries and covering and analyzing them can make a difference in that vertical.
So in information services, I’d like to put a stake in the ground and ask all companies in our sector to do what they can to improve not only their own metrics, and that of their peer group companies, but also the metrics for the industries they cover and serve. Need help? We’re here to ensure your company and this industry, makes the transition and sets the paradigm.
This is the power of potential and our industry can make a huge difference even while getting our own houses in order. Let’s take a cue from Crain. And if you know of another “Crain” doing great work then give them a shout out and give me a call.
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